Mamba's Dead Wrong AWARD Predictions

[MexicanMamba]

I usually like to be dead wrong about playoff predictions, but since I need those tax bill points and the regular season is winding down, I figured I would add-on a new way for me to be wrong about SLOE related things. Here I will go over who I think should win the season awards that the game gives out every season. This is not who I necessarily believe the CPU will hand the awards to, because their criteria does not always match my own. I’m leaving out the All-Rookie teams because, well, I don’t feel like doing the necessary research to figure out who all the rookies were, since those include draft picks from the past who never touched the court until now. If you want to come up with your own All-Rookie selections, be my guest!



So, allow me to be incorrect about the following …



Most Valuable Player



Runner ups:



Quickfire honorable mentions go to: James Wiseman, Ronnie Reynolds, Zaire Wade and Gary Loredo, who are all doing great things for great teams. Though I would not give the award to him due to too many missed games because of injury, Delmar Lopez at least deserves an acknowledgment in this space. His numbers, while not as high as some of his previous MVP levels, are still scorching and he is most definitely the primary reason the Bulls are hanging around in the playoff picture at all this season. Luguentz Dort is turning into the kind of player most of us envisioned he could be when he came into the league with a stat line of 29-10-5 and shooting splits of 54-82-39. Unfortunately for him, the Blazers are in danger of missing the playoffs going into the final stretch of games and that must be taken into consideration when naming an MVP. Another former MVP rounds out this part of the list, Daniel Yandell. He is still one of the most physically imposing Point Guards in the game, plays high-level defense and is the unquestioned leader of that Spurs squad. In several other seasons, he may be my pick, but the problem is that he must deal with a teammate of his …



Winner:



Dorian Whitley


27.1 Points – 4.5 Assists – 5.9 Rebounds – 1.5 Steals

56 – 92 – 47 Shooting splits

69 TS% - 26.3 PER

Coming into the season Whitley would not have been on my MVP radar, especially because he would have to compete with Yandell and OG for touches. However, this season he took full control over that #1 offensive option in San Antonio and is doing it in remarkably efficient ways. For a large portion of the season he was near the top of the shooting percentage list which is nearly impossible to do for a Guard, let alone one with such a high usage rate. He currently sits 6th in scoring, 10th in shooting percentage, 1st in 3-point percentage and 5th in Free throws. He plays high minutes and keeps his fouling under control. His offensive sets the tempo for the team around him and they are currently #1 in the Alpha conference and #2 in the league overall. Most of the team’s high-level success would not have been possible without Whitley making another leap in his progression.



Defensive Player of the Year



Runner-ups:


If not for recent injuries, I may have given Cristiano Felicio the nod overall, but part of my criteria is games played. He has a sub-100 defensive efficiency rating and rebounds and blocks shots at a high level, while leading the #1 team in defensive efficiency rating. Two shot blockers who deserve some love are Mike Burnham and Ron Jarvis. Two big men who are doing an incredible defensive job are Mitchell Robinson, anchoring a Pistons team giving up the 2nd least amount of points and Zeke Nnaji, who is top 5 in blocks, has a 99.4 defensive efficiency rating and is the top defensive presence for the team that is #1 in opponents’ field goal percentage.


Winner:


Zaire Wade



2.8 Steals – 5.5 Defensive rebounds – 100.4 Defensive efficiency


This is an individual award, but here are some team statistics for the Thunder: #1 in points allowed, #2 in defensive efficiency rating, #1 in Steals, #3 in opponent field goal percentage. Wade is uber-athletic with great size, speed and he is both a great on-ball perimeter defender and can make those splash plays that impress the CPU with a high steal ability. Since the league is full of great guards/wings, he will often have a difficult assignment nightly. He can guard spots 1-3 at an elite level. I know from experience that his defense can almost single-handedly make playoff series difficult to navigate, regardless how much better your team looks to be. To top it all off, he does all this while also being asking to be the #1 option on offense for the team as well.



6th Man of the Year



Runner-ups:


I’ll be honest, I am having difficulty coming up with a list of players for this one. The Cavs’ Michael Ojo has been a solid contributor off the bench, and the same could be said for Landon Nicks for the Suns. Roderick Pastor started 4 games this season but has been almost exclusively on the bench for both Los Angeles teams and is averaging more than respectable numbers. Elwood Berger was close to being my top choice, and if I wasn’t feeling a bit homer-ish with this award, I’d probably go with him and his 13.6 points 3 rebounds – 3 assists. But …



Winner:



Ron Jarvis



1 start – 30 minutes per game

12.4 points – 6.8 rebounds – 2.4 assists – 4.0 blocks

50 – 70 – 25 shooting splits

17.7 PER – 115.2 Offensive efficiency – 101.8 defensive efficiency



Jarvis has been a steady hand off the bench for 3 seasons now, helping me to reach 60+ wins in each of those. It has helped that he has had ample opportunity to shine in that role since Nnaji has stamina issues and Jordan Johnson (who played PF prior to this season) struggled with foul issues. Still, opportunity does not always equal high production and efficiency, but Jarvis has given me both of those things. Closing in on a second straight season averaging 4 blocks per game (2nd in the league), he has a great opportunity to get on one of the All-Defensive teams for the 3rd straight season. If I have a chance to win a championship this season (and coming close last season), Jarvis and his defensive difference making had an important role to play in that success.


Yes, I will choose a guy from my roster, thank you very much!


Most Improved Player



Runner-ups:



This award comes down to two guys, in my eyes. I think there is a great case for them both and it really is just a coin-flip kind of decision. So, for runner-up I will give a shout out to Charles Hintz. Being stolen from Cleveland seems to have really improved his mood because before this season his high scoring year was his sophomore season when he reached 11.5 points per game before going strictly to the bench last season and seeing his production plummet. Getting the opportunity to play the 3rd banana role behind Maker and Wade has seen his numbers skyrocket. He’s a stone’s throw away from averaging 20-4-4 on shooting splits of 48-62-37 and a PER of 16.5. What keeps him from winning the award for me is that while his raw numbers went up, his efficiency took a bit of a hit overall, so it may be more of a case of simply being surrounded by better teammates, with more opportunities.



Winner:



Ronny Asher



21.5 Points – 7.7 Rebounds 1.8 Assists

57 – 68 – 21 Shooting splits

60 TS% - 16.9 PER – 112.8 Offensive efficiency



In only his third season in the league, Asher has begun to establish himself as one of the league’s more dangerous post presences in the game. Assisted by the arrival of Point God Chadwick Dangerfield, Asher has asserted himself as the #1 scoring option on a playoff caliber team. We have seen his scoring output increase each season in the league along with his usage rate and touches. You would expect those types of climbs for a promising young player, but what is even better is that he is doing this without sacrificing efficiency, as most of those benchmarks continue to rise as well. His defense still leaves some to be desired, but he still has room to grow on both sides of the ball, which is impressive to consider seeing as how much high-level basketball he is playing this season.



GM of the Year



Runner-ups:



I guess we could look out at the standings like the CPU does and pick one of the top records for this honor. And winning does hold some weight here. It must, right? So, I’ll throw my name into this group along with Carlos and K100 and the Angriest of Bananas. I think any of us could win and would be a deserving winner.



But that leaves one name …



Winner:



Andy of the Orlando Magic



If I remember correctly he also won it via both CPU and GM vote last season, so this would be a championship defense. Deciding to hold onto most of his core ended up being a good decision, though he certainly entertained trading all of them. He then traded with me to shed some salary to get a Grade A Point Guard in John Blakemore and rookie contract Yellow-Green player who went Green-Blue after training camp and a little bit of training. Then he had to suffer the dreaded broken leg to Felicio, which I know made him feel like the season was preparing to spiral out of his control and has continued to pile up wins to where he is only 1 game out of the #1 seed in Alpha and 2 games from the #1 overall seed heading into the final 6 games of the season. Maybe this is a boring pick since everyone knows how good Andy is when he wants to be, but this feels like the right answer to me.


Rookie of the Year


Runner-ups:



:: Looks over Rookie of the month list ::



Yeah, Jordan Omos, Jerald Honeycutt, Gary Giles, and David Bower seem like really good choices who I am sure have done great things!


Winner:


Uh … Tommie Hawk? Jazz got to win something right?



ALL-LEAGUE TEAMS


Again, this is not necessarily who I think the CPU will choose, just who I think deserves it. I was tempted to narrow my list down to very specific positions instead of lumping guards and forwards together but, hell, this is easier for me AND the computer.


All-League FIRST Team


Guard:


Luguentz Dort, Trail Blazers


MVP candidate. #2 in assists and scoring. Dynamic difference maker. Deserves to be recognized for everything he does for Portland.


Guard:



Dorian Whitley, Spurs


Can’t very well keep my Most Valuable Player choice from the First Team, can I?


Forward:



James Wiseman, 76ers


His position constantly changes for the 76ers, but his dominance remains the same. They would not be in the position that they are without him.



Forward:



Delmar Lopez, Bulls



I will put him on these teams until he stops putting up 30 points per game. I don’t know if the game will dock him for the injuries missed, but I won’t. I only do that for MVP voting.


Center:


Mitchell Robinson, Piston


Honestly isn’t a ton of competition for him here. There are a bunch of solid Centers that can play on one side of the ball, but no one else that goes both ways quite like him.


All-League SECOND Team


Guard:


Daniel Yandell

You could convince me that he could be the league’s MVP and I would not be shocked. He’s a star and deserves star treatment.


Guard:



Zaire Wade

My defensive player of the year. Would have loved to find a place for him on the First Team, but it is extremely difficult to knock off either of the players listed above.


Forward:


Mamadi Diakite


I love Diakite’s game and though the Pacers were a bit of a disappointment, that was not his fault at all. A walking 20-10 big man in a league where there aren’t many of those to go around.

Forward:


Makur Maker

A great 2-way big man who takes a lot of pressure off Wade and Hintz for the Thunder. The anchor to a great defense.


Center:

James Addington

The Kings’ new representative in the All-Team lists, taking over for Lewis. Addington has grown into one of the more productive Centers in the game, going over 20 points per game and solidifying his spot on this team.


All-League THIRD Team


Guard:

Gary Loredo

I could see him being left off completely with so many deserving guards in the league, but there’s no way I am going to ignore the driving force of a 60+ win team. He’s been asked to take control of the Clippers as the Point Guard after the departure of John Blakemore and these guys haven’t missed a beat. 24-7-7 is a strong stat line to fall back on as well.

Guard:

Chadwick Dangerfield

Dangerfield has been great for a long time, but if you look closely at his numbers this season he has hit a new level offensively, reaching career highs in some important areas, including scoring. No doubt that his presence has also allowed Asher to play more freely and pushed forward his development timetable.

Forward:

OG Anunoby

One of my favorite players in the entire league and I wish Carlos would just agree to trade him to me already.

Forward:

Kostas Antetokounmpo

I was not always a fan of this player, if I am being perfectly honest. As he has grown and developed, he has proven me dead wrong multiple times over and is now a 20-10 machine and a ridiculously athletic Power Forward.

Center:

Zeke Nnaji

My real homer pick here, though I don’t believe it is THAT crazy. He’s a 18-7-3 guy who is a great defender on a good defensive team.

All-Defense FIRST Team

Guard:


Daniel Yandell

You cannot argue with the steals numbers and he also is so physically imposing for a Point Guard that he tends to turn the tides of games by winning his matchup at, perhaps, the most important spot on the floor. His on-ball defense is also nothing to sneeze at.

Guard:

Zaire Wade

Look above, yeah? I have him listed as my defensive player of the year for good reasons.

Forward:

OG Anunoby

OG (and Yandell) is so strong defensively, they give Whitley free run to focus mostly on offense which is shown by his silly high statistical output this season. OG is quiet but ruthless and can do pretty much anything you ask him to do on the court.

Forward:

Delmar Lopez

I remember a time when Delmar was looked at as a defensive liability. The times sure have changed. He still is not a dominate on-ball defender, but he has always made it up with his smarts, athleticism and ability to make game changing plays to give his teams extra possessions.

Center:

Mike Burnham


You don’t lead the league in blocks by a wide margin without getting recognized for it. Obviously, it became a bit of a joke with Doug trying desperately to find a solid return in trade for him, but Burnham has been stout throughout the season on defense and I know I was trying to find a way to squeeze him onto my roster.

All-Defense SECOND Team


Guard:


Fang Shuo


This is just a great player that I wanted to find a spot for somewhere in here. Helps that he is averaging 2.5 steals per game too though, I reckon.


Guard:

Cassius Winston

A 20-point, 10 assist guy that can also take the ball away 2.2 times each game. He might find himself in more of these All-League spots than I have him in too. Really good player on a team full of good players.

Forward:

Makur Maker

I think I’ve said as much as I need to about Mr. Maker earlier in this article. All of that still stands. He and Wade are going to be a force for a long time.


Forward:


Danny Campbell

I had to give Danny something didn’t I? After what Training Camp did to the poor guy, this feels like a weak consolation prize, but it is still a prize. He’s a solid post defender and can block with the best of them. Consolation or not, he’d be worthy of the honor.

Center:


Cristiano Felicio


Like Maker, I’ve probably already written as much as I need to detailing why Felicio should be in this spot, even though the Clipper in me really wanted to put Ron Jarvis back here. Felicio is fantastic and perhaps he can use this as motivation to get back to this level next season when that leg has healed up.

CONCLUSION

And there you have it! Mamba’s Dead Wrong Award Predictions. Part of me wants to go back through this and put who exactly I think the game might choose in these spots as well, but besides a couple and the order, I don’t believe my list is too far off-base. Really is tough leaving out some of the great players in the league at the moment, but it is what it is. I wish I had enough in me to detail the rookie list some more, but I really don’t, and I think that is the least interesting award since rookies have almost no impact in the game since most are so far off from any meaningful contribution to a (good) basketball team. This was a fun departure from playoff predictions, which I will likely also do just for those points.



Feel free to comment (You won’t) with anyone you think I forgot IF you read this (You shouldn’t).



Go Clippers!

[MexicanMamba]

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