Re: Kobe does it all, deserves MVP

he's schooled by the real MVP this afternoon...


" bozak" <the...bozak1@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:Y9O2g.1490$E41.302@xxxxxxxxxxx
Tim Povtak
Kobe does it all, deserves MVP
Published April 23, 2006


Kobe Bryant is the best basketball player in the world today. He deserves
to be the NBA Most Valuable Player.

In any other season, LeBron James or Steve Nash or Dirk Nowitzki could be
a deserving winner, but anyone other than Bryant this season would be a
real injustice.

He might not be the politically correct choice -- Eagle, Colo., never will
go away -- but the award is not about the past or about potential.

It's about now. And no one does more for his team than Bryant does.

Anyone who can carry a team with as little talent as the Los Angeles
Lakers have into the playoffs -- something that stars such as Kevin
Garnett, Allen Iverson, Paul Pierce and Tracy McGrady failed to do --
deserves his due. It's not his fault the Lakers also start Smush Parker,
Kwame Brown and Chris Mihm. To win 45 games -- 10 more than last year --
is a major accomplishment with Luke Walton as a scoring option.

Bryant had the NBA's highest scoring average (35.4 points per game) in 19
years. He scored 62 points in three quarters against Nowitzki and the
Dallas Mavericks. He had 50 points or more six times. And he had that
absolutely amazing 81 points against the Toronto Raptors. He rarely has an
off night.

Only two other players in NBA history (Wilt Chamberlain and Michael
Jordan) have scored more points in a season than Bryant did (2,832). His
average is the highest since Jordan averaged 37.1 during the 1986-87
season. He made it fun to watch Lakers games. And he plays better defense
than James, Nash and Nowitzki combined.

Speaking of Jordan, guess how many NBA championships he had when he was
Bryant's age (27)? Zero. Bryant has three, his first scoring title and the
prospect of his first MVP Award. He's become Jordan all over again.

He is the reason -- the only reason -- the Lakers are being viewed today
as a dangerous first-round opponent for the second-seeded Phoenix Suns.

He takes the shots not because a scoring title excites him. He takes the
shots because it's the best way for the Lakers to win games. And that's no
reason to deny him the MVP.

Runners-up: Nash, James, Nowitzki.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Chris Paul.

It's hard to imagine now how anyone passed on the chance to take point
guard Chris Paul, who might be the next Isiah Thomas. Paul wins in a
landslide after leading all rookies in scoring (16.1 ppg), assists (7.8
assists per game) and steals (2.24 steals per game).

The New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets took Paul with the fourth pick in
the 2005 draft -- which is a little embarrassing now for the Atlanta Hawks
and Utah Jazz, who chose Marvin Williams and Deron Williams, respectively,
in front of him. Paul is the only one of the bunch who can say
definitively that he will become an all-star very soon.

Runners-up: Andrew Bogut, Charlie Villanueva and Raymond Felton.

COACH OF THE YEAR: Avery Johnson.

To win 54 games with Amare Stoudemire out and Joe Johnson in Atlanta is a
good reason to sing the praise of Mike D'Antoni in Phoenix. And everyone
loves the up-and-down style he plays with Nash and his track team.

Flip Saunders didn't miss a beat when he took over the Detroit Pistons,
kind of dimming the star of Larry Brown, who got so much credit in Detroit
from the previous two seasons.

Yet Johnson gets the nod because he brought something new -- defense -- to
a franchise that hardly bothered in past seasons. The Mavericks have
become a gritty team, winning 60 games. They stayed right with the San
Antonio Spurs all season, and they might be the team to knock off the
Spurs, too.

Runners-up: Mike Dunleavy, Saunders, D'Antoni.

SIXTH MAN: Mike Miller

Anyone who sends boxes of M&Ms to the voters deserves some serious
consideration, but Mike Miller probably didn't need the help. It was a new
role for him, and he did it well, giving the Memphis Grizzlies a
legitimate threat in reserve as the second-leading scorer (13.7 points) on
a low-scoring team. Once Rookie of the Year with the Magic, Miller would
be a nice fit today with his 3-point shooting ability. He also has learned
how to rebound and drive the ball.

Runners-up: Jerry Stackhouse, Alonzo Mourning, Speedy Claxton.

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER: Boris Diaw.

Maybe it was just a change of scenery, or maybe it was point guard Nash,
but Boris Diaw hasn't looked like the same player in Phoenix as he was in
Atlanta. Viewed as a throw-in during the sign-and-trade deal that brought
Joe Johnson to Atlanta, Diaw has made the Hawks regret giving away more
than they needed to give to get Johnson. Diaw went from 4.8 points and 2.3
assists to 13.3 points and 6.2 assists and wins the award easily.

Jameer Nelson made a late-season rush in Orlando, but like the Magic in
the playoff chase, it was too late. Nenad Krstic gives the New Jersey Nets
some hope in the front court, and Mehmet Okur does the same in Utah.

Runners-up: David West, Nelson and Krstic.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Ben Wallace.

Ben Wallace didn't have a great year blocking shots, but he was the only
player to finish among the NBA's top 10 in steals (1.78 spg) and blocks
(2.21 bpg). Maybe success has softened him a bit, but he's still the guy
you want in the post defensively in a big series. His tough-guy image took
a hit when he declined to re-enter that game in Orlando, but there isn't
an NBA team that wouldn't take him as a free agent.

Utah's Andrei Kirilenko is becoming a complete player, blocking 3.19 shots
every game and adding to his offensive prowess.

Runners-up: Kirilenko, Bruce Bowen and Marcus Camby.

Around the rim

Shareef Abdur-Rahim of the Sacramento Kings tried to act cool, but he was
smiling inside. After 744 regular-season games, he finally got his first
playoff appearance Saturday against San Antonio, snapping the longest
current streak in the league. Abdur-Rahim had been with the Vancouver
Grizzlies, Atlanta Hawks and Portland Trail Blazers before getting this
shot in Sacramento. "I'm not going to waste this opportunity,'' he said.
He was closing in on the NBA record held by Tom Van Arsdale, who went 929
regular-season games without a playoff appearance.

How about wild-man Ron Artest of Sacramento? He said his No. 8-seeded
Kings should be the favorites against No. 1 seeded- San Antonio. Better
believe Manu Ginobili is a little bit worried about what Artest might do.

There obviously is something wrong with the system when the Los Angeles
Clippers tanked their final couple of regular-season games, wanting to
drop into the No. 6 seed instead of being at No. 5. By falling to No. 6,
they got a matchup with the No. 3 Denver Nuggets, and they also got the
home-court advantage, based on a better regular-season record. If they had
stayed at No. 5, they would have been traveling to Dallas to open the
playoffs.

A Final Thought: It's time for NBA money ball. Playoff performances will
propel some careers and set others back.

Tim Povtak can be reached at tpovtak@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


--
No heart? I'm all heart, MOTHERFUCKA!!!

Cuba Gooding Jr. as Rod Tidwell in "Jerry Maguire."



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