It’s just fitting as he is the NBA’s best player right now, he is the MVP. He led the Cleveland Cavaliers to the best record in the NBA and has been sweeping teams left and right. He also was second in the league in scoring with 28.4 while also ranking top 10 in both assists and steals.

He is joined by Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant who finished second in voting and got 119 votes for the first team. Rounding out the first team are Miami Heat’s Dwayne Wade, Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard and the Dallas Mavericks’ Dirk Nowtizki.


I have to agree with all the pick here and they are all deserving. A borderline pick maybe Nowitzki, who led his team to the second round after beating the San Antonio Spurs in the first. I think what pushed him to the first team All-NBA was the fact that he helped the Dallas Mavericks make the playoff and make their record good enough to be sixth. And he doesn’t have that much competition in his position for the award. Overall, I love the selection of this team.

The second team is composed of New Orleans Hornets’ Chris Paul, Brandon Roy of the Trailblazers, the Spurs’ Tim Duncan, Celtics’ Paul Pierce and Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets.

I also like the picks here and they are all deserving. I also like the fact that Roy is there and he is being recognized as a top player in this league. He led the Trailblazers to the playoff and he has been a back to back All Star in a very competitive Western conference. That says a lot about Roy who I think should be a first team All NBA two to three years from now.

As for the third team All NBA, Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups represent the Denver Nuggets, Spurs’ Tony Parker, the Suns’ Shaquille O’neal and the Lakers’ Pau Gasol.

This looks like O’neal’s last All-NBA team unless he still has the legs and energy to beat rising star Al Jefferson (as long as the T’Wolves improve), Amare Stoudemire, Chris Bosh and even Andrea Bargnani. But it’s nice to see Shaq playing like an All Star and an All NBA player this year even at his age of 37 (36 during most of the season) and he really deserves to be included here.

No related posts.

Michael Beasley? Russell Westbrook? Brook Lopez? ROY - none of the above

The NBA playoff is just around the corner and as teams try to win as many games as possible so are the rookies except that they’re focused also on winning something else. They have been battling it out the past few months on who should be part of the All- Rookie teams and who should be this year’s NBA Rookie of the Year.

I must say that this year’s draft featured a lot of future stars in this league and they’ve really proven it with their respective teams. You may argue that some just have stats that are high because their team sucks that’s why we’re here to take a look on who deserves the awards. So here are my picks:

1st Team NBA All Rookie 2008-2009

Derrick Rose (My pick for Rookie of the Year)

This is my choice for rookie of the year. Why? I love the way this guy plays and how he has so much composure. Future superstar is written all over this kid and the sky’s the limit. He has helped the Bulls fight for the last playoff spot and with him as the court general, we’ll be seeing them as a regular in the playoff.

Kevin Love

He struggled during the start of the season but has played really well the past two months even bagging Rookie of the Month honors in March. The T’Wolves are campaigning for him to become the rookie of the year but it’s unlikely he’ll win it but he is sure to be part of this NBA 1st team All Rookie Team. Why? When Al Jeff went down, this guy stepped up.

OJ Mayo

He was sizzling hot in the first two months of the regular season but has somehow cooled a little bit after. I just see great thing for this young kid and he will be a scoring machine. He just needs to improve his other parts of his game and help the Grizzlies back to a respective record and he’ll be an All star.

Russell Westbrook

The future looks bright in Oklahoma City with Westbrook as their court general. He has a lot of options in Durant, Green and an inside presence in Krstic. I won’t be surprised if Oklahoma makes the playoffs in two to three years. This guy is just fun to watch and I congratulate the franchise for picking Westbrook at the 4th pick overall in the draft.

Brook Lopez

This guy is one of the most efficient rookies this year as he has brought great percentages and stats to the Nets. He has also brought the inside presence the previous big men of New Jersey didn’t have. He just needs to bulk up a little bit or gain more strength and he should be a regular double double guy in the NBA.

2nd Team NBA All Rookie 2008-2009

Eric Gordon

One of the few bright spots of the Clippers this year and actually he played more like a veteran compared to the other oldies of the team. He played his heart out every night and is just fun to watch. The Clippers have got their future shooting guard in Eric Gordon. All they have to is make the others healthy and play.

Greg Oden

Mr. Oden hasn’t played that much the past two seasons but I still have him here because he is Mr. Oden. Despite the missed games, he has helped the Blazers reach where they are now. He just needs to stay healthy and he’ll do great things in the NBA.

Marc Gasol

Pau Gasol’s brother shouldn’t be referred to as Pau’s brother anymore because is just…Marc Gasol. He is establishing his name in the NBA and seems to have adjusted pretty fast. I like their team in Memphis right now with Gasol manning the paint.

Mario Chalmers

Chalmers is the only 2nd round pick here because he deserves to be. He has played well beside Dwayne Wade and has the court leadership that has helped Miami be in the playoff.

Michael Beasley

I’m not that impressed with Beasley – yet. But I feel that this guy will improve and I know that is willing to do just that. Patience is key here as he is a very important part of Miami and Dwayne Wade’s future there.

Related posts:

1. Fantasy Basketball Top 2008 NBA Rookies Rookie Rankings 1-10 | 11-20 | 21-30 Almost a...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Basketball Image via flickr

Innovative basketball by benjieordonez

The NBA has been asking the question, “Where will amazing happen?” this year but before we know where that will happen since that will only happen in the playoff, we should first look at the individual awards. I like to take a look at the Most Improved Player award first since it’s nice to see players taking their game to another level from the previous year(s). So my question is who’s the Most Improved Player? So here are my candidates and my favorite to win the award for the 2008-2009 season.

Kevin Durant
He’s my favorite to win the award this year but I don’t think he’ll get the votes to win this. It may be because he’s not that not popular (yet) or they just don’t see the improvement he has done to lead the Thunder. Whatever the reason is, the numbers speak for themselves, as he has increased in every category and has been really an efficient player. What’s nice is that he increased his fg% by over 5 points while also increasing his shots taken by 2. Kevindurantula has got to win this award and there should be no more snubs for this kid.

Devin Harris
This guy looks like he’s going to win this award not only because of his All Star vote but also for showing maturity to lead the Nets to a respectable record. His stats didn’t jump to great heights from the previous years but it did improve – enough for him to be considered as the Most Improved player. This guy didn’t surprise me at all this year as he has already showed signs of being a future All Star in Dallas and even when he was traded to the Nets last year. If ever Harris wins this award, he will be the first MIP player to player in an All-Star game since Gilbert Arenas did it in 2003.

Paul Millsap
A great start to the season placed him among the early favorites to win this award but an injury and the return of Carlos Boozer somehow affected his overall performance. This guy was one of my picks to be part of the All-Star game because he was so consistent and it didn’t look like his early start was a fluke. Boozer plans to opt out of his contract at the end of the season, and Millsap will be a restricted free agent. He’ll be cashing in as long as Boozer leaves but I hope he continues to improve. The sky is the limit for this kid and who knows, he might win it all next year.

Andrea Bargnani
A lot of people have been talking that Andrea Bargnani might be a bust after being taken 1st overall in 2006 but he’s proving his doubters wrong this year. He just wasn’t given the chance to play in Sam Mitchell’s offense in previous years and right now he is playing with more confidence. He has a small chance of winning MIP but this guy is still worth mentioning as he has stayed pretty consistent the whole year and producing solid all around numbers.

Chris Duhon
You’ve got to love Chris Duhon as he has brought excitement back in New York. Of course, Mike D’Antoni is there and so is Nate Robinson but at least this guy can lead his team or should I say teams. The Knicks had three different teams on their roster this year due to trades in different parts of the season and Duhon had the leadership to make them adjust to his play while not affecting his stats. In fact, all of his stats increased this year and is having a career year.

Jeff Green
Durant’s sidekick is doing a lot to help the Thunder win as much as games as possible and gain momentum towards next season. Jeff Green has increase almost all of his stats except for the blocks but he has learned how to shoot threes and is evident from his 1.3 a game this year to last year’s .3. This guy hasn’t had enough buzz around the league to win MIP but he will definitely improve his game and hopefully take it to another level next year.

Other players worth mentioning:

Danny Granger – looks to be the favorite of everyone to win this award but I am not that convinced he should.

Spencer Hawes – The season’s beginning was great. The middle was bad. The end is looking good.

Dominic McGuire – Did improve but his overall stats aren’t that impressive.

Von Wafer – The Rockets unloaded Alston and Head because they liked what they saw in Wafer and Aaron Brooks.

Nene – We already knew this guy was good but he took his games to another level and increased his games played after 4 injury plagued seasons.

Dwayne Wade – Believe it or not but Wade increased in every statistical category from last year but we knew he was injured. We also knew he was good the two years ago and the year before that and so on..but he’s looking to play his most played games in the season this year.

There you have it – my list for Most Improved Player. What do you think of this? Let me know through comments or you can just email me.

Related posts:

1. Top 10 Fantasy Basketball Players for 2008-2009 The 2008-2009 regular season is about the be over and...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.