Here are my predictions for the Spurs and this year's NBA awards with about 20 games to go. Agree? Disagree? Feel free to post your own. We'll see how right we are at the end of the season.
Kawhi Leonard: 1st Team All NBA, 1st All Defensive Team, DPOY
(Some may want to give this DPOY to Draymond Green, or some shot blocking big like Jordan or Whiteside, but if we finish with the #1 D I think Leonard repeats with the award. A lot depends on how we do in this last month against some NBA heavy weights. A few blow outs and Kawhi could lose it. But I think he and the Spurs will come through.)
LaMarcus Aldridge: 3rd Team All NBA
Tim Duncan: 2nd All Defensive Team
(Timmy probably should be considered for first team, but his lack of minutes, blocks and rebounds, means he could get bumped down or off the team by the Whitesides of the world. Not fair, but I can easily see him not making any team. Especially with the media narrative (based on his changing offensive role) that he's finally gotten "old." Being an optimist I still think he makes the second team.)
R.C. Buford: Executive of the Year
(No compe ion really)
Manu and Patty may get a few stray votes for 6th Man but neither will come close to winning it. Pop, too, will get some COY votes, but it will go elsewhere (Dubs, Portland, Toronto, Boston...)
Boban and Simmons, while favorites on ST, won't even sniff a place on any All-Rookie teams.
Last edited by BillMc; 03-06-2016 at 10:19 AM.
It wouldn't surprise me if Kawhi only got 2nd team all nba even though he deserves first team honors. Good list.
Good list. If the Warriors get the most wins record, I don't see how Kerr doesn't get COY. If not for their historic run, I'd give it to Stotts in Portland. His team was gutted.
I don't know if they give awards for this, but something should be given to trainer Will Sevening and the Spurs medical staff for keeping these old guys together and a special award to the surgeon who did a ballsey job on Manu.
This is hard considering our toughest portion of the schedule is coming up, and these awards are so often based on team success + recency bias. Anyways...
Kawhi - Unfortunately I feel like the media will end up giving the 1st team forward spots to LeBron/KD. Wouldn't be a huge snub considering both of those guys have played at a crazy high level too, but I do think that Kawhi has been clearly better than KD this year. If Kawhi continues to play like he has recently and the Spurs finish off strong, then I think he'll get that 1st team spot. He's a lock for 1st team All-Defense IMO. It'll be between him and Draymond for DPOTY...leaning towards Draymond, but again, so much of this depends on how these last 20 games pan out. If the Spurs win 2 of these last 3 games against GS and Kawhi shuts down/severely limits Curry/Klay, that could completely change the narrative.
Duncan - Should get 2nd team All-Defense...will be pretty awful if they end up giving that 2nd center spot to someone like WhitesideBogut has been great but he's played even fewer minutes than Tim, so it'll be pretty stupid if he gets selected over Duncan.
Aldridge - As things are now, I don't think he'd get a spot on any All-NBA team. The forwards will most likely be LeBron/Kawhi/KD/Draymond/PG/Davis in some order. Maybe if they count Anthony Davis as a center Aldridge could sneak his way onto 3rd team, but honestly Millsap probably deserves it over him in that case.
Not sure there's ever been a more deserving Executive of the Year than R.C. this year. Most importantly, he locked up Kawhi on a 5-year deal. Then he managed to land the biggest FA in Spurs history in Aldridge while also keeping Green (for a discount). The Splitter trade looks even better in hindsight considering all his injury issues this year. West was another great pickup, especially considering the contract. Boban and Simmons both came out of nowhere and have ended up being solid additions. Now he also went out and got Andre Miller and Kevin Martin. Really couldn't ask for anything more from a GM.
Manu is still the best bench player in the league, but with him missing 18 games already + not even playing 20 mpg, there's no way he wins. Will probably go to someone like Will Barton, Jrue Holiday, or Ryan Anderson.
Like you said, Pop will get a few CotY votes, but I can't see him winning. If Portland continues their recent hot streak and finishes up as the 6th or 7th seed, I think Stotts will win it. Brad Stevens is probably the 2nd guy I'd predict to win it.
Hopefully this is the year Danny finally gets recognition for his defense...would be nice to see him get 2nd team All-Defense. Maybe I'm blanking but I can't really think of 2 guys that deserve it over him.
Nice postThis is hard considering our toughest portion of the schedule is coming up, and these awards are so often based on team success + recency bias. Anyways...
Kawhi - Unfortunately I feel like the media will end up giving the 1st team forward spots to LeBron/KD. Wouldn't be a huge snub considering both of those guys have played at a crazy high level too, but I do think that Kawhi has been clearly better than KD this year. If Kawhi continues to play like he has recently and the Spurs finish off strong, then I think he'll get that 1st team spot. He's a lock for 1st team All-Defense IMO. It'll be between him and Draymond for DPOTY...leaning towards Draymond, but again, so much of this depends on how these last 20 games pan out. If the Spurs win 2 of these last 3 games against GS and Kawhi shuts down/severely limits Curry/Klay, that could completely change the narrative.
Duncan - Should get 2nd team All-Defense...will be pretty awful if they end up giving that 2nd center spot to someone like Whiteside
Aldridge - As things are now, I don't think he'd get a spot on any All-NBA team. The forwards will most likely be LeBron/Kawhi/KD/Draymond/PG/Davis in some order. Maybe if they count Anthony Davis as a center Aldridge could sneak his way onto 3rd team, but honestly Millsap probably deserves it over him in that case.
Not sure there's ever been a more deserving Executive of the Year than R.C. this year. Most importantly, he locked up Kawhi on a 5-year deal. Then he managed to land the biggest FA in Spurs history in Aldridge while also keeping Green (for a discount). The Splitter trade looks even better in hindsight considering all his injury issues this year. West was another great pickup, especially considering the contract. Boban and Simmons both came out of nowhere and have ended up being solid additions. Now he also went out and got Andre Miller and Kevin Martin. Really couldn't ask for anything more from a GM.
Manu is still the best bench player in the league, but with him missing 18 games already + not even playing 20 mpg, there's no way he wins. Will probably go to someone like Will Barton, Jrue Holiday, or Ryan Anderson.
Like you said, Pop will get a few CotY votes, but I can't see him winning. If Portland continues their recent hot streak and finishes up as the 6th or 7th seed, I think Stotts will win it. Brad Stevens is probably the 2nd guy I'd predict to win it.
Hopefully this is the year Danny finally gets recognition for his defense...would be nice to see him get 2nd team All-Defense. Maybe I'm blanking but I can't really think of 2 guys that deserve it over him.
My thinking...
Kawhi: With our record and the Thunder disappointing I was hoping Leonard (and his "system") would slip past Durant. You maybe right thought. But Durant's defense is still iffy while Leonard is the best in the business. Could be close either way. Agree with you that the last month could determine DPOY.
Aldridge: I was thinking they'd move Davis into one of the center spots and LMA sneaks into the 3rd forward slot. Again, with our record, and LaMarcus's second half improvement (the recency bias you mention) I think he'd get on. A lot depends how much he shows up in those big coming games against Warriors and Thunder.
R.C.: Agreed 100%. Best EOY since West got hold of Shaq and Kobe in the same year (summer of 96 I believe.)
Danny: Would love to see him get the recognition he deserves. But outside of SA, the media seems to leave his defense in Kawhi's shadow.
Cheers guys.
Old School, I can see Kerr getting it definitely. But I can also see a "Walton coached half the season" bias giving it to someone like Stotts. We'll see, I guess. Pretty weird if they break the Bulls record and don't get COY.
Agree the Spurs training staff deserve some sort of recognition for embalming all our AARP members and sending them out every night. And if Manu keeps up his "new balls" play the surgeon should get a piece of the long term contract we'll have to offer Manu.
AM Janitor: Like SpursFan86 said, there's a good chance Kawhi is 2nd Team, it all depends on if OKC keeps giving ground. Hard to put Durant over Kawhi if we finish 15 games ahead of them.
I think it all comes down to the number of MVP votes he gets, which the OP forgot to mention. I hope Kawhi finishes #2 in the MVP race, in which case he also has a good shot of getting the All-NBA 1st team nod.
If he finishes below that, though, I'm afraid Lebron and Durant are going to make it tough for him to be on the 1st team. Not because they're playing better, but because people tend to vote out of habit and both of them still carry more clout than Kawhi, mostly due to the fascination most pundits (especially the least knowledgeable ones) still have for ppg.
It's not an award; but probably worth mentioning Kawhi likely finishes 2nd in the MVP voting; and he has a very outside shot at MVP for that matter.
They won't give COTY to Kerr. He missed way too many games. And the fact that an interim coach did so well hurts Kerr's chances in future years, too.
Cheers guys.
Old School, I can see Kerr getting it definitely. But I can also see a "Walton coached half the season" bias giving it to someone like Stotts. We'll see, I guess. Pretty weird if they break the Bulls record and don't get COY.
It will be strange if they do get the record and Kerr doesn't get COY. Like someone mentioned, the Spurs schedule is backloaded with some big games. Although unlikely, if the Spurs do something crazy like sweep the remaining games against the Warriors and beat the Clips and the Thunder along the way...who knows Pop could "steal" it.
To me Kawhi is a locked DPOY this season, Gaymond is not even close because he is not that good, and also there is the issue with all those illegal screens.
Exactly, Kerr is like a cheerleader or something, made one of the worst strategies ever during the Finals and now missed like 50 games with the team having a record-breaker season... honestly he is not COY candidate... maybe he is so important that doesnt even need to be in the games oh what a guiding light he is a guarding angel helping the team ala Charles XavierCheers guys.
Old School, I can see Kerr getting it definitely. But I can also see a "Walton coached half the season" bias giving it to someone like Stotts. We'll see, I guess. Pretty weird if they break the Bulls record and don't get COY.
Agree the Spurs training staff deserve some sort of recognition for embalming all our AARP members and sending them out every night. And if Manu keeps up his "new balls" play the surgeon should get a piece of the long term contract we'll have to offer Manu..
If they don't give Coach of the Year to Kerr for those reasons, I'd personally give the award to someone like Dwayne Casey if they continue at their current pace. (Or I wouldn't mind them giving it to Pop of course).
Truth.Exactly, Kerr is like a cheerleader or something, made one of the worst strategies ever during the Finals and now missed like 50 games with the team having a record-breaker season... honestly he is not COY candidate... maybe he is so important that doesnt even need to be in the games oh what a guiding light he is a guarding angel helping the team ala Charles Xavier
I don't like this kind of history rewriting. Kerr already didn't get it last year when he should have. It would be stupid if it happened again.
If by some miracle we catch the Warriors, then Kawhi has a shot at the MVP via the old "best player on the best team" argument. But Curry will be tough to beat this year even if we catch the Dubs.
A couple of discussions about if LMA will make an All-NBA team. It kind of depends on if A. Davis is listed as a center or doesn't make the cut (because his team misses the playoffs. Seems likely that Millsap, Davis, and LMA all will be vying for 3rd team. ESPN video talks about it from a Davis perspective.
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:14977381
Why do people keep saying Draymond will get DPOY? Last year it was close, but he hasn't been as good this year. He's not been bad, but I don't think he's been good enough to where he will get the "make up" vote or whatever you want to call it.
He's probably been the 4th or 5th best defensive player - it's not him neck and neck with Kawhi IMO.
I agree Scotts has an excellent chance. Kerr missed to much of the season to get COY in my opinion.
I'd guess its because of the Dubs incredible record and a perception that he was somehow wronged by not winning it last year. (As he got the more first place votes than Kawhi.) Because of that perception I had to mention him, though I agree he has played worse on defense this year.
Last edited by BillMc; 03-15-2016 at 05:28 PM.
Their record is great, but they haven't been some defensive beast. Also, look, if Tim never won a DPOY award Draymond Green SURE AS doesn't get any make ups.
Amen. Let it be true.
I'd like to believe that, but the Spurs have never gotten much media attention, much less been media darlings like the Dubs are this season. "Make-up" awards go to glamour boys not low-profile, fundamental players on "boring" teams. Thus Duncan never got his due, but Draymond will get his "make-up" award.
The ballots are due Thursday. We should start getting glimpses into how the media is voting.
Bob Fitzgerald (Warriors play by play) said during Thursday's game that Leonard is second on his MVP ballot.
Here's Ira Winderman's picks. He covers the Heat. Lots of Spurs love.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/m...16-column.html
Leonard is #2 for MVP.
Leonard as DPOY.
Pop 3rd COY.
Leonard 1st team all-NBA.
Leonard 1st team defense.
Duncan 2nd team defense.
Green 2nd team defense.
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