2012-13 Player of the Year Voting Thread (LeBron wins)

[Doctor MJ]

This is our official Voting thread. It is from here that I will tally up the votes. The Discussion thread is here:

viewtopic.php?f=64&t=1248930

Voters, please begin your official voting post with an easy to read ballot. Example:

1. Derrick Rose
2. Austin Rivers
3. Michael Beasley
4. Ben Gordon
5. Hedo Turkoglu

If you decide to change your vote before the deadline, please edit your post and say exactly what you changed.

If you decide you'd rather just make a new post, then edit your previous voting post so I know to ignore it.

NONVOTERS: DO NOT MAKE A BALLOT. It will not be counted, and I will hate you for making my life tougher. If you feel you should have been included on the list of voters, PM me.

Beyond that, I'm fine with discussion and debate happening in this thread as long it doesn't look like a ballot.

List of Voters:

1. Doctor MJ
2. nunemouse
3. therealbig3
4. TheChosen618
5. GSP
6. B-Creamy
7. CBA
8. Narigo
9. Sideshow Bob
10. Mutnt
11. ronnymac2
12. ardee
13. ElGee
14. JordansBulls
15. GC Pantalones
16. Vinsanity420
17. MeloMiracle
18. sp6r-underrated
19. HeartBreakKid
20. bondom34
21. semi-sentient
22. colts18
23. mysticbb
24. An Unbiased Fan
25. fatal9
26. DavidStern
27. Dr. Positivity

[colts18]

Can I make a list with just a top 3? This season shouldn't even have a top 5

[Doctor MJ]

Can I make a list with just a top 3? This season shouldn't even have a top 5

Nope.

[bondom34]

Am I first? Wohoo!
Ballot:
1. Lebron James
2. Kevin Durant
3. Chris Paul
4. Tony Parker
5. Marc Gasol

For Reference, season stats:

http://bkref.com/tiny/dtz5s

Reasoning:
1. Lebron James - Do I need to explain?
2. Kevin Durant - 50/40/90 on .657 TS percentage, second in scoring on crazy efficiency, also improved his all around game in rebounding assists and defense; also checked his stat line, and its strangely close to Lebron last year, which in nearly any season is good enough for first on this list
3. Chris Paul - tops in steals per game, second in assists and assists per game, pretty clearly showed to be a difference maker when he was and wasn't in the Clippers lineup
4. Tony Parker - after 3, it was honestly a list of about 7-10 guys it could have been, and he led his team to the NBA finals, I couldn't really find another from the group who had a significantly better regular season who didn't in some way disappoint in the playoffs
5. Marc Gasol - top center in the league with Howard being injured, really showed defensive prowess and helped a top defense make a solid playoff push

[colts18]

1. LeBron
2. Durant
3. Paul
4. Curry
5. Gasol

[Mutnt]

Ballot:

1.) LeBron James
2.) Kevin Durant
3.) Chris Paul
4.) Tim Duncan
5.) Tony Parker

[lorak]

1. LeBron
2. Durant
3. CP
4. Harden
5. George

[Vinsanity420]

Ballot -

1. LeBron
2. Durant
3. Paul
4. Curry
5. Duncan

[semi-sentient]

1. LeBron
2. Durant
3. CP3
4. Duncan
5. Marc Gasol

Kobe had a good regular season (at least offensively) but missed the playoffs entirely, and the result was that the Lakers offense took a pretty big nosedive as the team fell apart.

RS: 102.2 pts, .458 fg%, .355 3p%, 27.9 fta, 15.0 tov
PS: 85.3 pts, .442 fg%, .270 3p%, 18.5 fta, 16.5 tov

That's a massive difference, although the Spurs were clearly a good defensive team. Still, the Lakers without Kobe were pathetic.

Curry had a couple of outstanding games in the playoffs but he wasn't very consistent, and I really don't think he had a better RS than Kobe nor do I feel I can justify him over Kobe simply because he played more games.

Parker played poorly towards the end of the season and wasn't very good in the Finals, although his hamstring injury had something to do with that I suspect. I'm looking at what he did leading up to the Finals and I think he was fairly inconsistent like Curry.

James Harden is below all of those in my book. He did nothing to justify a top 5 spot.

Edit: Changed my vote to Marc Gasol for #5. He had a fine year and I think he deserves some credit for his defense.

[CBA]

1. Lebron
2. Durant
3. CP3
4. Harden
5. Duncan

James Harden is below all of those in my book. He did nothing to justify a top 5 spot.

Kobe and Harden's box score stats are near identical, but Harden led inferior talent to greater heights. But somehow Harden did nothing but Kobe, whose team made it to the playoffs without him and of course didn't even play in the playoffs is deserving? Very strange.

[JordansBulls]

1. Lebron
2. Durant
3. CP3
4. Harden
5. Can't decide between Westbrook/Wade/Melo

[therealbig3]

I had Marc Gasol at #5, but after the TP vs D-Will debate, I'm convinced that D-Will should go #5.

1. LeBron
2. Durant
3. CP3
4. Curry
5. D-Will

[TheChosen618]

1. Lebron James
2. Kevin Durant
3. Chris Paul
4. Tim Duncan
5. Paul George

I decided to stick with the last 5 that I had on this.

I am not so sure how one could have Parker ahead of Duncan. I personally think that is the equivalent of putting Rondo over KG for last season. It seemed like last season in the same project everybody was sold that KG was better and more valuable than Rondo. I'm not sure why Duncan-Parker is so much different. Duncan, like KG, is clearly the more valuable player on the team and can impact the game in more ways than their PG could. I would say what makes Duncan-Parker less of a comparison than Rondo-KG is the fact that Duncan could score much better than KG could and could create his own shot. It seemed like last season, KG was quite reliant on Rondo setting him in the first place, whereas Duncan did plenty of creating for himself this season especially in the post-season.

[mysticbb]

1. LeBron James
2. Chris Paul
3. Kevin Durant
4. Paul George
5. Tim Duncan

HM: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Dwight Howard, Marc Gasol, Stephen Curry

[ardee]

1. LeBron James
2. Chris Paul
3. Kevin Durant
4. Paul George
5. Tim Duncan

HM: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Dwight Howard, Marc Gasol, Stephen Curry

What is your reasoning for Paul over Durant? I thought Durant would be a unanimous no. 2.

[SideshowBob]

1. LeBron James
2. Chris Paul
3. Kevin Durant
4. Paul George
5. Tim Duncan

HM: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Dwight Howard, Marc Gasol, Stephen Curry

What is your reasoning for Paul over Durant? I thought Durant would be a unanimous no. 2.

Yeah could you expound a bit mystic? I know you had Paul over Durant earlier in the season as well, and I have thought a bit about the gap (or lack of) between the two, so the 2 and 3 spots are probably a bit more interesting to me than most everyone else (though I am leaning Durant).

[Dr Positivity]

1. Lebron James
2. Kevin Durant
3. Chris Paul
4. Marc Gasol
5. Tony Parker

[Kobe Bean]

Sorry, only people on panel can vote. Feel free to post your ballot in the Discussion thread.

[mysticbb]

What is your reasoning for Paul over Durant? I thought Durant would be a unanimous no. 2.

Yeah could you expound a bit mystic? I know you had Paul over Durant earlier in the season as well, and I have thought a bit about the gap (or lack of) between the two, so the 2 and 3 spots are probably a bit more interesting to me than most everyone else (though I am leaning Durant).

Based on production, efficiency and impact, Paul is rather easily better per 100 poss than Durant. The difference between James and Paul is smaller in regard to that than the difference between Paul and Durant. From that perspective Durant is getting overrated. His production and efficiency level is actually really good, but his efficiency advantage over average is actually already explaining all of his impact. And it fits the way he plays. Durant is able to get into positions which are helpful for his scoring, and he is scoring on a high efficiency, but in that way he is not helping his teammates to get into better positions. It is actually Westbrook's playing style, which makes it easier for the rest of the team and therefore causing a similar impact on the overall score as Durant's. Durant can make a bigger impact when playing PF, but he is too weak defensively to play that position constantly against any type of team.

Paul on the other end makes it way easier for his teammates and can basically match Durant's production and efficiency combination. Especially his really low error rate makes it possible that a team with Paul as the centerpiece has a better chance of winning it all than a team with Durant. The playing time during the season obviously makes it closer, but we should keep in mind that Paul was able to play 37 min per game in the playoffs.

As a note: My list reflects the players I would pick in order to build a team around for 2012/13 and have the most possible success. The team around them is assumed to be an average fitting and performing supporting cast in regards to the skills of the said listed player. In that assessment I tried to incorporate the availability of certain player types, for example: it is easier to get an average efficient smaller scorer than an offensive skilled big.

[Narigo]

1. LeBron James- Best player in the world by a great margin. Improved his mid range game and scoring efficiency. Good postseaon Carried the Heat to Championship despite Wade and Bush sub-par play.

2. Kevin Durant- became a better scorer and improved his passing and his playmaking skills. Took over primary playmaker once Westbrook went out. Had a good postseason despite being eliminated.

3. Chris Paul- Great year for Cp3. Was the only one who showed in the postseason for the Clippers.

4. James Harden- Had his role increased and proved he was a superstar this season. Made the Rockets a great offensive team.

5. Stephen Curry- Should have been a all star this season. Had a underrated regular season. Had a excellent postseason.



HM: Russell Westbrook and Tim Duncan
Westbrook would have top 5 if he havnt gotten injured. So Curry took his place.

EDIT: Changed my #5 vote to Stephen Curry instead of Westbrook