Notes and Errata: May 3rd, 2010
2010-05-03
-Rajon Rondo terrifies me very much. I remain afraid of Rajon Rondo. To read an essay I wrote about Rondo last season, click this link.
-Reading the CelticsBlog post-game thread, a significant portion of Celtics fans are blaming the refs. To the Boston fan community credit, they seem to be in the minority; most fans are blaming the Celtics going to Pierce late the game and Rasheed for the loss.
-LeBron’s second consecutive MVP award is official. He was seven ballots away from a unanimous vote. Two voters put him third. It is what it is. I would love to see the argument for putting Durant over LeBron, and would especially love to show the Dwight voters some of his box scores from games this year. Alas. Stephen Jackson getting a fifth-place vote was the comedy highlight of the ballot for me.
-I told you Kobe would bounce back. C.J. Miles and Wesley Matthews won’t challenge him like Sefolosha, Durant, and Green did.
-I still can’t believe Pau tipped that shot in to close out the Thunder. The Lakers find ways to win. It’s what they do. At some point, you have to stop calling it luck.
-So, who doesn’t think that Boston would beat Atlanta in a seven-game series right now?
-Finally got around to watching the first episode of NBA wives. Is it bad to admit that I’m kind of on team Royce? Also, I love the players’ ex-wives ripping on Matt Barnes’ fiance for thinking her marriage is going to work out. Poor everybody on that show.
-Alright, that’s all for tonight. Get excited for tomorrow’s game.
Don’t be scared of Rondo. Just play him like the Heat played him. Stay 6 feet off him and make him jumpshooter, and then face guard him when you box him out. Don’t close out unless you’re at the end of the clock. Don’t turn the ball over and let him loose in transition. Make him work on defense (punish him if he helps). I was thinking they should be doubling KD, but I don’t think he can keep them in it for 4 quarters. Live with KD in the post, let LeBron shut down Pierce, run Allen off every… Read more »
So who was impressed with the Jazz? Sadly, like the celtics, I think that was there best and only shot to get the one they needed in L.A. However, like the last series, they honestly just look like a better playoff w/ Fesenko and not Okur. It seems strange, but does it not seem obvious when you watch the games? This is basically the exact same team you saw last year except that one spot (as well as Wes Matthews, which shouldn’t be overlooked). So why do they look so much better?
Someone voting for Durant doesnt bother me nearly so much as the votes for Dwight. At least Durant fills the definition some people still feel the MVP should be, which is the biggest difference maker to a team. Its difficult to imagine which team would be the most affected by losing their star player, the Cavs or the Thunder (Both teams would be er… on the crap side) but clearly Lebron has the advantage in almost every way over Durant. Dwight getting votes just boggles the mind. There are so many people I would vote for over him, not least… Read more »
I would argue that westbrook’s emergence was as key to the Thunder’s success as durant’s effort. No offense to durant, but all I see out of him right now is a super skilled scorer. He’s like a scoring only version of Lamar Odom. He’s already more consistent than Odom, and perhaps he’ll develop that all around game where he’s a playmaker, a rebounder and a defender like Odom is, but seriously, even if he pulled all of that off, Lebron already does all of that AND he’s bigger, faster, more athletic than Durant. Statements like that make me wonder if… Read more »
We know the loose criteria for the MVP. The lack of a formula is what makes people argue and discuss it. That’s not a problem, it’s a good talking point.
Jonathan makes a good argument about Durant, but we know that historically 8 seeds don’t get MVPs. We argue it because there isn’t a rule in the NBA handbook that says 8 seeded teams can’t have the MVP, but historically, the guy who plays for the 55+ win team is going to be the MVP.
General criteria for MVP:
1) Best player on best team (check)
2) Best statistical player on offense (check)
3) Dominant player who brings it every night (check)
4) Great closer/clutch player (check)
5) Optional criteria: plays good defense (check)
I’d say you couldn’t argue that anyone else could be MVP.
ben — “Anyone who didn’t have LeBron first is a hack.”
Well put.
@Jonathan: I think you touched on the problem with the “MVP” voting. “MVP” means something different to a lot of people. By your argument, LeBron should have already won at least 4 MVP’s. Look at the roster he dragged to the NBA Finals, go ahead, look it up. Also by using a similar argument, DWade should have gotten more votes. It was clear that he was his team’s only reason for success. There are too many varying opinions on “MVP” to ever get a unanimous. If LeBron couldn’t get it this year, and Shaq couldn’t get it when he was… Read more »
Tom, don’t forget that the Dallas Mavericks won more close games than anyone this year. Mark Stein gave that as a reason in a playoff dime why he picked them to beat the Spurs. Hollinger essentially gave that as a reason why he was picking the Spurs over the Mavs, due to the inordinate luck factor leading to a much higher winning % than their point differential would suggest. Winning close games essentially comes down to a coin flip. Jonathan, that’s an argument for putting Durant 2nd or 3rd, not first. This isn’t COY (which Scott Brooks won) or MIP,… Read more »
I am a huge Lebron fan, I would argue he has been the best player in the NBA for the past 4 or 5 seasons but I think there is an argument to be made for Durant. They had an enormous team turnaround with him as the lead guy from last season to this season, he made a quantum jump defensively and even offensively. The 8th spot may not look that impressive but when you consider that there wasnt much separation record wise between the top spot it is.
I only watched highlights of this game and I agree. Miles doesn’t have the length to guard Kobe on the perimeter or the height to bother his passing. This should be a great series for Kobe to put up numbers. I’m hoping they play the Spurs in the conference finals. I love watching Kobe get worked by Manu
Tom I think Krolik was not talking about clutchness of a single player but the ability to make plays as a team. This years Lakers team plays like winners and continues to find ways to win. It doesn’t mean their scoring goes up in the closing minutes it just means that they get a stop or a put back when it matters. Just more of an attitude than a statistic.
oh no – are you going over to the DARK SIDE?! “At some point, you have to stop calling it luck.” I specifically remember hearing you say on a radio show earlier this year that there is pretty much zero evidence for “clutchness”. http://www.teamrankings.com/nba/stat/win-pct-close-games I still don’t know for sure what my position on winning close games is. I can vividly remember the Cavs winning many close games because LeBron would basically dominate the last few minutes. So I have a bias in thinking that there IS something to be said for “clutchness” but I agree with the thinking that… Read more »
To be honest, I really don’t think that Boston would beat Atlanta. The playoffs are different from the regular season, yes, but Atlanta matches up really well with the Celtics as they’re currently composed. Really really well. And the rivalry factor makes the Hawks take every Celts game as seriously as though it was their personal NBA finals. They wouldn’t sweep it or anything, but I could totally see the Hawks closing a Celts-Hawks series out in 5 or 6 games. Don’t think they’d lose it. Of course, this is sort of contingent on Josh Smith not reverting to deep… Read more »