Award SZN
Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2022 11:13 am
With the trade deadline now behind us, and my looming tax bill breathing down my sim-neck, it is time for some article writing shenanigans. I cannot remember if anyone here is deciding to take over season awards since K100 has been sprung from prison and leaving work release behind. So, here I am, coming up with my own personal awards list (at least up until sim 8). No, I haven’t come up with a formula for this list nor a magic potion, though if I could do the latter, it would only to make sure my short rotation-based roster didn’t get any injuries the rest of the season. I’ll just keep this light and use the eyeball test for who I think should win each of these awards. I really wouldn’t take my picks for rookie of the year seriously. It’s so hard to remember who is actually playing as a rookie with all the redshirting that goes on. The rest of the awards though? GOSPEL!
Let’s go with two honorable mentions and then the winner for the individual awards, yeah?
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER
Last season’s winner: Johnny Davis, Nuggets.
#3: Jaden Akins, Suns: 39.8 minutes, 16.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.4 steals. 42/84/30.
I was close to calling Akins the winner of this award because of the jump in just about every raw number, but since he only played about 5 minutes per game last season, the jump is explainable. His shooting percentages and efficiency really are not much higher than the small sample sizes he gave last season. In-game he may still win the award, but for my personal rankings, I’ll knock him down a couple notches because of these things. Still, this kid has the tools to continue to grow every season and dramatically so. Potential for miles with this one.
#2: Tony Krebs, Jazz: 36.9 minutes, 14.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 6.1 assists. 38/83/30.
Another youngster that never got to play any minutes until training camp did him many favors this past off-season. He is looking useful for the Jazz, though I could not give him the #1 spot because he has been an awful shooter this season and that means a lot for me (and everyone in basketball). I think someone is going to give this kid good money in the off-season and it might even be warranted based on the trajectory he could be headed in.
#1: DeJuan Baker, Nuggets: 34.1 minutes, 16.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 6.3 assists. 48/83/41.
Baker, for me, gives the Nuggets back-to-back winners of this award. His career has sort of been a yoyo to this point, at least regarding his scoring. Though he also benefits from his minutes jumping up, it is not as drastic a leap as it was in Akins and Krebs, so Baker gets the top spot. Also, unlike the other two, he is already an efficient scorer and I expect that will continue to be the case as his career progresses. I could see Baker turning into an All-Pro in the near future, as the older point guards begin to fade out.
SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR
Last season’s winner: Frank Daily, Pistons. (Daily has rightfully dominated this award in recent seasons and would be in the thick of the race again if he had not been bumped into the starting lineup for a few sims due to injuries in Detroit.)
#3: Jerold Harrison, Pelicans: 28.6 minutes, 12.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.2 steals. 46/73/36.
Jerold Harrison is playing behind Leroy Johnston in the Pelicans lineup; however, he is giving almost identical scoring output but also bringing more to the table in terms of the hustle plays. He is not an elite scorer or defender by any means, but he is steady on both sides of the court and is a big help to the Pelicans current #2 seed positioning.
#2: Michael Sneed, Bulls: 31.1 minutes, 16.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.1 steals. 43/73/36.
A former star scorer, Sneed has transitioned nicely into the 6th man role this season with Denver and Chicago. He is a great lead scorer off the bench, running the Bulls’ second unit to perfection. It is a bonus that he has great size to compete with all types of wing players and brings some grit to the team with his passing and rebounding. There’s no real drop-off in quality when Sneed comes into the game.
#1: Safi Fino-A-Laself, Lakers: 32.7 minutes, 21.8 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4 assists, 1.2 steals. 49/89/40.
Much like the past few seasons with Frank Daily, I think this year’s winner I currently a very easy choice. Even before adding the extra pieces that I have in-season, I allowed Safi to come off the bench with high minutes to get him some favorable matchups. Even knowing my plan and seeing Safi’s obvious growth, I could not have predicted such a great result. I also assumed that once He Hor and now Canfield came on-board that his chances and scoring output would dip, but the opposite has been happening. Safi is not only leading my second unit, but he is leading my entire team in scoring to this point with 21.8 points per game. He also has great position flex, capable of playing 1-3 with efficiency.
DEFENDER OF THE YEAR
Last season’s winner: Les Kim, Jazz.
#3: Bam Adebayo, Wizards. Defensive efficiency rating: 92.9.
Normally I probably wouldn’t put this player in this position, but I wanted to find a way to show some extra love to the Wizards’ roster construction. They currently have the best defense by most metrics and a 92.9 defensive efficiency rating is absurd for a starter this deep into a season. None of his other stats stand out, which is why I can’t have him winning the award, but its worth noting.
#2: Lyle Galloway, Spurs. Steals Leader (3.0).
I might have had Galloway winning the award, but the Spurs are purposely a bad team this season and his defensive efficiency rating is not good because of it. Still, 3 steals per game is a lot and worth considering. He also is a great on-ball defender, and his efficiency rating would show that if the overall team defense wasn’t a mess this season. Galloway is a great defensive player.
#1: Les Kim, Jazz. Blocks leader (3.9), 9.6 rebounds per game.
Kim will probably win this award until TC starts taking his soul. He blocks ALL the shots and rebounds, and both of those things will get a ton of attention from the Sim-Gods. Les Kim is the real deal on both ends of the floor and I wonder how much of an impact he would/will have on another team in the coming seasons, when the Jazz re-tool. Someone will be getting a defensive anchor, that is for sure.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Last season’s winner: Remy Martin, Nets.
#3: John Lowry, Spurs: 37.8 minutes, 13.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.7 blocks.
Playing out of necessity (lack of options AND wanting to be bad), Lowry has been a strong, sturdy front court presence for the Spurs this season. While not dazzling in any one spot, he is solid everywhere, including with his passing ability which is always a plus for big fellas.
#2: Justin Amos, Hawks: 41.3 minutes, 17.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.6 assists.
He will likely win the award if the scoring output maintains but I am not putting him at #1 since Louie is MIA. Meh.
#1: Ron Harper Jr., Nets: 36.2 minutes, 16.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists.
Back-to-back rookie awards for Ed and his Nets. Remy Martin was a surprise last season, but Harper not quite as much. He has great size and athleticism and doesn’t foul, so he is capable of playing big minutes for a bad team needing others to score whenever Dr. Andrews cannot. Harper might lack an all-around game, but he can make an impact on this type of team.
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Last season’s winner: Lu Dort, Pelicans.
#3: Lu Dort, Pelicans: 36.2 minutes, 25.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 7.1 assists, 1.1 steals. 47/78/46.
Would I be shocked if he won it a 3rd time in a row? Not really. King Dort is still a premiere scorer and adds in rebounding, assists and steals as well. The Pelicans are currently the #2 seed in the Alpha conference as well, boasting his place on the list. It is remarkable the level of play that Dort has given in the twilight of his prime and I think he still has another season at near this level. Still, as good as he continues to be, there are other players more deserving of the honor this season, in my opinion.
#2: Antonio Blakeney, Celtics: 34 minutes, 26.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 7.1 assists, 1.4 steals. 56/86/39.
I was very tempted to place AB at the top spot, and honestly? He probably deserves it. An athletic freak, Blakeney is putting all of his tools to work this season. His stat line is listed above and what jumps out more to me than the 26 points is the efficiency in which he does it. Offensively, AB has absolutely no weakness in his game. As a team, the Celtics are probably staring at 55+ wins and a top 4 finish in the conference. Besides AB, well, that roster is NOT a 55+ win team. Dieng is a good young player and Mitchell Robinson is still a big body that can take up useful minutes, but everything else is just role players and young guys that shouldn’t be playing. Blakeney is carrying this squad to these heights, and he will absolutely be the best player in the league in short order.
#1: Gerry Folse, Pistons: 32 minutes, 22.7 points, 9.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.8 blocks. 51/56/36.
Folse might not win this award due to his recent string of missed games due to injury, but for me, all that did was cement his place on this list. With Folse (and Haun, to be fair) the Pistons were winning 30+ games in a row and looking at steamrolling to a 4th championship as they ran by everyone in the standings. When Folse got hurt, the Pistons look truly mortal for the first time in like a real calendar year. It will be short-lived since Folse and Haun will be back this sim, but it gave some teams life and hope. That is the impact and value that Folse has. If not for Scott (smartly) playing him lower minutes in recent seasons during the regular season, Folse would already have an MVP or two. I’d give him this one.
GENERAL MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Last season’s winner: Gary, Jazz (CPU) – Xist, Wizards (VOTING)
I will break pattern here for this award, which is the one that I most enjoy discussing. I think there are several candidates worthy of being mentioned here, so I am going to go with a top 5, with the winner included in that list. Hell, there are still a few more names that will not be brought up here that I think deserve some recognition too. However, I only must hit 3,000 words so, tough luck!
#5: Charlie, Celtics.
I brought up a lot of the season success stuff in Blakeney’s MVP candidacy blurb, so no need to repeat much of that stuff. It is a successful team with a truly special player. I only have Charlie at 5 because I don’t feel he did enough to build around AB to fully take advantage of his skillset. To a certain point, GMing is an easy job when you have a player like Blakeney to lean on. Just ask Jon about that with Delmar Lopez in his prime. Where you make your money is capitalizing on having that talent by bringing the right pieces in around him. Charlie has barely begun that process, but if he manages to accomplish it, he will jump on these types of lists for the foreseeable future.
#4: Doug, Bucks.
As is always the case, Doug was a wheeler and dealer this off-season. It took some free agency luck in signing Kory Manley, but hey, he put his team in position to be a free agent destination. Then there’s the THT deal, of course. By hook or by crook though, Doug built himself a roster with 3 Purple current players, which not even Scott’s Pistons managed to do. The reason that Doug gets no higher than 4 on this list though is that even with that roster, he still sits 10 games behind the top seed in the conference and his division. It was a wild off-season, but you have to get more out of that roster to be above the next few people on my list.
#3: ME!, Lakers.
It took two key injuries to the Pistons and a REALLY massive payroll, but I have built a roster that currently sits atop the standings in the entire league. I knew coming into the off-season that I had the foundation of a great team and that I had some pieces to shift around to take another step up. I traded Raiquan Gray, who continues to play fantastic basketball with the Heat, for youth. I traded Dieng for Alleman to beef back up my frontcourt. I drafted eventual blue potential big man Gregory Kozak at #14 overall. I signed Ronny Asher in free agency with my MLE. Safi, Bone, Karlo all had quality training camps. Then I just kept financial flexibility which became crucial to my eventual trades for He Hor and Larry Canfield. I got lucky in the He Hor sweepstakes to be completely fair. I was the 3rd choice for the Suns in a trade, but the other 2 GMs backed out which left me in a advantageous position. I’m proud of the work I did with this team. We’ll see how it closes out.
#2: Xist, Wizards.
If he had not gotten the popular vote last season, I’d probably list him #1 this one too. VOTER FATIGUE! Seriously though, X is doing an incredible job with a roster that I never would have thought would win as many games as it continues to. Last season was probably more impressive as it was a 1 Blue/Blue roster, but this still is a roster built around TEAM as it has no one who could be confused for a star. It is another magnificent defensive team, which is always X’s specialty. If he finds a way in coming seasons to add a bonafide scoring threat or superstar, watch out!
#1: Josh, Bulls.
I wrote an article last season stating the GMs who I thought were best positioned to win the first title after Scott’s reign of terror was over. Sitting atop that list was Josh, even though he was sitting with a roster that was bad for a couple of seasons in a row. I saw the asset collection and we all know Josh knows exactly how to turn a roster when he needs to. The first step was getting Genaro Montoya, a player I desperately wanted as the off-season began but just couldn’t get it figured out before Josh made young purple potential Ingram available. From there it has been a series of events such as a great camp by everyone, shrewd moves (Garland, Sneed), free agency and some advantageous trainings. Josh is sitting at 40 wins right now, far below the Pistons and the Lakers, and right on par with the Wizards, Pelicans, Celtics and Bucks. However, I also see that he still has some extremely legit trade pieces for the coming seasons to really add even more firepower, which could make my prediction of him winning the first title post-Pistons Dynasty come true. Especially if the Pistons get healthy this season and win a 4th. Josh will be primed up to build when a lot of other teams are about to re-tool or just lack the same kind of trade pieces.
ALL-LEAGUE FIRST TEAM
Center: Harold Schiff, Magic: 30.7 minutes, 21.4 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.9 blocks. 58/75.
Forward: James Andrews, Nets: 39.3 minutes, 28.2 points, 12 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.5 blocks. 50/61.
Forward: Gerry Folse, Pistons: 32 minutes, 22.7 points, 9.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.8 blocks. 51/56/36.
Guard: Lyle Galloway, Spurs: 40.8 minutes, 24.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 3 steals. 46/62/39.
Guard: Antonio Blakeney, Celtics: 34 minutes, 26.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 7.1 assists, 1.4 steals. 56/86/39.
I feel comfortable with this group, though there are obviously some worthy folks who could take some of these spots and will certainly be on the 2nd and 3rd team lists which I have not bothered to put on here at this point. I don’t know how much Folse’s injury will impact his All-League/Awards honors, but he belongs here. If not him, I could see Kai Jones taking up space on the first team instead. Galloway and Andrews are on bad teams, but their production is so high that I am confident in their standing here. Andrews especially cannot be overlooked even though he is the only viable option on that roster. He’s producing at a crazy high level and deserves to be honored for it.
ALL-DEFENSE FIRST TEAM
Center: Douglas Haun, Pistons: 94.8 defensive efficiency rating, Tied for #4 in blocks (3.3) and 6.8 rebounds.
Forward: Les Kim, Jazz: Blocks Leader (3.9) and #5 in rebounds (9.6).
Forward: Genaro Montoya, Bulls: Defensive efficiency rating of 100.1. #12 in rebounding (8.9), Tied for #7 in steals (2.1), and in general can defend all 5 positions.
Guard: Karlo Pearson, Lakers. 2nd in Steals (2.7) and defensive efficiency rating of 102.9.
Guard: Lyle Galloway, Spurs: Steals Leader (3.0)
I just wanted to get Karlo on one of these lists because he is a favorite of mine on my roster. He probably will not actually find himself on the first team, but I think he’s earned the right to be in the discussion. I also believe Folse could be here instead of Montoya, but I wanted to get some variety in the list in a couple spots at least.
And there you have it!
Gimme my 10 points and discuss/comment if you want to!
Sent from my SM-F711U using Tapatalk