1st team:
Curry/Wesbtrook
Leonard/James
Jordan
2nd team:
Paul/Lillard
Durant/Green
Cousins
3rd Team:
Lowry/Thompson
George/Aldridge
Drummond
I am old school. I like the inclusions of centers. Biggest omission (or not really IMO) is James Harden. But it looks like they really got it right this time. Maybe John Wall has a gripe, but his team really struggled this year.
Westbrook is probably the early favorite for MVP next year. so, um, no he didnt deserve it over Westbrook.
Harden 2015-2016 defensive highlights - ( New Window )
That video is one of the funniest things I have ever seen..
Sorry Osi
Is this James Harden posting? That is the most absurd comment I heard in a basketball thread all season long
After that, you have five top guards for four spots. I wouldn't have been surprised if he were 2nd team or off the list completely. Though he had an off-season injury, many still think he showed up out of shape due to partying with Kardashians.
Plus, while he put up excellent volume stats (and minutes), he wasn't very efficient an he set an NBA record for turnovers. The teams also performed dreadfully compared with last year which was a similar team.
There is a notion that for as well as Harden can score or create, that his style of play doesn't make his teammates better and so he isn't helping his team win as much as other players.
I take Chris Paul over Harden any day, especially after the way the Clippers played when Blake was out. His offensive efficiency, leadership, and defense I think cintributes more to wins than Harden.
So that leaves Lillard, Klay, and Lowry.
Lillard- great volume stats too. Equally bad defense. The difference is that while the Rockets were signficantly worse this season, the Blazers defied expectations dramatically. They lost 4(?) starters and yet performed better than the Rockets and many are rewarding LIllard with the credit.
Lowry- Second place team in the East and he was the clear leader of the team with a well-rounded game and some clutch moments-- he is getting credit for that.
Klay- in my opnion the second best player on a team that just won 73-games, an NBA record. Maybe Harden is better than Klay, but people were rewarding a historical season and crediting Klay with helping his team win those games. Plus, he does everything well.
It's not a huge omission to leave off Harden, but a Harden inclusion would have made sense as well.
Quote:
The Association announced All-NBA teams Thursday, and Anthony Davis' absence from the three elite five-man units cost him the chance to earn an extra $24 million.
there's a million stupid things in the CBA but having this level of compensation tied to a media vote might be the dumbest. I hope the new union head tears the whole thing up next year. Go with and NFL style hard cap and call it a day. Or no cap but with a punitive tax like MLB. Anything would be better then what they currently have.
A little flukey re timing IMO. Davis is a top 5 player but was hurt (I would have put him 1st team, and not had Jordan on the top 3 teams). Towns is pretty likely to be top 5-10 sooner rather than later. Porzingis may become a center and join KAT in the top 10. Cousins is a total beast but is in a shitty situation with bad teammates. Lots of under 25 players at the position with a lot of talent (including Kanter, Valanciunis, Jokic, Drummond, Capela, Gobert, Okafor).
Also remember the game has changed. 90s basketball was built for the high end center (though the greats of that era would all be great today). Post up offenses, isolations, slower play. Today's centers need to defend out in space and make fast decisions. The position is actually pretty impressive IMO.
Shaq, Hakeem, Ewing, Robinson, and Zo would all be extremely valuable in today's game - if not more. Hakeem, Robinson, and Zo had the foot speed to guard on the perimeter, Shaq would dominate in any era, and Ewing and Zo had enough range to make them legit stretch 5s. And guys who can protect the rim are always valuable.
Aldridge is nice but he has never been the #1 guy on a team that went out of the 2nd round for the majority of his career. Green isn't a #1 but is better at every aspect outside scoring compared to LMA. I don't think it's a coincidence that Curry rose to MVP the same year Green had his breakout season.
Lowry and Lillard had better storylines this year, while the Rockets were a leaguewide joke. But Harden's better than those 2.
Kawhi deserved 1st team over Durant, too bad Durant couldn't make it over Jordan. Durant deserved to make 1st team even if Kawhi and LeBron were a hair better imo.
sign Jesse