|
BasslineSpin.com NBA Regular Season 2004-05 BasslineSpin.com “Awards” Let’s
start with MVP. On
the league ballot you vote for five players in order. 1. Steve Nash - The best point guard in the league helped
make my number two MVP player Amare Stoudemire. 2. Amare - Like Hakeem (Akeem) before him, he is a one
name player. 3. Dirk Nowitzki - He had a great season and is the NBA’s
premier perimeter player. 4. Kevin Garnett
- The T-Wolves missed the
playoffs but it wasn’t KG’s fault. 5. Paul Pierce - He
plays in every game and brings a wealth of talent to the Boston. Most Improved Player - In all my years of looking at NBA
stats—I’ve never seen so many candidates for Most Improved Player. All these
guys deserved consideration: A countdown from 15 to 1… #15 Kyle Korver
emerged as one the best outside shooting threats in the league. #14 Shawn
Marion - He was already good but he
became even more effective this season teamed with Nash. #13 Jason Hart -
Finally played real NBA minutes this year. He is a sleeper to keep an
eye on. #12 Vince Carter - He went
from a so-so shooting guard in Toronto to a big baller again with Kidd. #11
Caron Butler - He was hurt and generally stunk in Miami in
2003-04 but this year in Laker-land he at least showed that he belongs in the
League. #10 - Darius Miles - He can shoot with more accuracy and he
improved .128 efficiency points. …#9 Mike James - It
is rare to see a player improve their efficiency under Jeff Van Gundy—but it
worked for Mike James. Under JVG he is less prone to the quick (bad) shot
that kills percentages. #8 Maurice Williams -
Played the point all year with TJ Ford hurt. He showed more than I
ever thought he had. #7 Primoz Brezac
- Went from being a non-factor in
the NBA to a guy who played significant minutes for the expansion Bobcats. #6
Brevin Knight - Showed all that he can still be a factor at
the point. He sees the floor so well. #5 Travis Outlaw - He played his first meaningful NBA minutes
this year and played well enough to foresee a solid future. #4 Drew
Gooden - He was a double-double threat
each night in Cleveland when some had given up on him. #3 Joel Pryzbilla
- If he could play the Kings each
game—he would be MVP. #2 Lebron James -
He shouldn’t be this good this soon. ...And my Most Improved Player in
2004-05 is Amare Stoudemire. A mammoth .196 efficiency boost from one year to
the next is unheard of. Rookie of the Year: I give the nod to Dwight Howard of
Orlando. Defensive Player of the Year: Ben Wallace -
He and Shawn Marion have the highest combined number of blocks and steals
(282). Coach of the Year: Mike
D’Antoni - I expected not much from the Suns and they
were the best team all year. All-NBA First Team: Nash,
Lebron, Dirk, Garnett, and Amare. ...Second Team: Dwyane Wade, Pierce, Marion, Tim Duncan, Shaquille
O’Neal. ...Third team:
Allen Iverson, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, Elton Brand, Yao Ming. All Rookie Team: Emeka
Okafor, Josh Smith, Ben Gordon, Al Jefferson, Dwight Howard. |