I’ve written columns in the past that detail my quibbles with the NBA. Hell, the first words I ever wrote for this site were a list of things that bug me about the league. If you were to go back and look, you’d see that those words were written in late February. Now I don’t remember exactly what the weather was like that day, but it’s New England, so it was cold. Today being a 70 degree early-June day, I’ll mention only 1 quibble: why not wait until after the playoffs to name All-NBA teams?
This isn’t a huge quibble. It’s not like I’m talking about how David Stern doesn’t care that 1/4 of the sports fans in this country think his sport is at least partially rigged (completely unscientific estimate – in my experience it’s higher than that, but I generally hang around malcontents). It’s not like I’m wondering why the NBA can’t keep a damn official in a video booth so they don’t have the 3 on the floor standing around with their hands on each other’s backs watching a freaking video monitor for 5 minutes at a time while we’re trying to end a game.
As I said, minor quibble. I think the playoffs, and how far teams and players go, should factor into All-NBA voting. I get why they don’t want to vote after the Finals have finished – fans generally don’t care about the league right then. But why not right now? Why not vote for teams once you have the Finals match-up set, and post the results at some point before game 5?
The goal of every player is a title, and how far a guy goes in the playoffs should matter. A lot. Kobe Bryant over Tony Parker on the first team seals this thinking. Who cares that Kobe had a great regular season? Tony Parker has arguably been the second best player in the entire NBA (the argument is that he might in fact be the best) at the time when it matters most.
So here are my teams. They’re somewhat stat-based, somewhat feel-based, and I would say that the playoffs factor 25% into each decision.
All-NBA Emeritus Team
Because it’s my column. Can it. You’re lucky I didn’t put Avery Bradley on my 3rd team, just because of how silly he makes Dwyane Wade look every time he guards him.
All-NBA First Team
Chris Paul – This one stays. Second in the league in assists (Rajon Rondo bested him by more than a full assist per game; I don’t care if he didn’t play half the season). Third in the league in Player Efficiency Rating.
Tony Parker – Took his team to the Finals. That bumps him up from the second team. Replacing Kobe is a nice bonus.
LeBron James – Um, yeah.
Kevin Durant – Again, yeah.
Tim Duncan – Could be Duncan’s final appearance on this list (although I probably would’ve said that 5 years ago, too). Has there ever been a guy better at filling whatever role his team needs? I wasn’t alive for the John Havlicek Celtics, but I don’t think anyone’s played as many different roles on a team during my lifetime than Duncan. From the David Robinson years, to the time when he was the primary focus of the offense, to the Tony and Manu years, to the Tony years, Duncan’s always been about winning. Love this guy.
All-NBA Second Team
Stephen Curry - He deserves this. If you’re going to tell me that Russell Westbrook belongs on this list, then look at their regular season stats and tell me Curry’s not real close to him. Then factor in that this guy might have been the best player in the NBA during the playoffs (sure he tailed off toward the end, but he was the best at one point), and Curry’s here.
Russell Westbrook – Toughest call on the list. Sure, I hate Kobe, but he had one of his best seasons. Problem is that Westbrook is one of the best players in the league, and his value was made perfectly clear when he went down. Maybe the Lakers with Kobe don’t get swept by San Antonio, but they definitely don’t win. Westbrook’s injury probably changed the Finals. Kobe goes.
Carmelo Anthony – Seems like every All-NBA Second Team has a stat-monster who can’t ever win. While I was looking that up, I came across the shocking reveal that Vin Baker made two All-NBA teams. Goodness gracious sakes alive (copyright John Wooden for perhaps the best expression of surprise and incredulity I’ve ever heard).
Paul George – George gets a bump from the third team to the second because he’s been a top 5 player during these playoffs. While we’re here, here’s that list: LeBron James, Tony Parker, Paul George, Stephen Curry, Nate Robinson. Roy Hibbert is #6. Chris Bosh is below Chris Andersen.
Marc Gasol – Defensive player of the year. I think he’s battling Joakim Noah for the first team next year.
All-NBA Third Team
Kobe Bryant – Great year for Kobe, but it wasn’t better than Paul’s or Westbrook’s, and if you factor in the playoffs it’s not better than Parker’s or Curry’s either.
James Harden – Breakout season. Should stay on one of these lists for the foreseeable future.
Blake Griffin – Playoff performance hurts him a little, but he had a very decent year statistically.
Joakim Noah – I’m bending the rules and calling Noah a power forward. C’mon – I showed tremendous restraint in leaving the NBA’s assists leader off these lists, give me this one. He’s a game changer on defense and, along with Gasol (and Vlade Divac), is blazing the trail of the NBA’s new big man – the facilitator and defender.
Roy Hibbert – Another beneficiary of waiting to name these teams. Hibbert makes this team ahead of Dwight Howard, and it’s not close.
So there you go. The big winners of waiting to name the teams are Paul George, Tony Parker, and Stephen Curry. The big losers are David Lee, Kobe Bryant, and Dwight Howard. Who has a problem with this?
Spurs in 7.
The post All-NBA Teams: Properly Timed Edition appeared first on More Than A Fan.