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Making the call It's time once again to hand out the hardwarePosted: Thursday April 10, 2003 2:34 PM
It’s that dreaded time of year again. Time to get out those No. 2 pencils, a calculator and a bottle of aspirin. Time to look over the numbers until you're bleary-eyed. Time to call some experts for advice. No, we’re not talking about the April 15 tax deadline. We’re talking about the April 17 deadline for NBA postseason awards balloting. This year’s categories, as usual, include MVP, Rookie of the Year, Coach of the Year, Sixth Man, Defensive Player of the Year and Most Improved. With so many close races, it’s almost as gut-wrenching as a 1040 form. Duncan or Garnett? Yao or Amare? Rick (Adelman) or Rick (Carlisle)? After hours of soul-searching, countless nights in front of NBA League Pass and some helpful input from select NBA players, coaches and officials, we’re ready to make our calls. Well, some of them anyway. To build suspense (and give me more time to file my taxes), we’ll hold off on the MVP until Friday.
Rookie of the YearThis year’s rookie race is extremely close, even by its own standards. After all, the award has been shared three times, most recently by Elton Brand and Steve Francis in 2000. Suspicious for sure, but that’s a subject for another day. One thing’s for certain this season, however. Nobody but Rockets center Yao Ming or Suns forward Amare Stoudemire deserves to win it. Yes, Heat forward Caron Butler has had a fine season, but there is no way a guy who shoots 42 percent for a dog team walks off with the hardware in this race. Stoudemire and Yao simply have been better all-around. Both are near the top of the rookie list in scoring, rebounding, field-goal percentage and blocks. Both have played key roles in helping their teams contend for playoff spots. But while Stoudemire is the surprise rookie of the year and the most athletic rookie, he hasn’t had the same overall impact as Yao. The Suns don’t run their offense through him the way the Rockets do through Yao. Meanwhile, at the other end of the court, Yao’s size allows him to change and alter shots on a regular basis. It’s become trendy among some NBA cognoscenti to contend that Yao is still more hype than substance. They note that the 7-foot-5 phenom has benefited in the rookie race from his dubious All-Star starting berth and greater number of TV appearances. But Yao also has had to deal with the pressure and responsibilities of being the No. 1 overall pick and the unofficial Chinese ambassador. Yao shoots a high percentage (50.9 percent), passes extremely well and impacts the game more on the defensive end. The fact that he’s excelled while being besieged by media and fans everywhere he goes is an added factor. It’s a close call, but we’ve got to give it to Yao.
Coach of the YearThis one is even tougher than the rookie race in some ways, because there are so many deserving candidates. Rick Adelman (Kings), Rick Carlisle (Pistons), Gregg Popovich (Spurs), Don Nelson (Mavs), Jerry Sloan (Jazz), Flip Saunders (T’wolves), Eric Musselman (Warriors), Paul Silas (Hornets). One could make a strong case for any of them. Sloan is the sentimental choice, given that he has never won the award. Carlisle, who could become the first to win back-to-back honors, lost leading scorer Jerry Stackhouse in a trade but still managed to keep the Pistons atop the East. Adelman navigated the Kings through a difficult stretch of injuries to remain atop the West. Musselman, in his first season, helped Golden State make a 20-game improvement in the standings. But the guy who deserves it most in 2002-03 is Saunders. Despite losing point guards Chauncey Billups to free agency and Terrell Brandon to injury, he somehow found a way to keep the T’wolves a 50-win team. Saunders is creative (especially with zone defenses), prepared (he’s a terrific play-caller) and knows how to adjust to injuries (Wally Szczerbiak missed 25 games early in the season). Going into the season, few expected Minnesota to once again be at the top of the West standings. Given their string of first-round playoff exits, some even predicted they would collapse and not make the playoffs. Saunders got them to refocus, however, and at week’s end he had them in position for home-court advantage in the first round.
Sixth ManThis year’s Sixth Man field includes Bobby Jackson (Kings), Nick Van Exel (Mavs), Andrei Kirilenko (Jazz), Michael Redd (Bucks), Corliss Williamson (Pistons), Malik Rose (Spurs), Darrell Armstrong (Magic), Earl Boykins (Warriors) and Al Harrington (Pacers), among others. Some have been part-time starters this season, but this does not disqualify them. The only requirement is that the player appeared as a reserve in more games than he started. Williamson, last year’s winner, once again has provided a valuable inside scoring dimension for the Pistons. Van Exel is an explosive scorer and crunch-time mainstay for the high-flying Mavs. Rose, after a slow start, has become a critical factor in San Antonio’s success. Kirilenko has been an efficient shooter, shot-blocker and willing jack-of-all-trades for Utah. However, this year’s award should go to Sacramento’s Jackson. Not only does he lead all Sixth Man candidates in scoring (15.9 points), but he also helped carry the Kings early in the season when Mike Bibby was injured. During his 26 games as a starter, Jackson averaged 20 points and 4.5 rebounds on 50 percent shooting. With Bibby’s return to health, Jackson has gone back to his reserve role. Still he has remained a key sparkplug off the bench for one of the West’s elite teams. After narrowly missing out on this award last year, Jackson definitely deserves it this time around.
Defensive Player of the YearIf there’s an easy choice among this year’s awards, this is it. At week’s end, Pistons center Ben Wallace was aiming to become the first player in NBA history to lead the league in rebounds (15.4) and blocks (3.15) two consecutive seasons. He is the anchor of a Detroit defense that yielded a league-low 86.7 points per game. Though undersized at 6-foot-9, Wallace rules the paint with uncommon hustle and determination. He bangs with bigger opposing centers, blocks and alters shots and seems to grab every loose ball. His current rebounding average would be the NBA’s highest since Dennis Rodman yanked 16.1 in 1996-97. Kevin Garnett (T’wolves), Doug Christie (Kings), Tim Duncan (Spurs), Allen Iverson (Sixers), Kobe Bryant (Lakers) and Ron Artest (Pacers) are legitimate candidates. However, none makes a defensive impact night in and night out like Wallace. With Big Ben forced to sit out the rest of the regular season with a knee injury, his true value to the Pistons soon could become even more evident.
Most ImprovedThis award is tough simply because nobody seems to know what it means. Is it for the guy who made a significant jump in terms of playing ability (see Gheorghe Muresan in 1996)? Or is it for the guy who was just as good the year before but needed the chance to play major minutes (see Tracy McGrady in '01 and Jermaine O’Neal in '02)? This year’s field includes Matt Harpring (Jazz), Tony Parker (Spurs), Gilbert Arenas (Warriors), Richard Jefferson (Nets) and Redd (Bucks). However, all these guys were pretty good players a year ago. Harpring, for example, has thrived mainly because he’s in system better suited to his abilities. Assuming the award is supposed to recognize the player who improved his performance most dramatically, we’ve got to go with Warriors forward Troy Murphy. A year ago, he was a part-time rookie (5.9 points, 3.9 rebounds) known for getting toasted on defense. But he worked like a maniac during the offseason and surprisingly won the Warriors' starting power forward job in training camp. Now Musselman calls Murphy one of the keys to his team’s dramatic climb up the standings. He ranks sixth in the NBA in rebounding (10.2) while adding 11.7 points on 45 percent shooting. He has been so good, in fact, that Danny Fortson (fourth in the NBA in rebounding a year ago) is now seen only on milk cartons. Marty Burns covers pro basketball for SI.com. Click here to send Marty a question or comment. |
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