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The NBA Awards Discussion

With the regular season over, the awards race is becoming a larger topic in mainstream sports media. I deliver my views on the main awards, that are plaguing the NBA twitter-verse.

By Jake AlstonPublished 5 years ago 9 min read
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Long live the king; LeBron knows a little something about awards.

MVP: Giannis Antetokoumpo

This one is an easy one for me. Giannis is easily the MVP in my eyes, not only for his efficiency on the field, but the fact that he has helped the average Bucks become a juggernaut in the east. Now, Giannis has come out saying that he is not interested in the MVP race, and that he only cares about the Playoffs and finally getting out of the first round. His PER (player efficiency rating) is the best in the NBA, and that, to me, is what validates a player for the MVP award; a player that not only showcases his talent, but in turn, makes his entire team better. As a shooter and scorer, Giannis and Harden couldn't be at more opposite ends of the spectrum. With Giannis being that slashing shot creator that Kobe optimised, and Harden being that straight up sharpshooter that is a must in the modern NBA at the time. However, Giannis already has a better True Shooting percentage (64.2 percent—which is top 10 in the NBA).

As far as potential is concerned, Harden is in the prime of his career, whereas Giannis is on the same curve, but is earlier in his life and shows that he can only get better. The way that he is playing right now is a pace that he can keep going for a long time. Where Harden didn't get his opportunity until he was traded to the Rockets, Giannis has always been the center piece of a Bucks organization that really hasn't been relevant since the days of Kareem. A Bucks team that is now in the top 10 of every team category in the NBA, bar attendance. Accessory to this, his usage is only fifth highest in the NBA, and being the star you expect that, but this also shows that he is not the only one on that team, and that team basketball wins championships, not usages. Related to this, the win shares between Giannis and Harden is the same, despite his USG percentage being lower that Harden.

This is not a shot at Harden. What he has accomplished this season is by far one of the greatest offensive seasons in NBA history. Whilst his willingness to lead the team that has had so many key injuries and roster moves is second to none. He is a star in this league, that is no doubt. However, Giannis has lead the Bucks to a better record (be it in a "weaker" East) and an overall better season performance as a team, where Houston is only better in the offensive rating. Another advanced stat is the +/- stat, that analyses the overall effect that a player has on the floor, as far as points are concerned, in which Giannis also trumps Harden on, which incorporates his defensive effort of which includes:

  • Higher defensive WS percentage
  • Higher defensive +/-
  • Better overall +/- (both offensive and defensive per. 100 poss.)
  • As many STL and BLK (per 36 mins)
  • Higher defensive rating (as well as near 100 Off. Rating)

That to me, deserves that overall MVP award if it works out on both end. A player that is two-way and a star on both ends of the floor. The only defensive stats that Harden has going, is the steals in all respects. Harden is the only player that is topping the league overall, per 36, per 100 in the steals category, but, really, honestly, it is not enough to win the MVP on just offense alone. Adding the fact that Giannis can play all positions across the floor, from coming in the league as a point guard and shooting guard, and has the ability and skill to go for 50 points (whilst recording 16 rebounds and seven assists) shows his versatility and scoring prowess, whilst being at the top of all official stats in the MVP race (over per 100, per 36, totals, advanced and per game). If that's not a good enough argument for why the Greek Freak is the MVP, then we truly are in the three PT/offensive age.

Sixth Man of the Year: Lou Williams

An award that needs little discussion. Lou Will, a two time SMOY, so he's been here before. For him to join Jamal Crawford as a three-time SMOY would be a feat in itself, let alone being all time in points off the bench. This has really helped with his case and, in my mind, solidified it over Wade and Rose. Speaking of Rose, as good a comeback season as he has had so far, he doesn't compare as an overall effect to a team as well as Lou. Examples include not as many assists and an overall lower, if not significantly, effective field goal percentage, this coming with higher Win Shares and overall (and per. 100) +/- than the next replacement player.

Rose does, however, have less turnovers because he is a point guard at his foundations, which regards him to pass more, whereas Lou Will is a shooting guard at heart, and voluntarily fills that Clippers point guard role when Beverly needs that break, as relentless as Beverly is. Props to D. Rose though, as I was among that crowd that didn't think that he could come back from a knee injury to have the season he had. As far as team impact, Williams is better in four of the nine on-off court stats, which shows that Lou has a significant impact when he's on the floor rather than off it. This is a big factor, and with the overall fouls Lou is drawing during a game, this makes him a player to look out for, alongside the scorers of Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanovic and Danilio Gallinari. The Clippers are an interesting team in the Playoffs this season, and with the bench help of LouWill, they are set to make a deep playoff run and the series against Houston should be a very compelling watch.

Rookie of the Year: Trae Young/Luka Doncic

This is a tough one. Although there were many front runners for this year's award, only two have really stood out, and they couldn't be more far apart if they tried: one being an underdog from a college that hasn't had relevance since Blake Griffin; another being a young gun superstar that was ripping up the euro league. Now they are in the same league and are both equally tearing it up.

For Trae, as a 6'2" guard in a 6'3" average league, it's pretty hard to miss him and see why he stands out. However, Trae has been playing in more games than Luka, and has shown that he is the more reliable player of the two from playing in 80 games, so far, to Luka's 72. As much as playing games is good, it's better to win the game and be a part of that win, and Trae betters Luka in this aspect of the game, beating the Slovenian in Win Shares per 48 minutes. Despite having a worse record than the Mavericks, this indicates that Young is going to help the overall image of Atlanta and get them into the Playoffs at least in the next 10 years.

Luka is a very versatile player that can excel all over the court, being that he has played in nearly all wing positions (PG/SG), and has a lot of plays behind the SF position showing that he can bump with the SF body types in post situations. His speed and quickness gives him the overall boost against the forwards in this league because his primary position is as a shooting guard. As far as shooting is concerned Luka is the better in near every aspect apart from and-1 finishes and has a less blocked FGA percentage. This is mainly because Trae is craftier as an inside scorer while Luka surpasses in the outside and three point shooting, overall shooting and shooting per 100 possessions, which indicates, as good as an outside shooter as Trae is, Luka is that much better because of his height. Overall, the competition between the two couldn't be closer, and it wouldn't be a terrible idea to incorporate the Co-Roty idea, like when Jason Kidd and Grant Hill both won it in 1995. I don't, however, see that happening again any time soon.

Most Improved Player: D'Angelo Russell

This one is another easy one for me. D'Angelo Russell has made his case for this award and has shown Brooklyn that he is, clearly, a player to build around and a future franchise superstar, similar to Joe Johnson when the Nets were starting their rebrand.

His stats are at an all time high in his third year in the League. His first All-Star Selection is also another factor and case for his argument. D-Lo has become a real leader in Brooklyn, after a fluctuating start Los Angeles. I think the best thing for D-Lo was to get traded away from the situation at the Lakers, and begin afresh in a city that doesn't have a lot to risk and was in the process of going through a rebuild.

Brooklyn is an interesting and exciting team, with a growing roster, including Spencer Dinwiddie as a perennial sixth man candidate and have a good reason for being considered as one to watch in the Playoffs. Russell has also proved that he is a durable and enduring player for the Nets, from playing 81 games in the regular season and starting as point guard in the Playoffs for all four games. Advanced stats are also improved for D'Angelo, with his all his main PG stats percentage, including PER, usage, win-shares, true shooting and free Throws, all improving while his turnovers have gone down and overall defensive stats have also gone up.

The Nets are overall a very scrappy team, who look to make life harder for all other teams they face in the Playoffs. However, the Nets really aren't as good without Russell on the floor. Overall, when D-Lo is off the floor, the Nets are better, though not by much, with the third year point guard off the floor. This will also translate to play-by-play per 100 possessions, in which D-Lo is better in every respect since last year with five of the eight categories in the on-off statistics being significantly better, detailing the small and big overall improvements. As an impact on the floor, D-Lo's +/- hasn't gone below zero and has been in the positive numbers for around 85 to 90 percent of the games in the regular season, so this is another reason why the D-Lo overall deserves this award.

Regular Season performances don't win championships, I'm pretty sure that we can all agree on that. The discussion for these awards, however, have not been doused since the introduction of social media. Everybody and their mother has an opinion on the matter and seems to disagree on nearly every potential winner. As much as they take up a large portion of sports programs, they shouldn't be decided on stats alone and be seen as an overall basketball accomplishment.

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About the Creator

Jake Alston

I write about Music and the like.

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