With the NBA still buzzing from Tuesday’s draft lottery and the anticipation of next month’s loaded draft, it is only fitting that we offer good riddance to one of the worst draft classes in recent memory. Among the 14 lottery picks of the 2013 draft, a staggering eight did not make the NBA All-Rookie Teams announced Thursday. They were top pick Anthony Bennett, No. 3 Otto Porter, No. 5 Alex Len, No. 6 Nerlens Noel, No. 7 Ben McLemore, No. 8
The nice thing about the voting for NBA awards this season is that we don’t always have to concentrate on the winner, we can concentrate on the voters at times, too. Like when the news of who won is not all that unexpected. The most important thing to know is that Michael Carter-Williams of the Philadelphia 76ers won the award with 104 of 124 first-place votes, including mine. Victor Oladipo of the Orlando Magic was second, picking up 16 first-place votes; and Trey
Transparency is a two-way street. For years, NBA media members – echoing the sentiments of its passionate fan base – wanted more transparency from Commissioner David Stern and his executive staff. Whether it was a lottery drawing, a suspension in the playoffs or a referee scandal, folks felt like they were entitled to an explanation. And they were. Stern grudgingly came around. He arranged for the media to meet with referees prior to the season about rules changes. He allowed the media
Now for the annual post-season awards no one else has, by whatever means necessary. Kill this page if you’re looking for the Blue Plate Special featured everywhere else with Michael Carter-Williams as Rookie of the Year, Gregg Popovich as best coach, DeMar DeRozan as Most Improved, Joakim Noah as Defensive Player of the Year, etc. All are deserving… but it’s not as if the other candidates are chopped liver, as it seems these days when everyone compares picks over the internet and—
From his first NBA game, Michael Carter-Williams took hold of the Rookie of the Year award. He immediately grabbed the undivided attention of all of us, going for 22 points, 12 assists, nine steals and seven rebounds in Philadelphia’s improbable season-opening win over the two-time defending champion Miami Heat. Before the 76ers started losing – losing frequently, losing historically – Carter-Williams directed his team to two more wins and was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week. Not Rookie of the Week.
We have reached the point of the season where teams that are out of the playoff race start giving more playing time to their younger players to see what they may have. One of those teams is the Minnesota Timberwolves, who may have something in rookie big man Gorgui Dieng. New Timberwolves GM Flip Saunders spent the offseason loading his roster with veterans such as Kevin Martin, Corey Brewer and Ronny Turiaf in hope of making the playoffs for the first time
While Victor Oladipo and Trey Burke chase Michael Carter-Williams for Rookie of the Year, a handful of other rookies are helping their teams chase postseason berths and higher seeds. The Eastern Conference has three teams in the playoff chase whose finish will be somewhat impacted by the play of their rookies. The Western Conference has five teams in the hunt with rookies playing a prominent role. The team relying most on rookies is undoubtedly the Atlanta Hawks, who have two rookies in
First, the good news. Among rookies, the top four scorers behind Philadelphia’s Michael Carter-Williams all got a recent chance to pad their stats against the sickening 76ers. Now, the bad news. Only one gets another chance this season. In case you haven’t noticed, the Sixers have lost 18 straight games. The last time they won, Time Warner and Comcast hadn’t announced their merger, the Super Bowl hadn’t been played and the greatest single-take shot in television history hadn’t yet aired. [Read more…]