You will not find any members of the Denver Nuggets on this list, which somehow seems unfair for a team that has strung together a 15-game winning streak that almost nobody outside of Denver seems to be aware of – what with the Miami Heat’s 25-game streak, the NCAA Tournament and the alarming number of recent meteor showers all providing worthy distractions.
You may not even see George Karl as the winner of Coach of the Year when that award is announced, because strong cases can be made for so many of his contemporaries, including Frank Vogel, Mark Jackson, Tom Thibodeau, Erik Spoelstra and Lionel Hollins.
Come to think of it, the Coach of the Year race is all but certain to be the most closely contested of the postseason awards, what with Damian Lillard having locked up Rookie of the Year long ago, Jamal Crawford likely having done the same for Sixth Man, and Paul George a virtual lock to get the Most Improved Player.
So we will spend late April and early May wondering who will get second place in each of those award categories, just as we will spend those months cursing the NBA for keeping us up into the wee hours of the morning to watch the only quality basketball games that the playoffs will provide.
Let’s face it, unless Jason Terry is correct and the Celtics (losers of four straight) have what it takes to defeat the Heat in a seven-game series, Miami will be playing in the Finals and going for its second straight championship.
Until then, what do we have to look forward to (aside from random pictures such as the one of Doug Moe and Bill Hanzlik, and Nuggets dancer Kaila, as seen above)?
A few things:
- The Heat’s game in San Antonio on March 31, when they should be bringing a 29-game winning streak into Pop’s house.
- The Heat’s home game against the Knicks two nights later, when New York will have the last legitimate shot at keeping the Lakers’ 33-game streak intact as the longest in NBA history.
- The Los Angeles Lakers’ season finale against the Houston Rockets on April 17, when one or both of the teams could be playing for the West’s last playoff berth – or a chance at the No. 7 seed, which would keep both from getting swept in the first round by the San Antonio Spurs.
On to the ranks …
Lebron James should be MVP
Warriors 3-1 not 2-2 vs Clippers as mentioned in your Steph Curry rating. Love your website!!
I’d have a hard time with two teammates being in the top 6 MVP choices (as you have with James/Wade and Parker/Duncan). To me, if both of them are that valuable, then they are more of a tandem that individual MVP candidates. Accordingly, I wouldn’t have Wade in my top 3, or Duncan at #6. Harden would also be a little higher for me…but overall it’s a solid list.