Post by donatello2424 on Jul 28, 2010 19:32:44 GMT -5
Did ya miss me? I have taken a couple of seasons off of award predictions but I figured it is about time to bring them back. I mean, no longer is EP winning basically every award. This is a bit late to get this out but it is better late than never. I didn’t do the 6th man award because it is a crapshoot.
MVP: Dwayne Wade, SG, Milwaukee Bucks
The MVP race is actually a close one. There really isn’t someone who stands out like in the past (like a PG who is a top 10 score and top 10 pass guy). I went with Wade mainly because he is the league scoring champ. 32 ppg is great, however Wade also has other skills. He is a solid rebounder and passer for a SG (6.6 rpg and 4.2 apg) and is a good defender. I do think that this is a close race. Amare Stoudemire could be a contender since he is the only big on the top scoring list so his rpg (11) could allow him to win. Bron could also win since he is playing the PF position and as a result, is averaging 12.5 rpg. I think this is anybody’s year to win.
DPOTY: Josh Smith, PF, Orlando Magic
This is another race that looks close on the surface, but in reality it is not. Smith is the league leader in bpg at 3.8, which is actually a close race. However, Smith wins this award because of his bpg…and his spg. Smith averages 1.5 spg as well. In comparison, Dwight Howard only averages 1.1 spg and 3.7 bpg. Darko could be a contender with his 3.7 bpg, but I don’t think his spg total is high enough to justify him over Smith. On the spg front, Gilbert Arenas is the league leader there, but the totals aren’t high enough to justify him winning the award.
ROTY: Marquis Teague, PG, Washington Bullets
Rookie of the year is a 2-man race between Teague and Harrison Barnes. Barnes is playing great, averaging 24 ppg and 7 rpg. Those numbers are great and the scoring and rpg are higher than Teague, so why is Teague winning this award? FBB loves PGs. Teague has been putting up solid numbers are the 3rd option on the Bullets. 17 ppg with 8.4 apg. So while the ppg numbers are down the fact that he is a pg and is a top 10 apg guy allows him to win the award.
All-League Awards
Center: Yao Ming, C, Toronto Raptors
I really have no idea who is the frontrunner here. There isn’t a stud scorer at center. None of the top 10 rebounders who are centers average over 20 ppg. So I decided to go with Yao. Yao scores around 17 ppg, 13 rpg, and 3 bpg. Yao is getting older and is showing signs of slowing down but he is still a very complete big man. I think Darko could be a contender. While he isn’t as good of a rebounder or scorer as Yao, he is a much better shot blocker. That could be enough to put him over the top.
Power Forward: Amare Stoudamire, PF, Minnesota Timberwolves
Amare is the only guy in the top 10 of ppg who is a big man so it seems logical that he will win this award. Amare isn’t a great rebounder, but he will win be default of no other power forwards being a great score. If LeBron was moved from SF to PF, he would definitely win this award due to his much higher rpg total. But due to lack of truly dominant power forwards, Amare wins this by default.
Small Forward: LeBron James, SF, Charlotte Hornets
This might come as a bit of surprise since Rudy Gay scores 1.6 more ppg. I know from experience that SF who play PF are at an advantage to traditional SFs. Since LeBron is playing power forward and is averaging 12.5 rpg (making him 5th in the rpg leader board), he will win this award. It sucks that Rudy Gay is gonna get screwed out of an All-League First Team award but oh well. Kevin Durant is also a sleeper pick since he is a solid rebounder but I think he will be a 3rd teamer. Perry Jones is too young to be considered here and there are just better players ahead of him.
Shooting Guard: Dwayne Wade, SG, Milwaukee Bucks
I’d like to say this race is close but it isn’t. Wade will be the runaway winner of this award. Like I said in the MVP discussion, Wade is a league’s scoring leader and that carries a lot of value. Kelenna Azubuike and Ray Allen are likely to be the rest of the All-League shooting guard squad but the 4.5+ ppg difference is just too much to overcome.
Point Guard: Tony Parker, PG, Portland Trailblazers
Parker is running on full cylinders. He has stepped up for the Blazers after the loss of Dirk, and is leading them to a winning record. While he may not be the top apg player or the top spg guy, but he is in the top 5 of both. Oh yeah, he is also 25+ ppg scorer. While it isn’t enough to get him in the top 10, it is very impressive. It is a shame that he is not a better scorer, because I think if he could score 30 ppg, he would be the surefire MVP, especially with the slant in fbb for PGs. I think that Parker is a surefire 1st teamer, but Deron Williams (21 ppg, 8.7 apg) and John Wall (21 ppg, 8.9 apg) will have to fight it out for 2nd team honors.
All-Defensive Team
Center: Darko Milicic, C, Indiana Pacers
Darko has been a top shot blocker ever since coming into the league. This year, while not the top dog, he has been impressive. Darko will be 1st teamer mainly because no other center is close to his 3.7 bpg (2nd is Amir Johnson at 3.4). Darko won’t win DPOTY due to his lack of spg or Josh Smith’s ridiculous amount of spg, whichever way you want to look at it.
Power Forward: Josh Smith, PF, Orlando Magic
I don’t think anyone is surprised that Smith is a top defensive player. He is leading the league in bpg and is averaging a shocking 1.5 spg. The question is will Smith be eligible. He is injured with a broken jaw and will be out for basically the rest of the season. If Smith isn’t eligible, then the winner will be Dwight. Dwight is basically Smith light on defense. He is a worse blocker and a worse stealer (by .1 and .4 respectively). Eddie Griffin could be a contender but his spg numbers are very low. He would need Smith to not be eligible due to games played and to go on a monster bpg run to be considered.
Small Forward: LeBron James, SF, Charlotte Hornets
Who? In reality, I find it hard to decide who should be first team defense. That is mainly due to the fact that they are seldom listed in the top 10 of bpg or spg. Bron isn’t listed at either but he is still the winner of the award. The reason is because there is another SF who is in the top 10 of spg, and Bron is a better blocker than him. Jeffrey Taylor could win the award, but I went with the person who is .1 better in bpg. I would prefer that Taylor won the award since he is actually playing small forward unlike LeBron, but oh well. Taylor is trying to get paid this year and being one of the top defensive sf’s is a way to do that.
Shooting Guard: Avery Bradley, SG, Golden State Warriors
Bradley has emerged as a stud player. While he isn’t a great outside scorer, he can score inside and is a stud defender. Luckily for Bradley, he is in his contract year. 2.6 spg is very solid and ranks him as 2nd best in that category. By having a breakout year, Bradley is possibly looking at a max contract. His scoring is a bit iffy but you can’t deny such great spg totals. Wade is a contender for this but he has less spg. While he does have more bpg I think spg from a SG is more important. Plus Wade doesn’t need any more awards.
Point Guard: Gilbert Arenas, PG, Philadelphia 76ers
The 76ers made a big trade to bring in Arenas. While Arenas isn’t a great poing guard (7 apg to 2.5 tog is just eh), his scoring and defense more than makes up for it. Gilbert is expiring and is trying to make the best of it with this season. He leads the league in spg with 2.7, not bad for a 32 year old. Runners up will be Ricky Rubio (2.4 spg) and Tony Parker (2.3 spg). It will be interesting to see what Gilbert gets this offseason. The A+ handles are deceiving, so how much is someone willing to pay for an undersized shooting guard or a high turnover point guard? If he keeps his defense up the answer could be a lot.
All-Rookie Team
Center: Rakeem Christmas, C, Los Angeles Clippers
Last year’s draft was a down year for centers. Christmas doesn’t look great but he is solid. 13 ppg and 8 rpg is solid for a rookie. The question is how great will he be? I’m not sure if he is going to be a star big. He doesn’t do any one thing great. Unless mike writes some article I think Christmas could be a bust. On the other side, another rookie center that is having a solid year is Gorgui Dieng. While he isn’t starting, his stats are amazing. He is averaging 20 mpg, not so hot. In those 20 mpg he is averaging 6 rpg and 2 bpg. In 30 mpg, slightly less than Christmas, Dieng would average 9 rpg and 3 bpg. I those that is more than enough for him to be first team center.
Power Forward: DeShaun Thomas, PF, Los Angeles Clippers
It’s an office party! Another Clipper makes the list. There really isn’t a PF who stands out so 10 ppg and 6 rpg is enough for you to be the PF on this team. McAdoo would normally win this award with his ratings, but Bron is playing at PF and it greatly reduces McAdoo’s minutes. Thomas is just lucky to be playing on a shitty team who need his minutes.
Small Forward: Terrence Jones, SF, Memphis Grizzlies
No one in this draft is performing outside of that top two. Jones is here really by default. Either players aren’t getting many mpg or are not getting enough touches. Jones was the third pick and was immediately shifted to SF instead of his natural PF. Jones has a decent skillset but he is raw. His offensive game is coming along slowly. 8 ppg and 5 rpg isn’t great, but it is better then most other players.
Shooting Guard: Harrison Barnes, SG, Detroit Pistons
Barnes was the top pick in the draft and has justified that. Barnes is currently torching the competition for 24 ppg and 7 rpg. Any other year that would be could enough for rookie of the year, but this year he happens to have a PG to contend with. Barnes looks to be a stud already. The fact that he can rebound from the SG position at the rate he does make him extremely valuable. B+ defense for a rookie is insane. Barnes will be a stud for years to come.
Point Guard: Marquis Teague, PG, Washington Bullets
Knicks PG Jeff Teague’s little brother is making sure that he is the main Teague in the league. Marquis is one of the reasons why the Bullets are winning this year. Teague is showing the league what he can do by averaging 17 ppg and 8 apg. Teague has some turn over issues and is a little behind with his defense, but there is no doubt that he has the skills to be an elite PG.
MVP: Dwayne Wade, SG, Milwaukee Bucks
The MVP race is actually a close one. There really isn’t someone who stands out like in the past (like a PG who is a top 10 score and top 10 pass guy). I went with Wade mainly because he is the league scoring champ. 32 ppg is great, however Wade also has other skills. He is a solid rebounder and passer for a SG (6.6 rpg and 4.2 apg) and is a good defender. I do think that this is a close race. Amare Stoudemire could be a contender since he is the only big on the top scoring list so his rpg (11) could allow him to win. Bron could also win since he is playing the PF position and as a result, is averaging 12.5 rpg. I think this is anybody’s year to win.
DPOTY: Josh Smith, PF, Orlando Magic
This is another race that looks close on the surface, but in reality it is not. Smith is the league leader in bpg at 3.8, which is actually a close race. However, Smith wins this award because of his bpg…and his spg. Smith averages 1.5 spg as well. In comparison, Dwight Howard only averages 1.1 spg and 3.7 bpg. Darko could be a contender with his 3.7 bpg, but I don’t think his spg total is high enough to justify him over Smith. On the spg front, Gilbert Arenas is the league leader there, but the totals aren’t high enough to justify him winning the award.
ROTY: Marquis Teague, PG, Washington Bullets
Rookie of the year is a 2-man race between Teague and Harrison Barnes. Barnes is playing great, averaging 24 ppg and 7 rpg. Those numbers are great and the scoring and rpg are higher than Teague, so why is Teague winning this award? FBB loves PGs. Teague has been putting up solid numbers are the 3rd option on the Bullets. 17 ppg with 8.4 apg. So while the ppg numbers are down the fact that he is a pg and is a top 10 apg guy allows him to win the award.
All-League Awards
Center: Yao Ming, C, Toronto Raptors
I really have no idea who is the frontrunner here. There isn’t a stud scorer at center. None of the top 10 rebounders who are centers average over 20 ppg. So I decided to go with Yao. Yao scores around 17 ppg, 13 rpg, and 3 bpg. Yao is getting older and is showing signs of slowing down but he is still a very complete big man. I think Darko could be a contender. While he isn’t as good of a rebounder or scorer as Yao, he is a much better shot blocker. That could be enough to put him over the top.
Power Forward: Amare Stoudamire, PF, Minnesota Timberwolves
Amare is the only guy in the top 10 of ppg who is a big man so it seems logical that he will win this award. Amare isn’t a great rebounder, but he will win be default of no other power forwards being a great score. If LeBron was moved from SF to PF, he would definitely win this award due to his much higher rpg total. But due to lack of truly dominant power forwards, Amare wins this by default.
Small Forward: LeBron James, SF, Charlotte Hornets
This might come as a bit of surprise since Rudy Gay scores 1.6 more ppg. I know from experience that SF who play PF are at an advantage to traditional SFs. Since LeBron is playing power forward and is averaging 12.5 rpg (making him 5th in the rpg leader board), he will win this award. It sucks that Rudy Gay is gonna get screwed out of an All-League First Team award but oh well. Kevin Durant is also a sleeper pick since he is a solid rebounder but I think he will be a 3rd teamer. Perry Jones is too young to be considered here and there are just better players ahead of him.
Shooting Guard: Dwayne Wade, SG, Milwaukee Bucks
I’d like to say this race is close but it isn’t. Wade will be the runaway winner of this award. Like I said in the MVP discussion, Wade is a league’s scoring leader and that carries a lot of value. Kelenna Azubuike and Ray Allen are likely to be the rest of the All-League shooting guard squad but the 4.5+ ppg difference is just too much to overcome.
Point Guard: Tony Parker, PG, Portland Trailblazers
Parker is running on full cylinders. He has stepped up for the Blazers after the loss of Dirk, and is leading them to a winning record. While he may not be the top apg player or the top spg guy, but he is in the top 5 of both. Oh yeah, he is also 25+ ppg scorer. While it isn’t enough to get him in the top 10, it is very impressive. It is a shame that he is not a better scorer, because I think if he could score 30 ppg, he would be the surefire MVP, especially with the slant in fbb for PGs. I think that Parker is a surefire 1st teamer, but Deron Williams (21 ppg, 8.7 apg) and John Wall (21 ppg, 8.9 apg) will have to fight it out for 2nd team honors.
All-Defensive Team
Center: Darko Milicic, C, Indiana Pacers
Darko has been a top shot blocker ever since coming into the league. This year, while not the top dog, he has been impressive. Darko will be 1st teamer mainly because no other center is close to his 3.7 bpg (2nd is Amir Johnson at 3.4). Darko won’t win DPOTY due to his lack of spg or Josh Smith’s ridiculous amount of spg, whichever way you want to look at it.
Power Forward: Josh Smith, PF, Orlando Magic
I don’t think anyone is surprised that Smith is a top defensive player. He is leading the league in bpg and is averaging a shocking 1.5 spg. The question is will Smith be eligible. He is injured with a broken jaw and will be out for basically the rest of the season. If Smith isn’t eligible, then the winner will be Dwight. Dwight is basically Smith light on defense. He is a worse blocker and a worse stealer (by .1 and .4 respectively). Eddie Griffin could be a contender but his spg numbers are very low. He would need Smith to not be eligible due to games played and to go on a monster bpg run to be considered.
Small Forward: LeBron James, SF, Charlotte Hornets
Who? In reality, I find it hard to decide who should be first team defense. That is mainly due to the fact that they are seldom listed in the top 10 of bpg or spg. Bron isn’t listed at either but he is still the winner of the award. The reason is because there is another SF who is in the top 10 of spg, and Bron is a better blocker than him. Jeffrey Taylor could win the award, but I went with the person who is .1 better in bpg. I would prefer that Taylor won the award since he is actually playing small forward unlike LeBron, but oh well. Taylor is trying to get paid this year and being one of the top defensive sf’s is a way to do that.
Shooting Guard: Avery Bradley, SG, Golden State Warriors
Bradley has emerged as a stud player. While he isn’t a great outside scorer, he can score inside and is a stud defender. Luckily for Bradley, he is in his contract year. 2.6 spg is very solid and ranks him as 2nd best in that category. By having a breakout year, Bradley is possibly looking at a max contract. His scoring is a bit iffy but you can’t deny such great spg totals. Wade is a contender for this but he has less spg. While he does have more bpg I think spg from a SG is more important. Plus Wade doesn’t need any more awards.
Point Guard: Gilbert Arenas, PG, Philadelphia 76ers
The 76ers made a big trade to bring in Arenas. While Arenas isn’t a great poing guard (7 apg to 2.5 tog is just eh), his scoring and defense more than makes up for it. Gilbert is expiring and is trying to make the best of it with this season. He leads the league in spg with 2.7, not bad for a 32 year old. Runners up will be Ricky Rubio (2.4 spg) and Tony Parker (2.3 spg). It will be interesting to see what Gilbert gets this offseason. The A+ handles are deceiving, so how much is someone willing to pay for an undersized shooting guard or a high turnover point guard? If he keeps his defense up the answer could be a lot.
All-Rookie Team
Center: Rakeem Christmas, C, Los Angeles Clippers
Last year’s draft was a down year for centers. Christmas doesn’t look great but he is solid. 13 ppg and 8 rpg is solid for a rookie. The question is how great will he be? I’m not sure if he is going to be a star big. He doesn’t do any one thing great. Unless mike writes some article I think Christmas could be a bust. On the other side, another rookie center that is having a solid year is Gorgui Dieng. While he isn’t starting, his stats are amazing. He is averaging 20 mpg, not so hot. In those 20 mpg he is averaging 6 rpg and 2 bpg. In 30 mpg, slightly less than Christmas, Dieng would average 9 rpg and 3 bpg. I those that is more than enough for him to be first team center.
Power Forward: DeShaun Thomas, PF, Los Angeles Clippers
It’s an office party! Another Clipper makes the list. There really isn’t a PF who stands out so 10 ppg and 6 rpg is enough for you to be the PF on this team. McAdoo would normally win this award with his ratings, but Bron is playing at PF and it greatly reduces McAdoo’s minutes. Thomas is just lucky to be playing on a shitty team who need his minutes.
Small Forward: Terrence Jones, SF, Memphis Grizzlies
No one in this draft is performing outside of that top two. Jones is here really by default. Either players aren’t getting many mpg or are not getting enough touches. Jones was the third pick and was immediately shifted to SF instead of his natural PF. Jones has a decent skillset but he is raw. His offensive game is coming along slowly. 8 ppg and 5 rpg isn’t great, but it is better then most other players.
Shooting Guard: Harrison Barnes, SG, Detroit Pistons
Barnes was the top pick in the draft and has justified that. Barnes is currently torching the competition for 24 ppg and 7 rpg. Any other year that would be could enough for rookie of the year, but this year he happens to have a PG to contend with. Barnes looks to be a stud already. The fact that he can rebound from the SG position at the rate he does make him extremely valuable. B+ defense for a rookie is insane. Barnes will be a stud for years to come.
Point Guard: Marquis Teague, PG, Washington Bullets
Knicks PG Jeff Teague’s little brother is making sure that he is the main Teague in the league. Marquis is one of the reasons why the Bullets are winning this year. Teague is showing the league what he can do by averaging 17 ppg and 8 apg. Teague has some turn over issues and is a little behind with his defense, but there is no doubt that he has the skills to be an elite PG.
