Disclaimer: For those who want to see my votes and not my explanations/comments, then scroll all the way to the bottom and my ballot is there.
Player of the Year 1)
Lebron James - His offense translates the best in the playoffs. His scoring is more consistent and reliable than Curry's, Durant's and Leonards at this point in all their careers, and his playmaking ability blows all theirs out the water. When you take into account that James is also still really good defensively, this is a no brainer.
2)
Kawhi Leonard - Leonard had a very solid regular season, and has picked up his playmaking a lot. Leonard really exploded in the playoffs, against Memphis he put up 31 points on 70 TS%. Some people will deflate his accomplishment against Memphis because they didn't have Tony Allen, even if Allen had an all time great series what would that mean - Leonard puts up 30 on 66 TS% instead? Guy was a beast. His last game against GSW at game 1, he put up 18 points in one half while having his team up by about 20 points - the guy still ended with 25 points on 67 TS these playoffs, a big upgrade from his RS performance as well notable playmaking.
The biggest story is Leonard's defense. From what I've seen, Leonard still seems to be the same lock down defender. I don't watch a lot of SAS, but when I do, Leonard is always butchering who ever he is covering. I don't think SAS having a better defense when Leonard is sitting means much, since they are a very good defense either way.
While Leonard did get injured in the playoffs,I'm not sure if it is proper to hold it against him for Zaza essentially injuring him. He's proven more then what Curry and Durant did, he put up numbers that are just as good, despite not having anywhere near the help - so Leonard gets the benefit of the doubt here.
3)
Kevin Durant - I've been going back and forth between him and Curry for this spot. I'm almost swayed to pick Curry since most people seem to be, but I will stick with my guns.
Curry is a better offensive player than Durant, I don't have much doubt about that conclusion. Curry's +/- summarize that. However, I do think Durant's notable defensive improvements probably push him over the edge.
Curry and Durant are both panned for playoff inconsistencies (which is funny considering they're still insanely efficient scorers even in series where they perceived to struggle). These playoffs this wasn't a factor, but when you have that many great players playing together, they SHOULD be able to put up great, clean, efficient numbers. In a hypothetical where both guys had their own team again, I think Durant's DEFENSE gives him a consistency advantage which Curry can't match. Durant is an all-defense caliber player now, and that means if Durant's shot isn't falling or if he is ISO balling too much and killing his teams offense, he's still going to impact the game in a big way. Curry affecting the game passively is supposed to be a major selling point, but Durant stretches the floor also - albeit nowhere near as much as Curry. But yeah, like I said, Durant's notable defensive improvements tells my brain that he should be a bit better, even though Curry does have much better impact stats (but again, on a team like GSW where everyone has incredible stats, it's really hard to pick apart who is truly the most impactful or who is just merely benefiting the most from playing with the other studs).
4)
Stephen Curry - It feels weird to put him at #4 after how dominant he was last year. I'm one of those people who think that Curry is about as good as he was last year, perhaps not at the first half of the RS, but for the most part he's the same player. Last year I thought Curry had unlimited potential, but this year I am much more critical of how good Curry can be in the playoffs (on paper he should be the best player ever, but just looking at what LBJ does, it seems like there is a small subtleness that Curry doesn't have that seems to make him a step lower than the true goats).
5)
Chris Paul - CP3 had a really underrated season. His RS was looked over as it normally is, but more so this year since no one thought the Clippers would do anything due to their injuries and how insanely stacked GSW is. If people do remember the Clippers started off RED HOT, with incredible defense and a great record - and to also remind people the Clippers ended INCREDIBLY STRONG in the RS where CP3 won the player of the month. So CP3 had arguably the best first and last month in the NBA RS.
RS is nice, but it doesn't really matter, but I do think people overlook that CP3 had very dominant streaks so I felt it was worth pointing out.
His PS run was short, but very impressive. 7 game series against a stud defense with a deep roster in Utah. CP3's 2nd best player was DeAndre Jordan, and his 3rd best player was JJ Reddick - who wasn't hitting any shots other than one game. CP3 had a total dud in game 7, but had 6 stellar games prior to that, and a won the last player of the month - so a bad game was bound to happen sooner or later.
CP3's stats against Utah was 25/10/5 on 59 TS% with crazy +/- and only 2.7 turnovers. When CP3 is on the court, I think it is really clear that he is better than Harden and Westbrook. CP3 is held back from getting placed higher on this list because I haven't seen enough of him in the post season to make me confident in saying he can match the Curry's and Durant's of the world.
Offensive Player of the Year
1)
Lebron James - I see a lot of people putting Curry here, but I feel like that is bias to the fact that he is a point guard and a shooter on top of that, which naturally leads people to giving him the benefit of the doubt.
I can say without hesitation, that if we're talking strictly offense, there is no one I'd rather have other than LBJ. I almost feel like it would be crazy to take anyone over him. While Curry and Durant are clearly better scorers over the course of an RS, in the post season, there doesn't seem to be a very big gap. I think James offense just translates better, he is better at slashing, better in transition and has one of the most effective post games from the wing position of all time. And we're just talking about SCORING here.
When you take into account playmaking, James is several tiers above Curry, and he really just blows Durant out the water here. This should translate to him being the best offensive player, and considering what he did to GSW and several other teams, I don't have much reason to doubt him - lack of shooting be damned.
2)
Stephen Curry - Well, this is rather obvious at this point given what I said in the prior ranking. Curry off a screen is still pretty damn hard to stop, and his spacing is incredible. Put on top he is an underrated finisher, has a mid range game, and is an underrated passer - he is a clear #2.
3)
Chris Paul - CP3 has good boxscore stats, not eye popping but clearly very effective - however his impact stats is what makes him so good. He arguably has the best collection of impact stats in the league and he is on top of several offensive advance stats as well. It isn't hard to see why, the way he orchestrates his offense is masterful, he doesn't need to put up anything more than 18/9 to make sure his team has the best offense possible - so doesn't that mean he's a pretty damn great offensive player?
Defensive Player of the Year 1)
Rudy Gobert - So this is probably the vote that has the most potential of blowing up back in my face. Gobert is #1 in DRTG, DWS, BLK%, BLKs and up there in DBPM and D+/-. He's also one of the best rebounders in the league, something that people who are Pro Draymond Green (aka the "versatile" argument") tend to look over.
I knew Gobert's claim to getting DPOY in this project went to **** once Stephen Curry made Gobert spin around. If anything, the fact that so many people latch on to such a shallow argument renforces my confidence that Gobert deserves DPOY. The fact that Gobert can't guard the best scoring point guard in the league in man to man, 30 feet away from the rim, when Curry has superstacked teammates means very little in terms of him "not being worthy of DPOY". Believe it or not, Draymond Green does have weaknesses also.
I also think it is
absurd to suggest that Green is anywhere near the rim protector that Gobert. I keep seeing that their FG% at the rim is the same, even though Green's is on significantly less volume - the weird thing is people seem to acknowledge that while Green protects on the rim on way less volume, yet seem to think it is a detail that isn't that important? I mean the fact that Gobert does what he does with such a HIGH VOLUME of shots coming his way, pretty much shuts down the argument that Green is as good of a rim protecter - it's as absurd as suggesting Kyle Korver is as good as a scorer as Kawhi Leonard because they both have great TS%. Sure, it's possible that if more shots came Green's way his efficiency would not go down, but we don't have enough evidence to make that conclusion.
Gobert beat Green out on most defensive stats, and looking at their skill sets, being able to switch and guard the perimeter better doesn't instantly mean you're the better defender - there is more to defense then just PNR defense in which case Gobert isn't exactly a bum either. I mean I am starting to wonder, do people think that Green is a better defender than Tim Duncan as well?
2)
Draymond Green - This year it is just a two man race between Green and Gobert. With all the bad stuff I said about Green, it is hard to deny that when watching him he is insanely disruptive. He can take over games defensively and blow up sets. His impact stats are insanely high, so much that people think he might even be one of the best players in the league. I have to give Gobert the benefit of the doubt, because I think the reason why people dismiss Gobert's superior stats is very shallow, but Green could end up making me feel stupid later on down the road for sure.
3)
Kawhi Leonard - Sure, SAS defense might be better with Leonard on the bench, but doesn't that just say more about the rotation then anything? I don't see anything to suggest Leonard has actually gotten worse defensively. Motor wise he is the same, athletically he is the same, decision making he is the same - what's really changed?
The argument that you can't be a great volume scorer and play high caliber defense is really flawed also. Pretty much every all time great two way player has had offensive regular season's better than Leonard
during the same season they had their best defensive season - so I don't buy that for a second. In the playoffs, I thought Leonard's defense was so good that it wiped away a lot of the concern of his lackluster RS stats.
Rookie of the Year 1)
Joel Embiid - Yes, he only played a little over 30 games. But I don't give a damn. He had one of the most unique and dominant rookie seasons in some time. Embiid did it all. He could volume scorer, get double digit rebounds, block the rim no problem,
shut down the pick and roll, [bhit 3s at 37% rate[/b], pass the ball and attack the rim like an animal. This guy put up CRAZY numbers for a rookie in just 25 minutes of play. His per stats are 29/11/3 3.5 BLK - granted he is insanely turnover prone at this point of his career. He could have been played more, and probably ended the season with 36ish games, which I guess doesn't make a big difference.
So, to me, rookie of the year only has value if it actually points out who the best rookie was.This means that no matter how small the role, or how small the play time - because quite frankly, every rookie has such crazy circumstances. There are many rookies every year who are snubbed because they didn't play enough, while rookies who are stinking up the floor can average over 30 minutes a game if their team is bad enough. So I don't penalize rookies for lack of games or minutes played, thus I will give Embiid my vote of confidence.
2)
Malcolm Brogdon - I thought teams should have drafted Malcolm somewhere between 10-13, the fact that he fell to the 2nd round really enforces my opinion that GMs are clueless. GMs have all this access to the best scouts in the world, but quite frankly, they just don't listen to them.
Brogdon is a 5 year college player, who is 24 years old, it isn't surprising that the guy is as good as he is his rookie year. As I said before, ROY should be about who is the best rookie, regardless of age or potential. Brogdon proved to be a great 3 and D guy, and even went above my expectations with his ball handling responsibilities in Milwaukee. A lot of people crap on Brogdon for being the weakest ROY, but that is crazy - he is better than other ROYs like MCW, Wiggins and even guys like Towns and Lillard are not that much better if at all.
3)
Dario Saric - Not much competition outside of Brogdon and Embiid. Saric's passing and handling ability go without saying, he's also a smart player off ball who can nail shots far from the rim. Saric played like a good rotation player this season, which is better than what other rookies like Brown did.
Most Improved Player 1)
Isaiah Thomas - I thought Isaiah was more of a super 6th man up to this point. Very good 20 PPG scorer, but he took to to another level at the age of 27. He was one of the league leaders in scorers while scoring 62%. Thomas not only has great handles and a diverse on ball play, but he can hit jumpers off of curls and catch and shoots. While Thomas is very good at getting to the rim, his shooting is what leaves me shocked, he can hit shots with a very quick release on a very consistent basis. While Thomas is not a superstar, he does have #1 option caliber scoring, which isn't something that I thought was possible with Thomas.
2)
Giannis Antetokounmpo - The first couple of months of the season I was hesitant to give Giannis this award. Not because I wasn't convinced he was a beast, but because I wasn't convinced that he had improved that much. Giannis was really good at the end of the 2016 RS, so I thought it was natural he was doing the things he did at the start of the season.
However, Giannis has convinced me that he is easily a top ten player. His defense has stepped up a notch, and his scoring ability is looking more consistent. He went from a very good player last year to a top ten guy this year. He's not #1 because he was still pretty damn good the year before, given his age it isn't that crazy he made the leap that he did.
3)
Nikola Jokic - I'm not sure if Nuric deserves this spot since I had much lower expectations for Nuric coming into this season then Jokic.
Jokic's passing ability goes without saying, but my jaw has dropped when watching Jokic in the paint. His push shot is so incredibly efficient, it really feels like Jokic does not miss. The fact that he can score with such a simple but effective maneuver is truly scary, that shows that his touch is just on another level from everyone else - forget his B-ball IQ, this guy can shoot like crazy.
He put up some incredible stats and was anchoring the best offense int he league, imagine what he could have done if he wasn't held back by Nuric this season?
6th Man of the Year[/b ]
1) [b]Andre Iguodala - I think Andre has declined a bit even though his TS% has sky rocketed (which I believe is due to Durant's gravity). He is still the best two way player to come off a bench in the league. Good passer with great defense, and can come up big in times when a bucket is needed.
2)
James Johnson - Big increase in PPG and APG, and he is a very good defender. James Johnson was one of the key factors to why the Heat were one of the best teams post all-star break. I'd take him over a one way scoring guard.
3)
Eric Gordon - He and Lou Williams were the kings of the scoring 6th men. Gordon genuinely had a very good season, but I do feel like he benefited a lot from Harden. Gordon's ability to score with the ball has declined due to his injuries in my opinion, so while he can shoot lights out he has very little utility outside of that, so I have to place superior two way players in Iggy and Johnson above him.
Coach of the Year 1)
Brad Stevens - What makes me give him the #1 spot is his daring substitutions in times of pressure. Stevens has never been shy about experimenting with players or using players in unorthodox times to complete unorthodox tasks. The Celtics nabbing the #1 seed is a nice feather in the cap, but Stevens gets the #1 spot for what he did in the playoffs.
He made very timely substitutions with players like Olynyk, Rozier and a rookie Jaylen Brown which payed off. He knew when to ditch Amir Johnson and when to play him. Stevens did something that Popovich struggles with time to time, and that's adapt his roster with in the span of a series - where as Popovich tends to stick with his guns after he's established a winning formula.
2)
Greg Popovich - Honestly, I thought the Spurs overachieved. When you get away from Leonard, their roster looks old or filled with youngings. The biggest reason why Popovich loses out here is because I think he just plays Tony Parker too damn much - really, if it wasn't for that I'd probably give him the #1 spot.
3)
Mike D'Antoni - The Rockets overachieved past what anyone thought. Many people, including myself didn't even have the Rockets making the playoffs. The Rockets constructed an awesome team with a clear goal in mind, to chuck up 3s. D'Antoni system is great for someone like Harden, and it lead to them winning a lot of RS games. I don't think D'Antoni's style is that great for the playoffs unless it is against GSW since it gives them a punchers chance, which is all anyone has against GSW at this point.
Executive of the Year Disclaimer: I will list the organizations here, the person who collects the ballot may assign my vote to any executive he feels best represents that organization (so if I give a vote to Golden State Warriors, one can assume I am voting for Bob Meyers if need be).
1)
Golden state Warriors - They signed Kevin Durant. (extra credit for getting David West and JaVale McGee)
2)
Cleveland Cavilers - They re-signed everyone, which during the summer of 2016 was not a guarantee. I thought over paying to keep their championship level core in tact was incredibly important, now it seems like a waste of money because they can't beat GSW - but can I really hold that against them? Durant going to GSW just raised the bar, the Cavs were even better this year than they were last year.
The Cavs also landed Bogut, who sadly went down almost instantly, but quite suave of them to get a player that good on a team that is already capped to the gils. Then they add Kyle Krover, which is a great bench addition. The Cavs also addressed their lack of back up PG and got Deron Williams who is even better than the Aussie they lost last year.
It feels kinda cheap to give my top 2 votes to franchises already on top, but I do think they legitimately made great changes given their circumstances.
3)
Utah Jazz - The Jazz were on the up and come, all they needed was more talent and depth and the Jazz did just that. This was pretty much the best off season that a small market team with limited cap space that the Jazz could have had. They pulled in George Hill who had an incredible season, Joe Johnson who was a great 6th man and helped win them their series against Los Angeles, and Boris Diaw who is the same solid defensive passer that he was in San Antonio.
Now, one might say - why not give the Pelicans a vote? They got Cousins by giving up Buddy Hield and scraps. Well, while Cousins>Joe johnson, Boris Diaw and George Hill - you have to acknowledge that the Pelicans made a lot of NEGATIVE signings to their franchise. Truthfully, a team with Anthony Davis should be a playoff team - we don't even have to acknowledge that they weren't winning a lot even after they acquired Cousins.
The Pelicans made DREADFUL signings - Langston Galloway, Solomon Hill, E'Twan Moore, Lance Stephenson - just total scrubs and some of them are eating up important cap space which will limit the Pelicans future. Even with Cousins on their team, they're not making the playoffs next year, and Cousins will likely leave (and eventually Davis) - so I think that overall, while Hield for Cousins is a fleece on paper, it will make very little difference for the Pelicans immediate future.
Clean version for ballot collector
