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And the winner is ... A tough call for MVP highlights the postseason awardsPosted: Wednesday April 16, 2003 12:24 PM
I looked to the stars for a message. I consulted a gypsy. I plunged my fingers into cow entrails. I even tried the more unconventional tactic of consulting a few people around the NBA who actually know something. And after all that, I'm still not completely comfortable with my pick for this season's Most Valuable Player. That's how difficult making the choice was. I didn't have nearly as much trouble with the other categories, so let's get to them first.
First team: Forwards -- Kevin Garnett, Minnesota, Tim Duncan, San Antonio; Guards -- Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers, Tracy McGrady, Orlando; Center -- Shaquille O'Neal, L.A. Lakers. Second team: Forwards -- Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas, Chris Webber, Sacramento; Guards -- Jason Kidd, New Jersey, Allen Iverson, Philadelphia; Center -- Ben Wallace, Detroit. Third team: Forwards -- Paul Pierce, Boston, Jermaine O'Neal, Indiana; Guards -- Stephon Marbury, Phoenix and Steve Nash, Dallas; Center -- Yao Ming, Houston. Player who just missed: Jamal Mashburn, New Orleans. I've carped about this before, but it doesn't make sense to select All-NBA teams by position. I would've preferred to make Nowitzki or Webber a second-team center, move Pierce or Jermaine O'Neal up to second-team forward, make Wallace the third-team center, and add Mashburn as a third-team forward. (You got that?) But my official NBA ballot required me to select by position, and I'm a good little boy. ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix. I think Yao is terrific and he'll get better. But Stoudemire had a more impressive year, pure and simple. The cultural adjustments he's been though in his life (domestic turbulence, several high schools, no college), didn't match Yao's but they weren't insignificant, either.
COACH OF THE YEAR I wrote about this last week, but it's a minor crime that Sloan, whose Jazz teams are always competitive and tough, has never won this award. Many times it goes to a coach who takes over a losing franchise and makes it respectable, though not in any sense a contender. That is the case with Musselman who deserves mucho kudos for lifting the Warriors from the doldrums. As for Cheeks, former NBA coach Don Casey said it best: "This guy deserves the Legion of Honor award for coaching that gang." SIXTH MAN: Bobby Jackson, Sacramento.
This was an easy choice. Jackson started almost half of Sacramento's games but that was only because of an an early-season injury to Mike Bibby. Jackson is a true sixth man, someone who ignites the Kings on both offense and defense, a dying breed, if you look around the league. Van Exel may be Dallas' third best player (behind Nowitzki and Nash), but he never starts and his sixth-man status is legit. Ditto for Kirilenko, who, like Jackson, is a defensive demon.
MOST IMPROVED I don't think a second-year player (San Antonio's Tony Parker, New Jersey's Richard Jefferson and Golden State's Troy Murphy and Gilbert Arenas are examples) has been around long enough to qualify for this honor. So, while I appreciate their improved play, I can't reward it. At Harpring's previous stops in Orlando, Cleveland and Philadelphia, one always heard coaches and scouts praise both his shooting and his defense. But he never put it all together until this season under Sloan. Jackson and Williams have both gone from being erratic and undependable talents to being consistent performers. (It will be interesting to see if that trend continues.) Davis seems like a strange pick because he's such a sensational player, but he upped his scoring average by three points a game this season. What a shame he made that knucklehead move of shooting at his own basket in pursuit of a triple-double.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER I always find this category difficult, though Wallace -- a true defensive specialist who blocks shots, changes shots and, with his brawny man-to-man defense, prevents shots from even being taken -- is the clear winner. We all know what Artest has done (both positive and negative) and, along with Christie, he's a guy capable of shutting down a big scorer. Iverson is averaging almost three steals a game, far more than any player in the league, but doesn't have enough size to be a true stopper.
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER Do not believe anyone who pounds the table and says, "This is a clear choice!" It's not. And my selection of Garnett comes down to this: (A) Overwhelming versatility. Garnett may have had the single most all-around productive season since Magic Johnson averaged 22.5 points, 12.8 assists and 7.9 rebounds for the 1988-89 Lakers. Going into his final game Wednesday night at Memphis, Garnett is averaging 23 points, 13.4 rebounds and six assists. Taking the comparison further, Magic had more steals (1.8 per game to Garnett's 1.4), but Garnett, obviously, had many more blocked shots (1.6 per game compared to Magic's season total of 22). (B) Ability to come back from criticism: All Garnett has heard for the last several seasons is how he hasn't been able to lift his team beyond the first round in the playoffs, as if he were some sort of mythical Hercules. But he gritted his teeth, uttered a silent "up yours" to his critics and came back stronger than ever. (C) His team's fourth or fifth place finish in that inferno known as the Western Conference. No, Garnett didn't carry the T-Wolves as far as Duncan carried the Spurs, who storm into the postseason with the league's best record. (By the way, I think Duncan will win the MVP award.) No, he hasn't been as consistently prolific a scorer as McGrady, the league leader. And, no, he hasn't been as routinely sensational as Bryant, whose scoring outbursts have dominated the highlight shows. But don't try to convince me that any of them had a better season than K.G. At least, that's what the entrails told me. Sports Illustrated senior writer Jack McCallum covers the NBA for the magazine and is a regular contributor to SI.com. Click here to send a question to his Mailbag.
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