The Play-In Tournament starts tonight so I need to get my NBA regular season awards in order.
MVP: This was very tough. I went back and forth between Steph and Jokic… and to a lesser degree Chris Paul. In the end I’m giving the nod to Steph Curry because he was great all season as a singular Splash Brother and that six week period of the season was historically special.
Rookie of the Year: I already did this earlier and for me it’s Anthony Edwards from the Minnesota Timberwolves. A nice year for the rookie from Georgia who seemed to adjust to the NBA game as the season got to its back half.
Coach of the Year: I’m going Quin Snyder from the Utah Jazz. The Jazz finished with the best record in the West and nobody that I know of picked the Jazz before the season started. I like Quin Synder’s story as well as he’s worked his tail off to become a successful NBA coach after his fall from grace at Missouri in the college ranks. His story kind of reminds me of Kelvin Samspon to a degree except Kelvin went back to the college game at Houston.
Comeback or Turn Around Player of the Year: I’m going to go with point guard Mike Conley of the Utah Jazz. I thought Mike Conley returning back to a dependable point guard was a big part of why the Jazz did what they did this regular season.
Biggest Positive Team Surprise: I would say the NY Knicks in the East and the Phoenix Suns in the West.
Biggest Negative Team Surprise: The Boston Celtics hands down in the East—not even close. A massive season of underacheivement in Boston. In the West…I would probably go with the New Orleans Pelicans. The Pels never went above a lower tier playoff team for me, but them not making the Play-In games I thought was pretty weak.
Thing I’m Most Excited About This NBA Post Season: This is easy. Fans in the arenas. It will be nice seeing fans back in the various NBA venues…and of course seeing Rachael Nichols interview Tyler Herro .
Players I Would Have Paid To See Play in Oklahoma City This Season If Fans Had Been Allowed Inside The Arena: I’d go Steph, Damian Lillard, Anthony Edwards, Ja Morant, Giannis, Tyler Herro, Brandon Ingram, and Bradley Beal. That would have been my eight game/team ticket buy. I go to Thunder games to see certain opposing teams and players.
First Round Series I’m Most Jacked To See: Miami vs. Milwaukee
Teams I Would Like To See Win The Championship: I have three I’d like to see win it all instead of seeing the Lakers repeat. In this order I would go Miami, Portland, or Golden State.
Hope you enjoy the NBA Playoffs.