Here are the results for the 2007-08 Blogger MVP and Rookie of the Year rankings.
Results:
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
Round 8
Round 9
Pickaxe and Roll Rankings:
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
Round 8
Round 9
10 points – LeBron James – The Cavs are back over .500 and if you remove the six games LeBron missed all or part of because of his owie finger from their record they are 19-12. He is always the most dominant player on the floor plus his team is one of the best in the conference with him and absolutely horrible without him. That is the definition of the NBA MVP.
9 points – Kobe Bryant – His numbers are the lowest they have been since 2003-2004 including his minutes. After potentially tearing this team apart over the summer he has realized that he must be an encourager and a leader. He has had MVP numbers in the past, but never before has he committed himself to his teammates as he has this year and that is what has made him a legitimate MVP candidate this season.
8 points – Chris Paul – Compare Chris Paul’s number to Steve Nash’s MVP seasons and you will see that they are virtually identical except for two things. Paul is scoring more points and turning the ball over less. And he is doing it all with less talent surrounding him than Nash had.
7 points – Dwight Howard – There is no player in the NBA like him. His presence in the middle makes the Magic work. They can play small and surround him with three point shooters because he is such a great rebounder. He has developed a post game and only his poor free throw shooting prevents him from being a dominant scorer and topping the list of MVP candidates.
6 points – Kevin Garnett – Garnett’s impact on the court has been great, but his importance to this team mentally and emotionally has been even more important. His numbers are not especially amazing, but he anchors the tremendous Celtic defense and ensures his talented teammates play all out every night.
5 points – Steve Nash – Nash is still the engine that makes the league’s top offense run. Nash is still shooting amazing percentages are still unbelievable even though his field goal percentage has dropped slightly this season. Nash is also the first player to average 12 assists a game since John Stockton averaged 12.3 in 1994-1995.
4 points – Yao Ming – Yao has not missed a game all season and even without Tracy McGrady the Rockets have climbed back up to a 20-17 record going 6-2 since his latest injury. Yao is the reason why.
3 points – Allen Iverson – Iverson has been simply amazing this season. He is shooting 48.8% and averaging 29.4 points per game since the beginning of December during which time the Nuggets have gone 12-6. He is also averaging a staggering 43.9 minutes a game at the age of 32. The man is not human. He is playing as well as he ever has.
2 points – Tim Duncan – Duncan got off to a slow start this season and missed some time with injuries to his knee and ankle. Since he has returned he has been back to his old self. However, the Spurs are only 7-6 since his return.
1 point – Barron Davis – On any other team for any other coach Barron Davis would get in trouble for things like shot selection and wild play. Playing for Don Nelson in Golden State he is the most dangerous player on a team that no one wants to play. They are like the crazy drunk dude in a bar fight. You are pretty sure you could take him, but who know what he is capable of.
NBA Rookie Rankings – Round 4
5 points – Kevin Durant – He is averaging almost 20 points a game on one of the league’s least talented teams. He is already facing defenses designed to stop him every night. Durant is shooting a low percentage and is not hitting the boards at all, but part of that is because of the way the Sonics use him as a perimeter player.
4 points – Al Horford – Horford has been a beast on the boards since game number one. He also knows his role on a team full of scorers he takes only 7.4 shots a game. He may never be a great scorer, but he will definitely be a force in the paint for the next 12 plus seasons.
3 points – Yi Jianlian – Amid concerns that Yi was not ready to play in the NBA he has proven that he belongs and has a very bright future. His outside shot is deadly and he is a solid rebounder and shot blocker. When he gets more comfortable in the post he will be a tremendous inside outside offensive force.
2 points – Jamario Moon – Moon is not great at anything, but he plays hard, hits the boards, blocks shots and provides just enough offense to be a threat.
1 point – Sean Williams – Williams is the athletic defensive presence the Nets have needed for years. Willi
ams was billed as a great shot blocker coming out of college and he has not disappointed. Like Horford, he knows his role and does not force anything on offense.
10 points – LeBron James
9 points – Chris Paul
8 points – Kobe Bryant
7 points – Kevin Garnett
6 points – Dwight Howard
5 points – Steve Nash
4 Points – Yao Ming
3 points – Tim Duncan
2 points – Baron Davis
1 point – Caron Butler
NBA Rookie Rankings – Round 5
5 points – Kevin Durant
4 points – Al Horford
3 points – Jamario Moon
2 points – Luis Scola
1 point – Yi Jianlian
10 points – LeBron James – Over the previous 17 games LeBron has played in Cleveland is 14-3 and he is averaging 32.1 points, 6.8 assists and 9.2 rebounds. Beyond the stats LeBron is the only player who can do almost anything he wants, anytime he wants to do it. His play screams MVP.
9 points – Chris Paul – I really do not feel comfortable putting anyone in the second spot this round. Paul has made the Colorado weather seem consistent over his previous three games scoring 6, 42 and 2 points. To his credit he did account for 16 assists in his two point game and his numbers for the season compare very favorably to Steve Nash’s MVP seasons.
8 points – Kobe Bryant – The Lakers have gone 5-5 over their previous ten games and 7-6 since Andrew Bynum went down. I may not have a point, but now that Gasol is on board and Odom can return to play small forward defenses must adjust how they play the Lakers and I think Kobe is going to have a chance to really take off.
7 points – Steve Nash – Phoenix is back on top of the west and Nash continues to be the reason why. Now that his favorite fast break partner has been traded, no not Marcus Banks, Shawn Marion, he will have to find a way to make their free flowing spread the floor offense work with a run down Shaq propped up in the middle of the lane. If Nash can make Shaq look like the Shaq of three of four years ago, he will move up this list rapidly.
6 points – Yao Ming – I think we have become numb to how unique Yao is. No player in the league is like him. He is carrying Houston back into the playoff hunt almost by himself. The Rockets are 10-1 in their previous eleven games. Their one loss came in a game Yao did not play. And by the way, if the air is so bad in China, how come Yao was able to survive and still have the lung capacity to be in good enough shape to play over 37 minutes a game in the NBA?
5 points – Kevin Garnett – KG’s stats are not enough to keep him in this conversation, but his presence on the court adds much more than just tangible numbers. He is the anti Kwame Brown.
4 points – Dwight Howard – Howard’s numbers as well as his team’s success has slowly deteriorated. Since November 30th the Magic are a .500 team and Howard has averaged 21 points and 14.5 boards down from 24 points and 15 boards to start the season. Those are still impressive numbers, but not enough to stay at the top of this list.
3 points – Tim Duncan – After a slow start, which actually coincided with a hot start by the Spurs, Duncan is getting things cranked up again. Since you threw out your 2007 calendar, I just threw mine out yesterday, but I trust you are more on top of things, Duncan is putting up over 21 points a game and nearly 13 boards. Even though Tony Parker has missed ten games this season the Spurs are only two games back of the Suns.
2 points – Dirk Nowitzki – Dirk is playing well and so is Dallas. Do not expect to see him climb any higher than this on my ballot, but he deserves to be recognized for his consistent play for a very good Dallas team.
1 point – Deron Williams – As a Nugget fan I already hate myself for doing this and it may cost me my handful of faithful readers, but I have to give Deron Williams the nod on my ballot. I know this was a complete waste of time because he will not rank in the top ten so there will be no comments posted about him, but for the sake of bloggeristic integrity I ran the numbers. Over Utah’s previous twenty games they have only lost three times and Williams is throwing up 18.7 points, 11.2 assists plus he is shooting 53% from the field and 45% from downtown.
NBA Rookie Rankings – Round 6
5 points – Kevin Durant – I thought this would be the round I would push Al Horford past Durant at the top of my rookie rankings, but looking at what Durant has done, apart from his 2-12 stinker in Seattle’s last game at Phoenix he has been very solid. Plus he deserves credit for his 26 point, seven board and five assist performance in the Sonics defeat of San Antonio.
4 points – Al Horford – Big Al threw down his first 20 rebound performance of his career and is playing very well, but he just does not carry the same burden that Durant does for his team.
3 points – Luis Scola – The Rockets are making a big push that has them tied for the eighth seed in the west and Scola has played a big part of that. He has not played fewer than 20 minutes in a game in more than a month. If he keeps this up, he may sign a big enough second contract where he can afford a mirror and some personal grooming products.
2 points – Jamario Moon – Moon will get a chance to introduce himself to the nation during All-Star Weekend at the dunk contest, but fans of the Raptors know that he can do much more than throw down. His contributions are keeping Toronto on the edge of the east elite.
1 point – Yi Jianlian – Yi was recently injured and may have lost his starting spot to the talented Charlie Villanueva. I was always surprised that they were starting Yi in front of him all year as it was.
Even so, I cannot drop him out of the top five rookies as he has had to not only adjust to a new league, but also a new country and has done so much better than anyone expected. Of course, I traded him in my fantasy basketball league last week so I should probably take that into consideration…
10 points – LeBron James
9 points – Kobe Bryant
8 points – Chris Paul
7 points – Tim Duncan
6 points – Kevin Garnett
5 points – Steve Nash
4 points – Yao Ming
3 points – Dwight Howard
2 points – Dirk Nowitzki
1 point – Deron Williams
NBA Rookie Rankings – Round 7
5 points – Kevin Durant
4 points – Al Horford
3 points – Luis Scola
2 points – Al Thornton
1 point – Jamario Moon
10 points – LeBron James – In mafia movies we always hear about how it is better to be feared than respected. Well, who inspires more fear than a motivated LeBron James?
9 points – Kobe Bryant – Kobe is the most physically talented player in the NBA and with his deep supporting cast is ready to win his first title sans Shaq. Add in the fact the Lakers have dropped the fewest games to non contenders out of all the teams in the west and his impact is undeniable.
8 points – Chris Paul – Paul is still putting up historic numbers for a point guard, but he is not in the sa
me class as Kobe and LeBron…yet.
7 points – Tim Duncan – It is no fun voting Duncan this high, but the impact his steady performance has on the Spurs is impossible to ignore.
6 points – Kevin Garnett – KG’s numbers are not MVP worthy, but his presence has made Boston a championship contender and isn’t that what the MVP award is all about? Well, I guess no one really knows what the MVP award is all about and that is why we all argue about it.
5 points – Deron Williams – As much as I hate the Jazz I have to admit this guy is having an MVP caliber season. He is the reason why the Jazz have the second best offensive efficiency rating in the league and why Utah completely demolished the Nuggets Saturday night.
4 points – Steve Nash – Nash is still playing at the same level as during his MVP seasons so how come Phoenix fans are worried about potentially missing the playoffs?
3 points – Dwight Howard – The early season co favorite along with KG had a bit of a midseason fade, but ever since being called out by Stan Van Gundy just prior to the All-Star break has returned to his early season numbers.
2 points – Chauncey Billups – It is difficult to take the Pistons seriously as a contender with the flameouts they have had in the playoffs the past couple of seasons, but they are playing as well as anyone in this regular season and Chauncey is why.
1 point – Yao Ming – I have had Yao higher than this before his injury, but he deserves one last time on the list while the Rockets are still riding the season’s longest winning streak.
NBA Rookie Rankings – Round 8
5 points – Al Horford – Horford actually seems to be getting better as the season goes along, which is more than we can say for Durant.
4 points – Kevin Durant – Still putting up impressive numbers, but who among us would not like a chance to shoot as many times as we want every time we play? I feel guilty for shooting over and over at Pop a Shot.
3 points – Luis Scola – Playing very solid ball for the streaking Rockets. Hopefully, little Rocket fans are not growing up thinking it is cool to have their hair like his though.
2 points – Al Thornton – This guy is the biggest chucker I have ever seen as a rookie in the NBA. How he is averaging an assist a game is a mystery to me.
1 point – Jamario Moon – Moon has played well during the absence of Chris Bosh even though Toronto has not.
10 points – LeBron James
9 points – Kobe Bryant
8 points – Chris Paul
7 points – Tim Duncan
6 points – Kevin Garnett
5 points – Deron Williams
4 points – Steve Nash
3 points – Dwight Howard
2 points – Chauncey Billups
1 point – Dirk Nowitzki
NBA Rookie Rankings – Round 9
5 points – Al Horford
4 points – Kevin Durant
3 points – Luis Scola
2 points – Al Thornton
1 point – Jamario Moon
