by Dee4Three on Fri May 04, 2018 5:04 am
MVP:
My Pick: James Harden | My prediction: James Harden
This actually wasn't an easy choice, as I think Anthony Davis has a case as well. Anthony Davis is the best two-way player in the game right now (my opinion), take him off that Pelicans team (After Cousins went down) and that team is absolutely dreadful. He carries them on offense AND defense, he brings it every night.
RotY:
My Pick: Ben Simmons/Donovan Mitchell (co-winners)| My prediction: Ben Simmons/Donovan Mitchell (co-winners)
I love Tatum, but he obviously hasn't put up the same numbers. Granted, it's because not as much has been asked of him (In the regular season), but still. Simmons put up all around numbers all season without the ability to shoot, and was the main reason (Along with Embiid) for the 76ers rise. Mitchell is just silly, and far better than I thought he would be in his rookie year. His contributions have directly lead to the Jazz fan base saying "Hayward who?". Not sure I can remember a time where a team bounced back so quickly from a player who plays the same or a similar position, an all-star. Didn't even take a season to find a great replacement.
6MotY
My pick: Lou Williams | My prediction: Lou Williams
Same, but honorable mention to Terry Rozier. Both players had to step up and play big minutes because of injuries, and even step into the starting lineup. Lou was just a freak for a good stretch in the middle of the season, felt like he could score whenever he wanted. Lou started 19 games, but 60 of his games came off the bench and he averaged over 20 ppg, and over 5 apg, that's impressive. Granted, he played starter minutes. Roziers case has some merit also because of the Celtics record, and he was also a big part of what the Celtics were doing all season (Played about 26mpg).
MIP:
My pick: Victor Oladipo | My prediction: Victor Oladipo
Have to agree with Oladipo. Many have said that the Brodie stunted his growth last year, but I disagree. Oladipo himself said he learned a ton from Westbrook, and I think he took that Westbrook mentality into this season. It paid off, he was a phenomenal two way player.
DPotY:
My pick: Anthony Davis | My prediction: Rudy Gobert
Again, I agree with Lamrock here. I stated that I liked Davis for DPOY in another thread. Davis's defense often gets overshadowed/overlooked because of his offense. But Davis was a monster defensively all season, not only blocking shots, but getting his hands in the passing lanes and just get steals in general. Davis's workload inside increased when Cousins went down, and the Pelicans didn't miss a beat. Granted, they picked up Okafor, but he didn't log big minutes. I think Gobert will win it, but Davis is my pick.
CotY:
My pick: Brad Stevens | My prediction: Dwane Casey
Not just from the perspective a Celtics fan, but a basketball fan, I can't believe the production that Stevens has gotten out of this team with all the injuries. He has players like Semi Ojeleye, Jabari Bird, etc stepping up and helping them win basketball games. He has made Marcus Smart's horrendous shooting somehow look like a positive, he has fans clamouring for more Marcus Smart. He continues to win in the playoffs with lineups that you might consider a lottery team lineup if you were a fairweather fan. A win against Philly in the 2nd round of the playoffs with a starting lineup of Rozier, Smart, Tatum, Baynes and Horford? He just knows how to get the most out of his guys, and he has been doing this since his first year in the NBA. I don't think Casey could get the same job done with the roster Stevens has, I give the easy nod to Stevens.
EotY:
My pick: Daryl Morey | My prediction: Daryl Morey
Agreed with Lamrock. Hard to argue this one.
All-NBA Teams:
1st: Harden, Westbrook, James, Antetokounmpo, Davis
2nd: Oladipo, Lillard, Durant, Aldridge, Towns
3rd: Paul, DeRozan, George, Horford, Drummond
Agreed with Lamrock on the players, but I changed the order a tad.
All-Defensive Teams:
1st: Oladipo, Jaylen Brown, George, Davis, Gobert
2nd: Simmons, Roberson, Draymond Green, Antetokounmpo, Drummond
Mostly agree, but I changed out Embiid for Drummond. Not only did Drummond protect the paint, his hands were everywhere and contributed in the steals department as well. He also averaged 16 RPG, which is part of the defense equation. He averaged 10.9 DEF rebounds per game.
All-Rookie Teams:
1st: Simmons, Mitchell, Tatum, Markkanen, Kuzma
2nd: Fox, John Collins, Adebayo, Josh Jackson, Lonzo Ball
- Mostly agree, but I subbed in Fox for Bogs (Which was tough). Numbers comparable, but I think the amount of responsibility put on Fox to run that Kings team was... a lot. I thought not only did he handle himself well, he had a few really solid stretches during the season. I think he hit a bit of a rookie wall at one point, but I liked his season overall. I do like Bogs, I think he will be a fine NBA player for some time. I also subbed Ball in for Dennis Smith Jr. The Lakers looked like a completely different team when Ball was on the floor, and I am not even a fan of him. Even if his shot wasn't falling (Which was especially the case earlier in the season), he was contributing in most other areas and controlling the pace of the game. Smith had some dreadful shooting nights, and shot under 40% for the season. Ball also did, but Smith wasn't contributing as much in the other areas, in fact sometimes he just flat out disappeared (Despite being the primary ball handler in numerous lineups).