On March 24, 1990 Tom Chambers scored 60 points for the Phoenix Suns in a dominating performance against the Seattle Supersonics. He went 22 for 32 from the field, with 6 boards, 4 assists and 2 blocks as well.
Tom Chambers that year was having the best season of his career as he was on his way to a 27 PPG season for a playoff bound Suns team. His performance here showed he was a deserving top scorer of his time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWvGlbSZQCA
It’s the main event of NBA’s unofficial midseason: the All-Star Game. All-Star Weekend itself often has tons of storylines. For example, who were the biggest snubs? At first it looked like it would be Damian Lillard and DeMarcus Cousins, but both for in due to injuries from other players. After Dirk Nowitzki (who is still having a good season, but has slipped a bit) got in, my thought now is that DeAndre Jordan is actually the biggest snub left. He’s been having a Tyson Chandler like season, only he’s a much better rebounder than Chandler ever was. His presence in the middle really might make a difference in April…unless these first 54 games from him was just a fluke. Other storylines involved a stacked three point contest (won by Stephen Curry) and Zach LaVine leaving Dr. J’s jaw on the ground after one of his dunks. It’s been a fun All-Star Weekend for sure.
Now that we’re at the “midseason”, it’s time to see who our front runners are for the regular season awards.
Most Improved Player
Jimmy Butler, SF Bulls
Normally I’d be all “of course it’s Jimmy Butler, who else could it be?!”, but Klay Thompson could easily win this award as well. I have to give the edge to Butler though, because this season he’s shown to be someone we didn’t know he could be. We knew Thompson was a very good shooter at least. I mean the Warriors wouldn’t part ways with him for Kevin Love (a genius move, I was sure wrong about that one) and he and Curry already had the “Splash Bros.” nickname going. But we already knew Thompson was good. Yes he’s even a better shooter than we thought, and yes he’s improved on defense quite a bit. And yes, he did score 37 points in one quarter.
But what did we really think of Butler before this season? He was an okay to good (depending on the night) wing that wasn’t a difference maker of any kind. The Bulls spent all summer trying to land Carmelo Anthony. Butler shot under 40% last season with 13 PPG and 5 RPG. Not really inspiring stuff. He had a PER of 13.5 (below average), a WS48 of .131 (solid rotation guy) and an offensive rating of 108 on 17% usage (good roleplayer). This year? 46% shooting, 20.4 PPG, 6 RPG, PER of 21.3, 123 ORtg on 21.5% usage. Those are some crazy jumps. He’s doing all this without an effective Derrick Rose no less. And Bulls fans don’t really seem to be talking about Carmelo anymore.
Sixth Man of the Year
Lou Williams, SG, Raptors
This comes down to three players for me so far. Williams, Jamal Crawford and Isaiah Thomas. I should probably rule out Crawford as this has been his worst LA Clipper year so far. He’s not quite the offensive sparkplug he was even last year, and if he’s not going to be a very good offensive guy then his horrid defense becomes a bigger problem. I’m in on Williams as he’s been part of a team that hasn’t had any chemistry problems since adding him and Toronto’s been near the top of the East for the entire year. Thomas and Williams are pretty close to the same player statwise (Thomas has a small edge), but trade rumors have been abundant in Phoenix ever since the idea of playing three guards came about. Sure, Goran Dragic’s contract is up soon, but you don’t see the Suns actively trying to keep him either.
Rookie of the Year
Andrew Wiggins, SG, Timberwolves
He started slow…played Cleveland in December and caught fire ever since. Since that game against Cleveland on 12/23, he’s averaged 18.3 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 2.5 APG and only 1.9 TPG on nearly 47% shooting. And he didn’t have Ricky Rubio for most of it. That’s….pretty good. Once Jabari Parker went down all Wiggins had to do was play well to win the award…and he has.
Defensive Player of the Year
Draymond Green, SF, Warriors
It’s not every day that a swingman has the lowest defensive rating in the league, but when one does it would be pretty hard for him not to win the Defensive Player of the Year award. The Warriors boast the best defensive team in basketball despite playing in the loaded West with an offensive first point guard in a point guard heavy league. Green manages to guard three different spots on the court effectively. Paul Millsap would be my 2nd choice here, followed by Anthony Davis.
Coach of the Year
Mike Budenholzer, Hawks
Yeah, I don’t even think the city of Atlanta had the Hawks winning 43 games by the All-Star break. In fact, 43 games total was a realistic total. Another Gregg Popovich assistant of course. Budenholzer has some competition though. Steve Kerr of course deserves credit for taking the Warriors to the next level, and Jason Kidd went from the ousted laughing stock rookie head coach of the Nets to somehow having the Bucks…without Jabari Parker…in the midst of the playoffs.
Still though, the Hawks are 43-11. What?
Most Valuable Player
James Harden, SG, Rockets
There are four cases to make for the MVP this season so far: Harden, Stephen Curry, LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Let’s start with Curry, as to be him and Harden are 1a and 1b here. Curry has obviously been stupid good this seas. He’s shooting lights out (48-40-90%), he’s distributing the ball (7.9 APG), he’s leading the league in steals (2.2). He has a great MVP level WS/48 this season (.283, tied for the 18th highest in the 3 point shooting era with Shaq’s 2000 season). He’s on the best team in the toughest conference. So why didn’t I pick him? Harden’s close to him in most of these #s, better in some advanced metrics and is clearly working with a hell of a lot less. Curry has Thompson, Green, even Kerr as a coach. Harden has a banged up Dwight Howard who isn’t Dwight Howard anymore, Josh Smith who even when he is Josh Smith it’s not guaranteed it’s a good thing.
LeBron’s case seems dubious as this is arguably his worst season since his rookie year. But then you see the following:
Cavs With LeBron: 31-14
Cavs Without LeBron: 2-8
That’s a big difference. I won’t count him out as if he has a monster last 27 games where the Cavs win 22 or 23 of them, voters will notice and forget about November and December.
Anthony Davis’s case is insane. Despite what we mentioned about Curry’s WS/48…Davis actually has a higher one of .291 right now. That would be good for 12th in the 3 Point era. Only players above him? Lebron (’13, ’09, ’10, ’12), Jordan (’91, ’96, ’88, ’89), David Robinson (’94), Durant (’14), and Chris Paul (’09). That’s the list. It’s interesting to look at Robinson when thinking about Davis here. He too put up a lot of “holy shit” stats. But he only brought home one MVP as his teams were never really the best. In this case, the 27-26 Pelicans have to be better for Davis to win the MVP. Even if he has a record breaking PER. Yeah, it’s amazing that a team with Tyreke Evans, Jrue Holiday and Eric Gordon (three black hole All-Stars for sure) as their 2, 3 and 4 scorers is even remotely in the Western Conference playoff hunt. But that’s not enough.
So James Harden. He too has a ridiculous WS/48 (.275). He actually has the highest offensive win shares of anyone in the league. He’s carrying this Rockets team. Dwight Howard isn’t a great player anymore. He’s on a team where only two guys have higher than a 16 PER (him and Howard). Yet this team is 36-17. He’s leading the league in scoring. He’s averaging a 27-6-7 with 2 steals a game. He is your MVP.
The NBA’s Christmas Day games are a tradition that dates back to 1947 in the old BAA. While throughout the 70s and 80s anywhere from four to seven games were played on Christmas, the late 80s ushered in an era where only top teams played…or at least teams with high market value. This article isn’t going to analyze anything about the XMas Day games. Instead, it will be a collection of scattered thoughts.
It’s too bad the NBA season can’t begin on Christmas
I know right? The NBA season starts at the very end of October/early November…and other than opening day no one cares about the NBA for two months until XMas. Why is this the case? The biggest issues for the NBA is that the NFL season is in full swing. The NFL of course is the king of American pro sports until Roger Goodell kills the league (might happen sooner than you think) and the NBA isn’t yet (or maybe ever) topping that. MLB sometimes really hurts the NBA as well. If the MLB postseason takes up those crucial last days of October/first days of November, it’s something else to talk about that isn’t basketball. And while they each aren’t nearly as big news wise, the NBA sharing ESPN space with the NHL and the NASCAR Chase doesn’t help.
It also doesn’t help that the first two months of the NBA season…don’t really matter. This is true for all of the major American professional sports other than football. 2014 was an especially lucky year for the NBA as they had two major stories going: LeBron’s return to Cleveland (and the Cavs “struggles”) and the injury plagued Oklahoma City Thunder. Still, other than LeBron’s literal return to Cleveland has him being back in Cleveland been THAT big of a deal these first two months? Not really right? Hell, even the ratings for LeBron’s return weren’t that great and even paled in comparison to his Heat debut four years prior (I do have a theory on this…which is people like to watch villains. Feel good stories are fine, but unless you’re Michael Jordan basketball feel good stories aren’t that big of a deal).
Do you know when the last time the first two months of a NBA season mattered? The 2011-2012 season! The lockout shortened year actually grabbed headlines before the season began (with the lockout and the Chris Paul-Lakers-Clippers-David Stern Veto situation) and had XMas day games that felt like they mattered. Why did they all feel like they mattered? Each game had either a situation attached to it and wasn’t tarnished by a team not performing as well as they should (you know, since they were all 0-0 at that point). For example: Carmelo lit up the Celtics and made it seem like the Knicks were going to be a real power (they were okay…although they had to be saved by Linsanity at one point), Chris Paul was making his Los Angeles Clippers debut against the Warriors with young Stephen Curry (who did not play well), the Heat and Mavericks had a Finals rematch, Oklahoma City took on Orlando in a game full of future (or even current) superstars (Durant, Westbrook, Dwight), and lastly Kobe and the Lakers took on DRose and the Bulls. All five games felt like big deals. Does this happen in a normal season? I say no. Clippers vs. Warriors loses appeal as the Warriors still weren’t ready and Chris Paul would have made his debut two months prior. The Knicks might have been in their slump (they were 12-15 at one point). Maybe even Orlando vs. OKC gets tarnished as Dwight battled injuries all season. This all leads me to my second thought.
There are one too many games on XMas…which tarnishes the sifnoficance a bit
While in the 70s and 80s there were anywhere from four to seven games on Christmas, that changed to one or two games throughout the 90s. As a result, you always had a big time game on for Christmas (although, oddly never the biggest game, you’d think MJ would be there every year). I’m going to pick 1995 as a starting point here…and only pointing out how games were marketed. Injuries would just be bad luck.
1995 (2 Games): Rockets @ Magic (Finals Rematch, Hakeem and Drexler vs. Shaq and Penny), Spurs @ Suns (Robinson vs. Barkley)
1996 (2 Games): Pistons @ Bulls (Grant Hill vs. MJ, Pippen, etc…Pistons were 20-6 at this point), Lakers @ Suns (Shaq’s first season as a Laker, Suns were an odd choice though)
1997 (2 Games): Heat @ Bulls (ECF Rematch, Tim Hardaway and Mourning vs. Jordan, Pippen, etc.), Rockets @ Jazz (WCF Rematch, Hakeem, Barkley and Drexler vs. Malone and Stockton)
1998: Lockout
1999 (2 Games): Knicks @ Pacers (ECF Rematch, Knicks vs. Reggie), Spurs @ Lakers (Duncan, Robinson vs. Shaq, young Kobe)
2000 (2 Games): Magic @ Pacers (TMac vs. the defending EC Champs w/Reggie, ambitious because the magic weren’t quite there yet, but TMac was surely a rising star), Trail Blazers @ Lakers (WCF Rematch, Rasheed vs. Shaq, Kobe)
2001 (2 Games): 76ers @ Lakers (NBA Finals Rematch: Iverson vs. Shaq/Kobe), Raptors @ Knicks (Carter vs. Knicks…the overrated draw of the Knicks starts to show around this time though)
2002 (3 Games): Kings @ Lakers (Best rivalry at the time and WCF Rematch, Webber vs. Shaq, Kobe), Celtics @ Nets (ECF Rematch, Pierce vs. Kidd), Pistons @ Magic (TMac and Hill vs. Detroit’s D), this could be an example already of one game too many though.
2003 (3 Games): Rockets @ Lakers (Yao, Francis vs. Shaq, Kobe), Cavs @ Magic (rookie LeBron vs. TMac), Mavericks @ Kings (7 Game WCSF rematch, Nowitzki vs. Bibby, Peja)
2004 (2 Games): Pistons @ Pacers (One of the best rivalries at the time), Heat @ Lakers (the much anticipated Shaq vs. Kobe…Wade was there too obviously)
2005 (2 Games): Spurs @ Pistons (NBA Finals Rematch), Lakers @ Heat (Shaq/Wade vs. Kobe XMas rematch)
2006 (1 Game): Lakers @ Heat (Really pushing that Shaq vs. Kobe draw)
2007 (3 Games): Heat @ Cavs (Wade vs. LeBron…whole thing was wrecked though as this was Miami’s 15-67 season), Suns @ Lakers (Nash vs. Kobe), Supersonics @ Trail Blazers (was supposed to be rookie Durant vs. rookie Oden and Roy). This represented probably the weakest set of games of the last 13 seasons.
2008 would begin the five game setup we have now. Let’s go over these 13 season of XMas games though: don’t most of these feel like a big deal? The NBA smartly pushed their top teams and talents into these games, and also gave the younger stars a chance to shine. Let’s look at 2008.
2008 (5 Games): Wizards @ Cavs (A budding rivalry which was really LeBron destroying them over and over…LeBron vs. Arenas), Celtics @ Lakers (NBA Finals rematch), Hornets @ Magic (CP3 vs. Dwight), Spurs @ Suns (Another good rivalry, Nash and Shaq vs. Duncan, Parker and Manu), Mavericks @ Trail Blazers (Nowitzki and Kidd vs. Roy and if Oden is there somehow?). Wizards don’t belong here, and Mavericks vs. Trail Blazers is one game too many.
Each year would still have its monster games of course, but then also a 4th or 5th game which took the significance away from the Christmas games. 2009 had Lebron vs. Kobe…and for some reason the godawful Knicks vs. Wade and a bunch of nobodies. Let’s look at 2014’s games.
2014 (5 Games): Wizards @ Knicks (Wall vs. Carmelo?), Thunder @ Spurs (Durant and Westbrook vs. the legendary Spurs trio), Cavs @ Heat (Lebron returns), Lakers @ Bulls (Kobe vs. DRose), Warriors @ Clippers (Curry vs. Blake and CP3)
The two obvious games that don’t belong? Wizards @ Knicks and Lakers @ Bulls. Lakers and Knicks combined records: 14-44. The Wizards are a fun up and coming team sure, but the Knicks are awful and most thought they would be as well. The Lakers too are the same way, and XMas day does not need the draw of Kobe (we didn’t see Wizards Jordan on XMas). Nevermind that it was a crapshoot we’d even get Derrick Rose playing. The other three are good choices. OKC vs. the Spurs lucked out (as long as Pop doesn’t bench anyone) since Durant and Westbrook are healthy. Cavs @ Heat was always going to be a big deal, even if the Heat aren’t anywhere near what they were and Bosh is out (it’s no different than Lakers-Heat in the mid 2000s). Golden State and LAC will be a great game. This is just two games too much.
I think I’ve had enough scattered thoughts about the NBA XMas day games. The NBA is still about a month and a half before they monopolize ESPN (post Super Bowl and All Star Weekend), and truthfully I can’t wait. And we usually get the ball rolling on XMas. I just wish 33% of the league wasn’t playing today. It would be a lot more special that way.
Rajon Rondo is one of the most polarizing figures in the NBA. Public expectation of Rondo has zig zagged throughout this entire career. In 2006 when he was drafted by Boston (or sold by Phoenix, however you want to look at these things), he was the point guard who couldn’t shoot. In 2007 he was expected to be competent enough to not screw-up the new big three and hopeful NBA Champion Boston Celtics. From 2009 through 2012 he was supposed to be the best player AND future of the Celtics. In 2014 he was supposed to lead the Celtics after a terrible ACL injury…but no one knew despite his statistics how good he really was or if he could be good without a Hall of Fame cast. Now, he’s supposed to be the missing piece to get Dallas over the hump and deliver Dirk Nowitzki a second ring.
The trade is constructed as follows: Boston sends Rajon Rondo for Brandan Wright, Jameer Nelson, Jae Crowder, a 2015 1st rounder from Dallas if it falls between #4 and #14 (it won’t) or a top 7 protected 2016 1st (very likely). I’m not sure, but I believe a second pick is in there somewhere as well.
Let’s first look at both of these teams. First, Boston. The Celtics have built towards the future obviously and have built quite well. They absolutely shackled the Nets with the Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett trade (the Nets have to swap their 2017 1st with Boston, as well as give up their 2016 and 2018 1st rounders…I think. They also got their 2014 1st rounder too. They selected James Young.) If you’ve seen the Nets and what their future looks like, you probably are expecting another Boston dynasty in about five years. Boston also has a late 1st round pick in 2015 from the Clippers in the Doc Rivers deal and a 2016 1st from Cleveland in the Keith Bogans deal. Garnett’s a shell of a shell of his former self…and Pierce currently plays for the Wizards. While Boston didn’t get enough for Rondo here, it’s not as bad as many have made it out to be.
The Mavericks are in contention mode right now and are absolutely doing the right thing in trying to upgrade their roster short term. You don’t waste players like Dirk Nowitzki. Nowitzki’s entered that Reggie Miller part of his career where his raw stats may not look like anything special, but he’s still a ridiculous player who can hit any shot and wins games…playoff games included…at any time. You can definitely win a championship in 2014 with this Dirk Nowitzki. Monta Ellis, traditionally a volume shooter than hurts his team more than he helps, does well enough alongside Nowitzki on the offensive end. He gets opportunities he didn’t get in Golden State and Milwakuee playing with Nowitzki. He and Nowitzki’s defensive shortcomings are all covered up by a rejuvenated Tyson Chandler, who also doubles as one of the most efficient offensive players in the league (currently shooting 68% from the floor, which is basically all put backs and dunks. Some would use that as an argument to say Chandler isn’t a good offensive player…which doesn’t make any sense at all.) Chandler Parsons of course is a solid offensive player himself. Considering their starting point guards have been a washed up Nelson and a washed up Devin Harris and they STILL have an incredible offense that leads the league in both PPG and Offensive Rating, well, Rondo has to be considered a huge upgrade, right? And defensively, Nelson and Harris are average at best. Again, Rondo can only improve that, correct?
Well, yes and no. Rajon Rondo is polarizing as his resume reintroduces the question of whether good stats means a good player. Rondo’s stats are pretty great for a point guard. He’s led the league in assists per game three of the last four seasons (counting this season so far). His last six season APG averages? 9.8, 11.2, 11.7, 11.1, 9.8 and 10.8 this season. I mean, those aren’t just good…those are incredible. He’s usually close to averaging two steals a game. He doesn’t shoot a lot and always looks to set up teammates. He sounds like a perfect player for this Mavericks team. But the downside is after 8 seasons Rajon Rondo still can’t hit an outside shot. He can barely hit a 15 footer. While Nelson and Harris aren’t exactly Stephen Curry out there, and Nelson is even shooting 37%, they are still players that should be guarded from the outside. That’s part of some past reputation. But Rondo? Why guard him at all if you can just double Nowitzki? Clog up the middle and make Rondo shoot. That’s what the Lakers did in the 2010 Finals afterall. This glaring weakness is huge and has prevented Rondo from becoming a truly elite point guard along the lines of Chris Paul. He’s a new age Jason Kidd…although Kidd was always able to get the best out of subpar teammates. Rondo hasn’t been able to do that. All of this coupled with his ACL history creates something that kind of make sense of why he was traded for 50 cents on the dollar.
Do I think Boston could have and should have gotten more? Yes. But it was still okay. Dallas won this trade though not just because they traded very little of value to upgrade from Nelson and Harris to Rondo…but because of who Rondo can be when he’s motivated. His 2009 playoff box scores when carrying the Kevin Garnett-less Celtics were incredible. (29-9-7, 19-12-16, 20-11-6-5, 25-11-11 and 28-11 against Chicago in the first round, 14-10-8, 15-11-18, 21-12-14 vs. Orlando in round 2). He was the best player in the Boston-Cleveland series in 2010, and put up a gem of a game (29-18-13) in a crucial game 4. You really think Damian Lillard, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, Tony Parker and Stephen Curry want to deal with Rajon Rondo in the playoffs?
Great move for Dallas, good but could have been better move for Boston.