Post by jrmzt on Jan 25, 2010 15:28:25 GMT -5
Updated: January 25, 2010, 12:14 PM ET
Midseason award winners
PER Diem: Jan. 25, 2010
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Hollinger By John Hollinger
ESPN.com
Archive
If the NBA season were the work week, this would be Wednesday. That's right: hump day. Most teams played their 41st game during the Martin Luther King Day weekend and the rest caught up later in the week, which means half of the regular season is officially in the rearview mirror.
Given our calendar position, there's only one thing to do. That's right, it's time for the time-honored tradition of handing out midseason awards. At great expense, we've spent the weekend carefully considering the candidates in each category, contacting their publicists, renting out the Kodak Theater, rolling out the red carpet, and hiring Ryan Seacrest to emcee. Having done all that, we're ready to pontificate on the award winners from the season's first half:
Ridnour
Ridnour
Most Improved Player: Luke Ridnour, Milwaukee
The MIP is always the most difficult award, starting with the hazy definition of what exactly "most improved" means. In any season, you can come up with a dozen decent candidates without great effort, and this one is no exception. Additionally, there's a perception that the award should go to a prominent player on a good team. Nonetheless, if you take the award at face value and give it to the player who has improved the most, there's only one possible answer.
Ridnour plays in basketball Siberia and is nobody's idea of a star, but his improvement from a season ago is simply spectacular. A jump from a 12.95 PER (player efficiency rating) to this season's 19.07 is one of the biggest PER leaps in recent seasons, and unlike with a lot of other players who have made such a move, he isn't returning to a former level -- he's never been anywhere near this good.
Ridnour's progress as a shooter has been shocking -- he shot 39.9 percent and 40.3 percent his previous two seasons, but this season he is converting 49.9 percent from the floor overall and 40.0 percent on 3-pointers. He's done this while taking on a much greater offensive role, and as a result averages better than a point every two minutes. And he has maintained his rate of seven assists per 40 minutes and cut his turnover rate.
All told, he's been one of the league's most effective sixth men and an unsung reason the resilient Bucks have managed to stay in the playoff race. I expect him to be completely overshadowed by bigger names in the real voting, but nobody has improved this season more than Ridnour.
Honorable mention: David Lee, New York; Kendrick Perkins, Boston; Josh Smith, Atlanta; Carl Landry, Houston; Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City
Landry
Landry
Sixth Man of the Year: Carl Landry, Houston
Houston's success this season puzzles some people, because it's not immediately obvious who its "star" is. The defining moment came last week when TNT's Charles Barkley said that somebody from Houston had to make the All-Star team but then struggled to come up with a name before settling on Aaron Brooks -- a quality young point guard but one who has absolutely no business being in the All-Star Game.
Here's why Houston confuses people: Its best player comes off the bench. Technically, Landry is Luis Scola's backup, but he's been Houston's go-to guy in the fourth quarter as either a power forward or a small-ball center and has been the Rockets' best per-minute performer by leaps and bounds. His versatility as a scorer confounds opponents, as he can either face up for jumpers or drive to the bucket, plus he has a knack for accumulating garbage baskets around the rim.
As a result, he averages a team-leading 24.0 points per 40 minutes and has done it with great efficiency -- Landry is hitting 55.8 percent from the floor and ranks second among power forwards in TS% (true shooting percentage). Among players with a usage rate of more than 20, only Steve Nash, Dwight Howard and Corey Maggette have a better TS% than Landry's mark.
Landry has defended with zeal, too, though he often gives up inches as a center (he's generously listed at 6-foot-9). The result has been impressive: Houston unexpectedly finds itself challenging for a playoff spot in the loaded Western Conference despite not having Yao Ming or Tracy McGrady. Landry is the reason, and if he were starting, people would probably be less confused about this.
Honorable mention: Jamal Crawford, Atlanta; Luke Ridnour, Milwaukee; Manu Ginobili, San Antonio
Evans
Evans
Rookie of the Year: Tyreke Evans, Sacramento
This one has pretty much become a one-horse race, as a season-ending injury to the Clippers' Blake Griffin and a midseason slump by the Bucks' Brandon Jennings has left Evans alone atop the heap. He leads all rookies in PER at 18.65, helping Sacramento that most observers expected to be horrible post a somewhat respectable 15-28 mark.
Evans also leads all rookies in minutes, although Golden State's Stephen Curry may catch him if Don Nelson keeps handing him 48-minute outings. As a result, Evans has nearly double the estimated wins added of his closest competitor, Jennings. A late charge by one of several impressive rookie guards (Jennings, Curry, Minnesota's Jonny Flynn, Denver's Ty Lawson or Oklahoma City's James Harden) could make things interesting, but for now it's an open-and-shut case.
Honorable mention: Brandon Jennings, Milwaukee; Omri Casspi, Sacramento
Varejao
Varejao
Defensive Player of the Year: Anderson Varejao, Cleveland
Varejao has always been among the game's best frontcourt defenders, but have you seen the guy this season? He's moved beyond the Raggedy Andy flopfest of recent years to become a court-roving defensive monster. The shift in the game toward stretch 4s and pick-and-roll guards has only increased his value, as his freakish mobility for his size makes him one of the few players capable of both defending the post and smothering quick guards on switches.
A perfect example came against Portland on Jan. 10, with the Cavs nursing a six-point lead and less than four minutes left. Brandon Roy came off the pick-and-roll looking to explode to the rim, just like he's done a thousand times before, but Varejao made the switch so quickly that Roy went right into his chest. Roy was stymied and stunned, dribbled the ball off his leg and out of bounds, and the Cavs were well on their way to leaving the building with a victory.
His value goes far deeper than one play, of course. According to basketballvalue.com, Varejao has the best adjusted defensive plus/minus in the league at minus-11.5 points per 100 possessions, which in rough terms means the Cavs are below average without him on the court and the best in the league when he's on it. And unlike a lot of the Cavs' plus/minus differences, this one wasn't built on LeBron James' coattails; Varejao spends much of his playing time with the second unit.
Several other players merit consideration here. Dwight Howard, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, has been no slouch, Ron Artest has quietly excelled in L.A., and Atlanta's Josh Smith and Boston's Kendrick Perkins and Rajon Rondo all are worth a look. But in my book, none has been as good as Varejao so far this season.
Honorable mention: Ron Artest, L.A., Rajon Rondo, Boston; Kendrick Perkins, Boston; Dwight Howard, Orlando; Josh Smith, Atlanta
Brown
Brown
Coach of the Year: Larry Brown, Charlotte
Brown has salvaged his reputation as the NBA's premier fix-it specialist by turning a ragtag Charlotte roster into the league's premier defensive squad. The Bobcats lead the league in defensive efficiency despite missing center Tyson Chandler for 17 games and getting precious little from their bench, partly because Brown's low-risk offense creates few chances for opposing run-outs, but mostly because he's drilled his fundamentals and concepts and made his roster's whole far greater than the sum of its parts.
And when you get down to it, isn't that what coaching's all about? Nobody thought the Bobcats would make the playoffs this season, much less challenge for a top-five seed and sport a winning record at the midpoint of the season. Charlotte has been one of the league's biggest surprises, and unlike its biggest rival for the honor (Memphis), this squad doesn't seem particularly talented. So the only thing that should stop Brown from winning the award would be if he changes teams before the end of the season.
Honorable mention: Rick Adelman, Houston; Lionel Hollins, Memphis; Phil Jackson, L.A.
James
James
MVP: LeBron James, Cleveland
Calling this a one-horse race no longer does justice to the lead James has over the competition; he's making Secretariat's win at the Belmont seem like a cliffhanger. James is the best player in the league and nobody else is close right now, with LeBron's league-leading 31.51 mark nearly matching his Jordanesque performance of a season ago.
James is hitting a career-high 50.9 percent and averaging 29.9-7.9-7.2 per contest, helping Cleveland stay atop the Eastern Conference standings despite the team's struggles to incorporate Shaquille O'Neal. So thoroughly is he dusting the competition that he has more than a third more estimated wins added than any other player.
If anything, James' lead on the field has increased. Last season, Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul nearly matched James with their own historically great seasons, plus Kobe Bryant led the Lakers to 65 wins. This season, the field isn't as strong. Wade has upped his play of late after a slow start, but Paul missed several games with an injury and hasn't been as good since he returned, while Bryant has labored through multiple injuries after a strong start.
A few other candidates warrant mentioning but similarly fall short of James' ridiculously high standard. Tim Duncan is having the best offensive season of his career, Chris Bosh has been similarly effective for a Toronto team that plays only one side of the floor, and Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony have done yeoman's work rounding out what were once one-dimensional games. That said, nobody has seriously matched James' impact in scoring, rebounding, passing and defending, and with the Cavs owning the NBA's best record and a season sweep of the Lakers, this award seems a slam dunk.
Honorable mention: Bryant, Bosh, Duncan, Wade, Anthony, Durant
______________________________________________________
So what do you guys think of his evaluations?
I feel they are all pretty accurate. Hard to argue with any of em
Midseason award winners
PER Diem: Jan. 25, 2010
Comment Email Print Share
Hollinger By John Hollinger
ESPN.com
Archive
If the NBA season were the work week, this would be Wednesday. That's right: hump day. Most teams played their 41st game during the Martin Luther King Day weekend and the rest caught up later in the week, which means half of the regular season is officially in the rearview mirror.
Given our calendar position, there's only one thing to do. That's right, it's time for the time-honored tradition of handing out midseason awards. At great expense, we've spent the weekend carefully considering the candidates in each category, contacting their publicists, renting out the Kodak Theater, rolling out the red carpet, and hiring Ryan Seacrest to emcee. Having done all that, we're ready to pontificate on the award winners from the season's first half:
Ridnour
Ridnour
Most Improved Player: Luke Ridnour, Milwaukee
The MIP is always the most difficult award, starting with the hazy definition of what exactly "most improved" means. In any season, you can come up with a dozen decent candidates without great effort, and this one is no exception. Additionally, there's a perception that the award should go to a prominent player on a good team. Nonetheless, if you take the award at face value and give it to the player who has improved the most, there's only one possible answer.
Ridnour plays in basketball Siberia and is nobody's idea of a star, but his improvement from a season ago is simply spectacular. A jump from a 12.95 PER (player efficiency rating) to this season's 19.07 is one of the biggest PER leaps in recent seasons, and unlike with a lot of other players who have made such a move, he isn't returning to a former level -- he's never been anywhere near this good.
Ridnour's progress as a shooter has been shocking -- he shot 39.9 percent and 40.3 percent his previous two seasons, but this season he is converting 49.9 percent from the floor overall and 40.0 percent on 3-pointers. He's done this while taking on a much greater offensive role, and as a result averages better than a point every two minutes. And he has maintained his rate of seven assists per 40 minutes and cut his turnover rate.
All told, he's been one of the league's most effective sixth men and an unsung reason the resilient Bucks have managed to stay in the playoff race. I expect him to be completely overshadowed by bigger names in the real voting, but nobody has improved this season more than Ridnour.
Honorable mention: David Lee, New York; Kendrick Perkins, Boston; Josh Smith, Atlanta; Carl Landry, Houston; Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City
Landry
Landry
Sixth Man of the Year: Carl Landry, Houston
Houston's success this season puzzles some people, because it's not immediately obvious who its "star" is. The defining moment came last week when TNT's Charles Barkley said that somebody from Houston had to make the All-Star team but then struggled to come up with a name before settling on Aaron Brooks -- a quality young point guard but one who has absolutely no business being in the All-Star Game.
Here's why Houston confuses people: Its best player comes off the bench. Technically, Landry is Luis Scola's backup, but he's been Houston's go-to guy in the fourth quarter as either a power forward or a small-ball center and has been the Rockets' best per-minute performer by leaps and bounds. His versatility as a scorer confounds opponents, as he can either face up for jumpers or drive to the bucket, plus he has a knack for accumulating garbage baskets around the rim.
As a result, he averages a team-leading 24.0 points per 40 minutes and has done it with great efficiency -- Landry is hitting 55.8 percent from the floor and ranks second among power forwards in TS% (true shooting percentage). Among players with a usage rate of more than 20, only Steve Nash, Dwight Howard and Corey Maggette have a better TS% than Landry's mark.
Landry has defended with zeal, too, though he often gives up inches as a center (he's generously listed at 6-foot-9). The result has been impressive: Houston unexpectedly finds itself challenging for a playoff spot in the loaded Western Conference despite not having Yao Ming or Tracy McGrady. Landry is the reason, and if he were starting, people would probably be less confused about this.
Honorable mention: Jamal Crawford, Atlanta; Luke Ridnour, Milwaukee; Manu Ginobili, San Antonio
Evans
Evans
Rookie of the Year: Tyreke Evans, Sacramento
This one has pretty much become a one-horse race, as a season-ending injury to the Clippers' Blake Griffin and a midseason slump by the Bucks' Brandon Jennings has left Evans alone atop the heap. He leads all rookies in PER at 18.65, helping Sacramento that most observers expected to be horrible post a somewhat respectable 15-28 mark.
Evans also leads all rookies in minutes, although Golden State's Stephen Curry may catch him if Don Nelson keeps handing him 48-minute outings. As a result, Evans has nearly double the estimated wins added of his closest competitor, Jennings. A late charge by one of several impressive rookie guards (Jennings, Curry, Minnesota's Jonny Flynn, Denver's Ty Lawson or Oklahoma City's James Harden) could make things interesting, but for now it's an open-and-shut case.
Honorable mention: Brandon Jennings, Milwaukee; Omri Casspi, Sacramento
Varejao
Varejao
Defensive Player of the Year: Anderson Varejao, Cleveland
Varejao has always been among the game's best frontcourt defenders, but have you seen the guy this season? He's moved beyond the Raggedy Andy flopfest of recent years to become a court-roving defensive monster. The shift in the game toward stretch 4s and pick-and-roll guards has only increased his value, as his freakish mobility for his size makes him one of the few players capable of both defending the post and smothering quick guards on switches.
A perfect example came against Portland on Jan. 10, with the Cavs nursing a six-point lead and less than four minutes left. Brandon Roy came off the pick-and-roll looking to explode to the rim, just like he's done a thousand times before, but Varejao made the switch so quickly that Roy went right into his chest. Roy was stymied and stunned, dribbled the ball off his leg and out of bounds, and the Cavs were well on their way to leaving the building with a victory.
His value goes far deeper than one play, of course. According to basketballvalue.com, Varejao has the best adjusted defensive plus/minus in the league at minus-11.5 points per 100 possessions, which in rough terms means the Cavs are below average without him on the court and the best in the league when he's on it. And unlike a lot of the Cavs' plus/minus differences, this one wasn't built on LeBron James' coattails; Varejao spends much of his playing time with the second unit.
Several other players merit consideration here. Dwight Howard, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, has been no slouch, Ron Artest has quietly excelled in L.A., and Atlanta's Josh Smith and Boston's Kendrick Perkins and Rajon Rondo all are worth a look. But in my book, none has been as good as Varejao so far this season.
Honorable mention: Ron Artest, L.A., Rajon Rondo, Boston; Kendrick Perkins, Boston; Dwight Howard, Orlando; Josh Smith, Atlanta
Brown
Brown
Coach of the Year: Larry Brown, Charlotte
Brown has salvaged his reputation as the NBA's premier fix-it specialist by turning a ragtag Charlotte roster into the league's premier defensive squad. The Bobcats lead the league in defensive efficiency despite missing center Tyson Chandler for 17 games and getting precious little from their bench, partly because Brown's low-risk offense creates few chances for opposing run-outs, but mostly because he's drilled his fundamentals and concepts and made his roster's whole far greater than the sum of its parts.
And when you get down to it, isn't that what coaching's all about? Nobody thought the Bobcats would make the playoffs this season, much less challenge for a top-five seed and sport a winning record at the midpoint of the season. Charlotte has been one of the league's biggest surprises, and unlike its biggest rival for the honor (Memphis), this squad doesn't seem particularly talented. So the only thing that should stop Brown from winning the award would be if he changes teams before the end of the season.
Honorable mention: Rick Adelman, Houston; Lionel Hollins, Memphis; Phil Jackson, L.A.
James
James
MVP: LeBron James, Cleveland
Calling this a one-horse race no longer does justice to the lead James has over the competition; he's making Secretariat's win at the Belmont seem like a cliffhanger. James is the best player in the league and nobody else is close right now, with LeBron's league-leading 31.51 mark nearly matching his Jordanesque performance of a season ago.
James is hitting a career-high 50.9 percent and averaging 29.9-7.9-7.2 per contest, helping Cleveland stay atop the Eastern Conference standings despite the team's struggles to incorporate Shaquille O'Neal. So thoroughly is he dusting the competition that he has more than a third more estimated wins added than any other player.
If anything, James' lead on the field has increased. Last season, Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul nearly matched James with their own historically great seasons, plus Kobe Bryant led the Lakers to 65 wins. This season, the field isn't as strong. Wade has upped his play of late after a slow start, but Paul missed several games with an injury and hasn't been as good since he returned, while Bryant has labored through multiple injuries after a strong start.
A few other candidates warrant mentioning but similarly fall short of James' ridiculously high standard. Tim Duncan is having the best offensive season of his career, Chris Bosh has been similarly effective for a Toronto team that plays only one side of the floor, and Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony have done yeoman's work rounding out what were once one-dimensional games. That said, nobody has seriously matched James' impact in scoring, rebounding, passing and defending, and with the Cavs owning the NBA's best record and a season sweep of the Lakers, this award seems a slam dunk.
Honorable mention: Bryant, Bosh, Duncan, Wade, Anthony, Durant
______________________________________________________
So what do you guys think of his evaluations?
I feel they are all pretty accurate. Hard to argue with any of em