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MVP/RoY Rankings, Part XI

The eleventh and final edition of the Blogger MVP/RoY rankings has just been published in two parts at We Rite Goode; the first part includes some additional rankings that were not tabulated in earlier polls (Coach of the Year, Most Improved Player), while the second part includes the MVP and RoY rankings plus the "seventh man" award (since many of the top sixth men are essentially playing starter's minutes):

Part I

Part II

Here are links to my posts about the previous nine editions:

MVP/RoY Rankings, Part I

MVP/RoY Rankings, Part II

MVP/RoY Rankings, Part III

MVP/RoY Rankings, Part IV

MVP/RoY Rankings, Part V

MVP/RoY Rankings, Part VI

MVP/RoY Rankings, Part VII

MVP/RoY Rankings, Part VIII

MVP/RoY Rankings, Part IX

MVP/RoY Rankings, Part X

Here is my complete ballot for the eleventh edition exactly as I submitted it. You can find my Coach of the Year and Most Improved Player selections here. Choosing a "seventh man" was optional and I did not do so. We Rite Goode supplied a survey form to fill out, so we simply listed our choices for MVP and RoY in descending order (keep in mind that I made my choices and comments before the playoffs began and that in any case playoff performances have nothing to do with these awards because the official ballots are due as soon as the regular season ends):

MVP

Kobe Bryant: As Tim Legler put it, he is the only player in the NBA who has no weaknesses. He is the only player since MJ who you would want to take the last shot and defend a player who is taking the last shot.

LeBron James: He is actually becoming underrated because he has gained ground on Kobe for best player in the game status but because of his team's record he is sinking on many people's MVP ballots.

Chris Paul: He is the best pg in the game today. However, wasn't the race for the first seed in the West supposed to be a referendum on the MVP race? Bryant outplayed Paul, the Lakers won the head to head encounter and captured first seed by one game. How is CP3 still in the discussion?

Kevin Garnett: "Changing the culture" has become a cliched phrase but he definitely played a major role in completely turning the Celtics around.

Dwight Howard: He is the dominant low post force in the game today, a terrifying dunker who led the league in rebounding and is also a ferocious shotblocker.

Tim Duncan: Groundhog Day, the Big Fundamental--whatever you call him, he is still getting it done for one of the top teams in the West.

Amare Stoudemire: He does not rebound or defend as well as the three guys I ranked above him but he is an amazing scorer. Now that he can shoot jumpers and free throws he is almost unguardable.

Dirk Nowitzki: If he had sat out after his leg injury then Dalals probably would not have made the playoffs. Now they are not only in but they have a chance to makes some noise.

Tracy McGrady: His skill set is similar to Kobe and LeBron's, the difference being that he is neither as healthy as those guys nor does he play at the highest level as consistently as they do.

Steve Nash: Statistically he took a bit of a back seat to Amare after Shaq's arrival but Nash's shooting stats are off the charts and his court vision is remarkable.

ROY

Kevin Durant: Improved greatly down the stretch; he posted career-highs in points (42) and rebounds (13) while shooting 18-25 from the field in his last game.

Al Horford: Solid near double double contributor to a playoff team.

Luis Scola: Has played a key role in Houston's success, particularly since Yao got hurt.

Al Thornton: This guy has big-time scorer written all over him. Great athlete whose game just needs a little polishing.

Jamario Moon: Solid rotation player for playoff bound Raptors.

Labels: Al Horford, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, Kevin Durant, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James

posted by David Friedman @ 6:55 PM

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