End-of-season Basket-Blogger Rankings
Monday, April 21, 2008
The regular season's over, which means the NBA blogger voting has come to a close (for now; you never know if a Playoff MVP needs to be crowned). We Rite Goode managed this final, 11th iteration of the polling, which was last hosted by Queen City Hoops two weeks ago; for those new to the process, votes are compiled from roughly 20-40 blogs each round.
To reveal today: Basket-bloggers' final Rookie of the Year, as well as our collective Coach of the Year and Most Improved Player picks.
(Inspired by the NBA's own staggered reveal--not to mention Neal Pollack's love for this kind of thing--we're going to stretch the results out into multiple posts. Consider yourself warned.)
Let's get to it.
Rookie of the Year
Honorable mention: Jamario Moon, Carl Landry, Joakim Noah
5. Thaddeus Young
8.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 53.9% FG, 16.5 PER
31 points, Named on 46% of ballots
There wasn't much talk about Young when he was drafted out of Georgia Tech but his play was one of the main reasons for Philly's late season success.--Franchise, Raptors HQ
As the second-youngest rookie this season, Young has acted downright grown-up as a starter for the surging Sixers.--Ryne, Odenized
4. Al Thornton
12.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.2 apg, 12.7 PER
37 points, 57% of ballots
He can probably replace Corey Maggette's production if Maggette opts-out this summer. Can you believe he slipped all the way to 14th?--Ben Q. Rock, Third Quarter Collapse
This guy has big-time scorer written all over him. Great athlete whose game just needs a little polishing.--Dave, 20 Second Timeout
Two Al's in the top five!--Phoenix Stan, Bright Side of the Sun
3. Luis Scola
10.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 51.5% FG, 16.1 PER
101.5 points, 97% of ballots
Made a very smooth transition from dominating Europe to not quite dominating the NBA. Fears surrounding his ability to rebound proved to be unfounded.--Jeremy, Pickaxe and Roll
2. Al Horford
10.1 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 49.9% FG, 14.7 PER
148 points, 100% of ballots
Will be making money while Durant's sitting at home with his Mom watching Days of Our Lives.--Matt and Corndogg, Hardwood Paroxysm
You don't win the award for being the pre-season choice, KD.--Josh, The Dinosty
1. Kevin Durant
20.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.4 apg, 15.8 PER
166 points, 100% of ballots
PLEASE CALL HIM KID DELICIOUS--The Blowtorch
Hands down; go look at LeBron or KG's numbers as a 19 year old.--TruthAboutIt.net
Why do people think this was a dissapointing season? +20ppg with +.50 TS% ain't that bad. Any star with that supporting cast is going to have a hard time being efficient. And his endgame heroics leave more than enough to be excited about for the future.--Carter Blanchard, Plissken at the Buzzer/FreeDarko
How do we compare?
Coach of the Year
Honorable mention: Mo Cheeks, Phil Jackson, Stan Van Gundy
3. Doc Rivers
Celtics, 2007: 24-58, 28th in offensive rating, 16th in defensive rating
Celtics, 2008: 66-16, 9th in offensive rating, 1st in defensive rating
26 points, 40% of ballots
Ok, we know KG did all the work, but still.--Jerramy, The Bratwurst.
No matter what anyone says, he gets some credit for the greatest "win" turnaround in NBA history. He had very little time to get all the new players on the same page and things running smoothly.--College Wolf, TWolvesBlog
2. Rick Adelman
Rockets, 2007: 52-30, 15th in offensive rating, 3rd in defensive rating
Rockets, 2008: 55-27, 17 in offensive rating, 2nd in defensive rating
39 points, 51% of ballots
Had the Rockets doing things they had no right to be doing.--Don, WithMalice
Twenty-two in a row. Loses Yao (and T-Mac). Continues to win. In the West. With *Rafer* as his PG.--David, The Dream Shake
1. Byron Scott
Hornets, 2007: 39-43, 23rd in offensive rating, 14th in defensive rating
Hornets, 2008: 56-26, 5th in offensive rating, 7th in defensive rating
69 points, 77% of ballots
If you look at Hornets roster and at their record, you should realize there must be a reason for their overachievement.--Ricky, Sixers 4 Guidos
I saw him pull a ballsy move by switching his star PG off Rajon Rondo because Rondo was too quick. Most coaches would defer to the kid's ego. I like that he didn't.--John, Red's Army
How do we compare?
Most Improved Player
Honorable mention: Mike Dunleavy, Jose Calderon, Rajon Rondo
3. Chris Paul
2007: 17.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 8.9 apg, 1.8 spg, 22.0 PER
2008: 21.1 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 11.6 apg, 2.7 spg, 28.3 PER
18 points, 23% of ballots
Yeah, this is a weird vote. But think about it, he's taken his game from potential All-Star to greatest season in PG history. That's a 6.3 jump in PER; it took Monta Ellis a 3.9 jump to win last year.--Rohan, At the Hive
All-Star to MVP candidate is quite a leap.--Brett, Queen City Hoops
2. Rudy Gay
2007: 10.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.3 apg, 12.4 PER
2008: 20.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 2.0 apg, 17.5 PER
22 points, 31% of ballots
He's almost doubled his scoring average and would be an All-Star if he played for a contender.--Third Quarter Collapse
1. Hedo Turkoglu
2007: 13.3 ppg, 4.o rpg, 3.2 apg, 14.2 PER
2008: 19.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 5.0 apg, 17.8 PER
69 points, 74% of ballots
Admit it. You weren't expecting a career year from Hedo.--Basketbawful
He's got a special place in my heart as a late-round fantasy pick.--Jeff, Courtside at the Score
He must be on steroids.--Pradamaster, Bullets Forever
How do we compare?
Click here to see how the voting for today's awards shook out; come back tomorrow to see the unveiling of our Seventh Man of the Year...and something called the MVP.
(Update: Part II is here).
Esteemed voters
David (Dream Shake); Ryne (Odenized); Franchise (RaptorsHQ); Spartacus (3 Shades of Blue); College Wolf (TWolves Blog); Matt and Corndogg (Hardwood Paroxysm); David (20 Second Timeout); Brian (Empty the Bench); Ben Q. Rock (Third Quarter Collapse); Don (With Malice); Ryan (HoopsAddict); Green 17 & Steve W. (Celtics Blog); Alex (BrewHoop); Basketbawful (Basketbawful); ticktock6 and mW (Hornets Hype); Dannie (Hoops State of Mind); Carter Blanchard (Free Darko); Rohan (At the Hive); Matt Watson (DetroitBadBoys.com); Tom (Indy Cornrows) Pradamaster (Bullets Forever); Josh (Dinosty); Jeramey (The Bratwurst); Jeff (Courtside at The Score); Wes Cox (Mavs Moneyball); Goathair (The Blowtorch); TruthAboutIt (TruthAboutIt.net); Ricky (Sixers 4 Guidos); Phoenix Stan (Bright Side of the Sun); Matt (BlogABull.com); Brett (Queen City Hoops); John (Red's Army); Andre (Nuggets 1); M. Haubs (The Painted Area); Jeremy (Pickaxe and Roll)
Previous rounds
- Brew Hoop
- ClipsNation
- 3 Shades of Blue
- Sixers4Guidos
- Pickaxe & Roll
- Hardwood Paroxysm
- CelticsBlog
- TwolvesBlog
- Hornets247
- Queen City Hoops
Labels: Al Horford, Byron Scott, Chris Paul, Coach of the Year, Hedo Turkoglu, Kevin Durant, Luis Scola, Most Improved Player of the Year, NBA, Rick Adelman, Rookie of the Year
posted by Crucifictorious @ 04:48,
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