Tank You Very Much
As we descend on the twilight of the NBA regular season, I have some thoughts on the so-called ‘tanking’ that has occurred this season. But before I get into too much detail, please keep in mind that I grew up in San Antonio and watched a wretched San Antonio Spurs team in the 1996-1997 that held David Robinson and Sean Elliott out for the remainder of a season when both players had major injuries. That allowed the Spurs to land the # 1 pick in the 1997 NBA Draft, which became the Greatest Power Forward of All Time, Tim Duncan. With that in mind, I am not so mean-spirited when it comes to tanking.
So the Celtics went into the tank this year. As many of you readers know, I read the majority of articles written by ESPN Page 2’s Sports Guy, Bill Simmons. If you want to read about how I feel about Doc Rivers’ coaching ability this season, just go to the Sports Guy’s articles, and you can pretty much see where I stand on the subject (obviously, without as much animosity because I’m not a Boston-based guy, but you get the point). But who can blame the Celtics for holding out Paul Pierce with an assortment of ‘injuries.’ Pierce has logged some serious minutes over the past five seasons, and remember, this guy was also involved in a stabbing a couple of seasons ago. For a scorer who thrives on drawing contact, that is a TON of wear-and-tear on a body, and last time I checked, Pierce didn’t have the chiseled physique of a LeBron James. Obviously, the Celtics were done a while ago. You are telling me that, as a Celtics fan, you would rather trot Pierce out there to add more miles to his tread for some fleeting excitement in a meaningless game, when NBA players like Pierce have been taking tons of physical abuse throughout the course of the season. Really? After just watching the Timberwolves throw Marc Madsen onto the court against the Spurs, and within seconds, Madsen had taken both Horry and Ginobili to the ground with hard fouls, I cannot believe that a Celtics fan would prefer to watch Pierce abuse his body for no reason and risk a serious injury. Accept the fact that your team stinks, allow your stars and franchise players to rest and heal completely before the offseason starts (allowing for better and more rigorous offseason training), and hope that you get to see some development from other (read younger) players on your team who are fighting for more minutes.
The exact thing can be said for the Milwaukee Bucks. Sure, they had a terrible season that started when they lost Bobby Simmons early. They also lost Michael Redd, Andrew Bogut, and Charlie Villenueva for extended stretches. The good thing is that you have these talented players locked up for the long haul. You have allowed them to rest for an extended stretch, insuring that they will be ready for the start of the 2007-2008 season. And you have one of the best possible chance at landing Greg Oden or Kevin Durant. All of a sudden, you go from an injury-decimated franchise with some high expectations because of talent to an uber-talented starting five with a bench that logged some solid game-time minutes in the previous season. The Bucks have not had a sure-fire big man in a really, really, really long time. Even if they drafted Durant over Oden, they could still lock up Mo Williams to a long-term deal, giving them a starting lineup of Williams, Redd, Durant, Villenueva, and Bogut. Then, they can bring Dan Gadzuric (excellent shot blocker), Bobby Simmons (solid across the board), Charlie Bell (who has proven he can play well at this level this season), and Earl Boykins (instant offense) off of your bench. It is absurd to think that a Bucks fan would trade 8-10 more wins for the Bucks this year over the above roster for the next four years? Come on. That’s ludicrous.
And Grizzlies’ fans (all 2 and 1/2 of you), you have the best chance at landing Greg Oden. You cannot get fans now, so why not take the chance at landing the best center the NBA has seen since Shaquille O’Neal? Sure, Oden needs to refine his game, but who cares. You will have a starting front court of Gay-Gasol-Durant next year. And, the NBA Draft is looooooooaaaaaaaaaddddddddded, which means you will get the pick of the litter at the start of the 2nd round. How is this a bad thing? Your team was going nowhere fast, and you certainly were not going to win a playoff series any time soon with the current roster. Play it out and see what happens.
Who knows, you might even discover a gem on your roster that you would have never known about if you had been pushing your starters on the court.
That’s all I have to say about that. And now for something completely different. Below is my complete compilation of End of Year Individual Honors:
Rookie of the Year - Brandon Roy
Most Improved Player - Monte Ellis - Upon further consideration, I had a hard time awarding the honor to Kevin Martin, simply because the Kings stunk. I also could not award the honor to Deron Williams, simply because he was selected ahead of Chris Paul. He is supposed to be this good. Ellis was a 2nd Round selection who has become the go-to-guy for Nellie-ball in Golden State.
Sixth Man of the Year - (Homer Alert!!!!) Manu Ginobili - Seriously, the guy put his ego in check and did what was best for the team. This is an Olympic Gold Medalist, Euro League MVP, All Star, and he is having his best NBA season. Yet, he willingly moved to the bench to help the Spurs. How does he not win this award?
Coach of the Year - Sam Mitchell - I desperately wanted to give this thing to Jerry Sloan. Instead, I have to give it to the feel good story of the season, the Raptors. Honestly, the award could have gone to any one of the following, Avery Johnson (best team in the league), Gregg Popovich (oldest team in the league and moved Manu to sixth man), Jerry Sloan (does what he does best, win), or Sam Mitchell. Mitchell just feels right here.
Defensive Player of the Year - Marcus Camby - I chose Camby just to show that I am not too much of a homer. I really believe that Bruce Bowen has been hosed for too long. Unfortunately, it does not look like Bowen will win the award again this year. The really sad part is that Bowen has become an older player with tougher rules on perimeter defenders. He missed his window, and the voters missed the boat multiple times. The best perimeter defender in basketball for five years running never won the Defensive Player of the Year Award. That is sad.
MVP - Dirk - Man that was painful. He’s been the Mavs best player, and the Mavs have been the best team. Despite having lower career numbers in scoring and rebounding than previous seasons, Dirk developed something of a defensive game while posting exceptional shooting numbers. He has been more efficient with his shots, and has played within Avery Johnson’s refined offensive system. He deserves the award. Quickly moving on.
GM of the Year - Bryan Colangelo - Struck gold with Il Muggo who was a Euro ready for the NBA game from the first day of camp. He landed a great free agent commodity in Jorge Garbajosa. In hindsight, he looks brilliant for swinging the T.J. Ford for Charlie Villenueva deal, in the face of an infinite number of doubters no less. He locked Chris Bosh up for the long haul. He allowed another team to overpay for Mike James because James was not going to fit into the offensive sysetm. Those things right there are more than enough for Colangelo’s push to the top of the G.M. finalists. One important “also ran”: Isiah Thomas. It is pretty impressive that Isiah helped push the Chicago Bulls to the top of the mountain in the East and still have them in the Oden-Durant sweepstakes. That makes two years where Isiah has helped another team make a run at a conference or NBA championship (read Malik Rose for Nazr Mohammed).
Most Entertaining - Gilbert Arenas. He dunked off the trampoline during a break in the All Star game. He shouts ’hibachi!’ after shots. He handed in at least a dozen buzzer beaters. He kept trying to hang 50 on the Olympic coaching staff. He has a YouTube clip of a shooting contest where he beat up on DeShawn Stephenson WITH ONE HAND! His blog is the stuff legends are made of. He gave away his jersey after every game. He tossed 100 signed All Star jerseys into the stands as a ‘thank you’ for the fan support. What’s not to love?
Most Irrelevant Player Who Celebrated Waaaaaaaaaaaay Too Much After A Game Winner - Steve Francis. Thanks for coming out Stevie Franchise. It was quite an interesting career. Take a look at Dwyane Wade and realize that he became everything you were supposed to be.
I will have my team honors (All NBA, All Defense, All Rookie) sometime next week. Stay tuned.
