Aside from a few insignificant awards and the NBA’s MVP award, all of the other awards have pretty much been decided. The list includes a number of first time NBA winners, but also features a coach who’s won his 2nd Coach of the Year award. Whether you agree with the list or not, these are the players (& coach) who the voting members chose this year.
Here is a quick summary of the winners:
The MVP award should come next and is basically a deaheat between the Hornets’ Chris Paul and the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant. It would be the first MVP award for both basketball players and deserving (for either) as well.
Who’s your favorite? (let us know in the Comments)
The Boston Celtics acquired superstar Kevin Garnett in the hopes that he could help resurrect their team and bring it back to respectability. With his worth ethic and strong determination to win, getting Garnett was a no-brainer for GM Danny Ainge.
After leading the Celtics to the NBA’s best single season turnaround this year and making Boston one of the top defensive teams in the league, Kevin Garnett was rewarded Tuesday w/ the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award. This is the first time that Garnett has won the award - he had previously won an MVP while w/ the Timberwolves, but no defensive awards.
Garnett handily beat out the Nuggets’ Marcus Camby (last year’s winner) and 2nd runner-up Shane Battier from the Rockets.
The Celtics do not play tonight, but will resume their hunt for another NBA title tomorrow night (8pm EST) against the Atlanta Hawks.
There’s a lot of people out there who don’t like wearing jerseys of players who only play good offense - they want a jersey of the league’s defensive specialists or the defense juggernauts (ie: Wallace, Camby, Rodman, Oakley). If that’s you, you’ll surely want to pickup a Garnett jersey (or Celtics’ jersey).
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Houston Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada has come out of the closet - well sort of.
It seems that Tejada has been lying about his age ever since coming to the big leagues at “17″ (he was really 19) - Tejada is now 33, or 31, or 33… sh**, he’s probably still lying about it just like most people think Dikembe Mutombo (of NBA fame) is. While the 2 year age difference really doesn’t make much of a difference, unless you’re the GM of the Astros and you just signed him to a long-term deal (ha-ha), it’s still remarkable that Miguel Tejada was able to get away with it for so long.
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What I take from Miguel’s announcement is this… Tejada is a liar (the word “cheater” also comes to mind, but he hasn’t admitted to that yet). Did he take steroids? Probably… Is he going to admit it? No… Does it really matter in the scheme of things, since MLB has assured players mentioned in the Mitchell report a “free pass” to not get in suspended or penalized for their actions.
Analysts and the media have been saying it for weeks; the Tigers free throw shooting is atrocious and it would bite them at some point. Throughout the tournament, Memphis coach John Calipari defended his team and insisted that it would not be a factor - that’s what a coach should do, defend his players. He should also make them accountable and work harder to improve on the well-known weakness.
The analysts were proved right last night with about 2 minutes to go - Kansas down by 9 points. The Jayhawks continued to play tough defense down the stretch and forcing the Tigers to take bad shots, but their strategy to foul the Memphis players early paid off. Guards Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts missed critical free throws in the waning minutes that would’ve sealed the victory.
Kansas also made some great plays, including stealing an inbounds pass and scoring, as well as the game tying 3-pointer by Mario Chalmers (the game’s MVP). The team’s plan also included getting the Tigers’ top rebounder out of the game and it worked - senior Joey Dorsey got a silly fifth foul defending a Kansas guard.
Credit the Jayhawks for a terrific game and great coaching from Bill Self. They had a good game plan and it paid off w/ a national championship. Stock up on your Kansas Final Four gear below:
The Dallas Mavericks made a bold statement last night in their bid to make the NBA Playoffs by handily defeating their nemesis, the Golden State Warriors.
The Mavs were defeated in the first round of the playoffs by the Warriors last year, despite having the league’s best record. Going into last night’s game, you know that was still on the Dallas players’ minds. To make the match-up even more interesting, however, is the fact that both teams are fighting for a playoff position in the super-competitive Western Conference.
Dirk Nowitzki returned from a high-ankle sprain early and the Mavs got terrific performances from Jason Kidd, Jason Terry and Josh Howard. Dirk’s return seemed to give new life to the team that hadn’t beaten a team above .500 since acquiring Kidd several weeks ago. Golden State on the other hand, appeared lethargic and weary a night after having their ass handed to them by the Spurs. While the guards played well for the Warriors, Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington had games they’d probably like to forget.
While the Warriors style of play is fun to watch, I’d still like to see Dallas get into the playoffs. I feel that their inclusion will help to make this one of the most exciting playoff years (ever).
