A better basketball site.
For intelligent readers, from veteran writers.
Keep scrolling down. Good stuff here.
Tonight at midnight, like I do every year at this time, I will face East, toward Springfield, Mass., and give a prayer of Thanksgiving.
Thank heavens that’s over!
I mean to tell you, it was a long season out here in the place I named Lakerdom – or actually stole from Lester Hayes, the great cornerback and quote machine who made up Raiderdom.
Of course, Lakerdom now vies for its very existence with Clipper Nation, which used to put in rare appearances, like a submarine on a brief stopover.
They say all good things must come to an end.
This is the final edition of the Most Improved Player Rankings and I—
I’m sorry … I … told myself I wasn’t going to cry. (sniffle)
It’s been an amazing run here at the Most Improved Player Rankings. We’ve talked about donut races, wildebeests, and Andy Enfield’s wife. We’ve made fun of just about every basketball announcer out there and also Jim Nantz.
But now it’s finally time to get down to the business of naming the NBA’s Most Improved Player.
In all walks of life, in tragedy there is opportunity. So today, as we mourn the loss of innocent lives in Boston, we should all take a moment to send thoughts and prayers to those affected by the horrific events that unfolded yesterday.
We can use the tragedy as an opportunity to unite and come together.
On any level, sports is a unifying force that has helped bridge economic, social, geographical and political divisions among citizens of the world, and the NBA has become a melting pot and the epitome of this idea.
All acts of terror are obviously reprehensible, but that this particular attack occurred during an event that featured unification at its finest—and on a day when Boston celebrates the beginning of the American Revolution—was especially unnerving for me, personally.
So, we now know that the Miami Heat will get the chance to experience springtime in Milwaukee. Except for the fact that springtime in Milwaukee typically lasts about two days. Then winter returns. Then summer magically appears out of the blue.
And there’s no telling from year to year whether those two days will be in April, May or June.
True story: While covering the Eastern Conference finals in 2001, it was May 31 and the Bucks had just finished practice and were preparing to play Philadelphia in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals. Ray Allen gave an interview to myself and Doug Smith of the Toronto Star saying the outcome of the series had already been pre-determined by the NBA, which wanted to see Allen Iverson in the finals.
Yes, Allen said the series was fixed — and this was one day before Game 6 was going to be played. Then then went out and had nine 3-pointers as the Bucks forced a Game 7, which they lost in Philly.
Realizing that Allen was dropping a bombshell (and coach George Karl was going there, too) and perhaps speaking without thinking, Smitty and myself gave him a chance to temper his comments by asking a few follow-up questions in which we asserted the seriousness of his allegation. But Allen would not back down — “It’s all about BRI (basketball related income)” and having MVP Allen Iverson in the finals, Allen said – and so I filed my story to the AP desk in New York, stepped outside to get to my rental car and walked through a freezing rain.
It was so cold, you could see your breath.
On May 31.
So James should not expect an abundance of warmth to greet him and his teammates when they travel to Milwaukee for Games 3 and 4 of their first-round sweep. James will know where to get the best steak in America (he was tipped off to a place in Dahmer’s old neighborhood) and he will be able to indulge in frozen custard, which is what Milwaukeeans eat instead if ice cream, and with good reason. If he likes beer, the smart thing for him to do would be to find a place that serves Schlitz, which has gone back to its original formula.
But what he will not know throughout the first round, and which he won’t get a feel for, is whether he will have become the unanimous winner of the MVP award. The NBA keeps those results a closely guarded secret, and it would not be unprecedented for a lone wolf voter to put him in the No. 2 spot (see last week’s rankings for the story of how Chris Paul received 125 of 126 first-place votes for Rookie of the Year).
But he is going to get the award, and what little suspense remains concerns who will finish second behind him.
I will cast my ballot at the conclusion of Wednesday night’s games (and here’s hoping that the No. 8 spot will be on the line in the Lakers-Rockets and Grizzlies-Jazz games), and I will have LeBron in the top spot.
For spots 2 through 5, I remain uncommitted — but these rankings give a clear indication of which way I am leaning with four days left in the season. Check back Thursday for a column on who I voted for in all the NBA postseason awards. Coach of the Year and Sixth Man are the two toughest decisions. Danny Schayes says COY should be Mike Woodson.
For now, here’s how I have the MVP race …
This week marks the final edition of our Sixth Man Rankings, and we have a winner.
While major alterations to the list have been made throughout this process, the race ultimately has come down to two players on opposite sides of the country: Los Angeles Clippers guard Jamal Crawford and New York Knicks guard J.R. Smith.
Both players are in their first full season with their teams and both were able to add a bench scoring dimension to which neither team had previously been accustomed.
This East Coast vs. West Coast battle picked up its heaviest bit of steam towards the tail end of the season – and is where our decision became a bit easier.
