Finally.
That's the one-word paragraph that I used over six months ago sum up my excitement towards the NBA season.
No more offseason speculation, no more "what-ifs," just a new NBA season.
Today, as the NBA regular season concludes, I found myself thinking the same thing: finally.
Finally, the playoffs are here.
But before we look forward (be sure to check for the playoff previews for each conference starting tomorrow), we must look back.
Here, in the final regular season edition of In the Rotation, I submit my ballot for the NBA postseason awards (you know, just in case one of the 120+ accredited media members forgets to mail his in and the NBA needs an alternate ballot).
MVP
1. LeBron James
2. Dwyane Wade
3. Kobe Bryant
4. Chris Paul
5. Dwight Howard
At this time last season, there was a great debate over the MVP award: Kobe or CP3? You couldn't go wrong with either choice. I felt pretty strongly that Kobe should have won, and he did, securing 82 of the possible 126 first place votes.
This year, there is no such debate. We've been trying to talk ourselves into making it a three-man race between LeBron, Kobe, and Dwyane Wade for the past two months, but in reality, it's not even close.
LeBron James is the 2008-09 MVP.
It doesn't matter what you put the most emphasis on when considering who you'd pick for MVP, LeBron has it all.
Best player on the planet? Check.
Most team success? Check.
Most exciting to watch? Check.
Has meant the most to his team over the course of the season? Check.
The list goes on and on. LeBron's season has been one for the ages, right down to the very end where his Cavs will most likely tie an NBA record for best home record in a season by going 40-1 at the Q.
If last year was supposed to be one of the most hotly-contested MVP races in recent history and Kobe finished with 65% of the first-place votes, what can we expect this year? Kevin Garnett received 120 out of 121 possible first-place votes in 2004. Same with Shaq in 2000. Maybe we won't see LeBron take home 99% of the first place votes this season, but he should. He's been that good.
Trying to make a case for Bryant or Wade at this point is just playing devil's advocate. They've both been spectacular, and a vote for LeBron takes nothing away either of their seasons, but it's just not realistic to believe that either of them has been more of an MVP than LeBron.
James' 28.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game will go down as, statistically, one of the greatest, if not the greatest, NBA seasons of this generation.
You can play devil's advocate all you'd like. I'm going with the King.
Defensive Player of the Year
1. Dwight Howard
2. Dwyane Wade
3. LeBron James
No need to really get too in depth with this one. Howard is just the fifth player to lead the NBA in both rebounding and blocked shots in the same season since the league started keeping blocks as an official stat in 1973.
As you should be well aware of by now, any time that a player does something of historic relevance, the Rotation takes notice. No exceptions here. Congratulations, Superman.
Rookie of the Year
1. Derrick Rose
2. Brook Lopez
3. O.J. Mayo
One of the biggest stories of the 2008-09 season has to be the depth of the rookie class. Rarely do you see a crop of rookies come in and see so many of them have immediate impacts on their respective teams.
Yet this season we've seen no fewer than eight to 10 rookies come in and play a major role for their team. In most draft classes, you'd be lucky to have eight to ten players play a major role on a team at any point in his career, let alone his rookie season.
And, just like he did in June when he was selected number one overall by the Chicago Bulls, Derrick Rose stands atop his draft class once again.
It's not just the fact that Rose has statistically been better than all other rookies (second among rookies in scoring, first in assists, 47% from the field), but it is his leadership above all else that earns him my vote for Rookie of the Year.
From the day the Bulls opened camp, they put the ball in Rose's hands, designed a system that would allow him to flourish, and let him go to work. Rose responded by leading the Bulls to the 6th best record in the Eastern Conference.
Sure, there were some bumps in the road, but when you consider that at age 20 Rose will get his first taste of playoff basketball, there's no telling just how great Rose can be in the years to come.
We'll worry about that later, but for now let's just focus on the fact that Rose's career got off to an amazing start, and reward him for what he has done and not speculate on what he might do in the future (that's what the offseason is for).
Coach of the Year
1. George Karl
2. Erik Spoelstra
2. Stan Van Gundy
For some reason, George Karl's name is seldom brought up for Coach of the Year. Yet, at the beginning of the year, how many people outside of Denver thought that the Nuggets could win their division and secure the second seed out West?
The reason that Karl gets my coach of the year vote isn't just because the Nuggets exceeded all my expectations by winning the Northwest Division, it's because of the way they won it.
When the Nuggets traded for Chauncey Billups, they completely changed the way they play. Sure, they still employ the run-and-gun tactics that we've grown accustomed to seeing from a George Karl-coached team, but they've also added a half-court offense and inspired defense to their resume. And it's Karl's willingness to add those new wrinkles that makes him coach of the year in my book.
Just look at what happened to Detroit on the flip side of the trade. They brought in Iverson, an open-court player who needs to have the ball and create his own shot, and tried unwaveringly to plug him into their team-first style of play. We all saw how that worked out.
Karl knew better than to bring in Billups and have him try to fill the role that Iverson had played over the past two seasons. It wouldn't work because Billups isn't that kind of player. Karl knows that, so instead of awkwardly parading Billups out there to play like someone he's not just to fit him into a system, Karl simply tweaked the system.
The results: a Northwest Division Title, the most wins in franchise history, the number two seed out West, and a punchers chance to represent the West in the NBA Finals.
If results like that don't warrant coach of the year accolades, I'm not sure what does.
First Team All-NBA
Kobe Bryant
Dwyane Wade
LeBron James
Dirk Nowitzki
Dwight Howard
One of the greatest injustices in recent NBA history is that Chris Paul, despite having one of the best point guard seasons on record, might not even make First-Team All-NBA. I thought about fudging the requirements and moving Kobe to forward instead of Dirk and rolling with a three-guard first team, but the rules clearly state two guards, two forwards, and a center.
As much as it kills me to leave Paul off the first team, it would hurt more having to leave off Bryant or Wade, so CP3 has to settle for being the best player on the second team.
Second Team All-NBA
Chris Paul
Tony Parker
Tim Duncan
Paul Pierce
Yao Ming
You might think it's a reach to have Tony Parker on the Second Team All-NBA, but he's been better than ever this season. With injuries to Manu Ginobili and Duncan at various points of the season, Parker has had to step up and carry the load night in and night out for the first time in his career. He's responded by showing that he can completely take over games when his teams needs it, and his ability and willingness to slide back into the playmaker role when his teams needs it shows exactly the type of versatility that you would expect to see from a second team All-NBA player.
As for the rest of the players on the second team, the one word can sum up each of their seasons: consistency. Not that we should expect any less from Paul, Duncan, Pierce, and Yao, but their ability to consistently perform at the highest level for championship-caliber teams makes them easy choices for an All-NBA selection.
Third Team All-NBA
Chauncey Billups
Brandon Roy
Kevin Durant
Carmello Anthony
Pau Gasol
I couldn't bring myself to fudge the system on the first team, but I'll make an exception here and put Pau at center. At least he played half the season there while Bynum was hurt. Plus, he's more deserving of being All-NBA than Shaq, who would be the alternative at center, so I can live with that.
And I know that there will be some of you that say that Durant has no business making an All-NBA team while playing for a team that will win less than 25 games, while players like K.G. and David West get left off, but there's no rule that says that team success has to factor into All-NBA voting. If you want to put more stock into the fact that the Celtics and Hornets are making the playoffs, that's fine, but I'd rather reward Durant for his great individual play than punish him for his lack of help. If it wasn't for the fact that his supporting cast is so terrible, Durant would probably be first-team. I think he's that talented.
Still, the last five spots are up for debate. There are still plenty of great players who didn't receive All-NBA consideration from me. If you have an issue with the list, speak now or forever hold your peace.
After all, these are regular season awards and the playoffs start in two days.
Finally.
Look for Scott Shepherd's NBA column on Mondays and Thursdays during the NBA playoffs.
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