Zach Lowe NBA Awards Ballot..

[Kawhitstorm]

Tom Haberstroh picks..

-Klay is making the 3rd team over HarDone
-No way Love makes 3rd team over LMA
-Millsap/Bogut are making All-NBA D 2nd team over George/Horford

Anthony Davis

[apalisoc_9]

Tom would make a great spurstalk poster tbh.

[apalisoc_9]

Why do you think this tbh? All the rumblings I've seen/read seem to have mouthbreather slightly ahead.

Looked about done a week ago. We will see...kawhi wasnt even in the convo last year till maybe tge last week

[resistanze]

I also see voters making Kerr COY....I can't see him leaving empty handed after going 140-24 in two seasons, even if he missed 1/2 the season.

[resistanze]

Looked about done a week ago. We will see...kawhi wasnt even in the convo last year till maybe tge last week

In the last week the Spurs lost twice to GSW...as irrelevant as that is the average pundit is a moron and probably somehow weighs into the voting

Not that mouthbreather isn't a legitimate candidate, he has a strong case on its own.

[apalisoc_9]

Woukd be dissapointing to not see lowry in any of the all nba teams. He should be 2nd team

[spursistan]

How in sweet if the Warriors sweep the awards and 73 in the bag but get beat by dem Spurs

[HarlemHeat37]

DPOY is going to be interesting..Spurs have the best defense of any team since 2004, don't they? Haven't checked in a minute, maybe they fell off..

Spurs have the #1-ranked player in DRPM at the SG, SF and C positions..Warriors defenders have a higher profile, though, as the casual fan/voter probably doesn't give too much credit to this version of Duncan IMO..

[Kawhitstorm]

The other legit 6th man options play for ty teams, which probably eliminates them from consideration IMO..Teletovic has probably been the best the past 2 months, but he plays for an atrocious Suns team..

Will Barton was on pace to win it, but he has been horrible the past 2 months, in addition to playing on a bad team..

Kanter has the highest PER of any bench player, FG%, WS/48, rebounds, & is the only player averaging 12/8 in 20 minutes. (He devoured Ed Davis)

You also have Crawford who balled out when Blake was out (19.5 PPG) & leads the Cripples in 4th quarter scoring. (Better than Barton)

Jeremy Lin has been inconsistent but he has had a couple of big games, Turner has also been solid for the Celtics.

[HarlemHeat37]

Kanter has the highest PER of any bench player, FG%, WS/48, rebounds, & is the only player averaging 12/8 in 20 minutes. (He devoured Ed Davis)

You also have Crawford who balled out when Blake was out (19.5 PPG) & leads the Cripples in 4th quarter scoring. (Better than Barton)

Jeremy Lin has been inconsistent but he has had a couple of big games, Turner has also been solid for the Celtics.

I don't think Kanter has a chance, although he should be considered..he has a poor reputation and OKC has the "2-man team" narrative..

Crawford is always a legit choice, I forgot about him..seems like Iguodala is going to win it, though, based on the media ballots I've seen, so far..

[Kawhitstorm]

DPOY is going to be interesting..Spurs have the best defense of any team since 2004, don't they? Haven't checked in a minute, maybe they fell off..

Spurs have the #1-ranked player in DRPM at the SG, SF and C positions..Warriors defenders have a higher profile, though, as the casual fan/voter probably doesn't give too much credit to this version of Duncan IMO..

Last season, the Worriers had the top 2 OVERALL DRPM leaders (Draymond/Bogut) to go along w/ Iggy & Klay(who made All-NBA 2nd team D despite having a NEGATIVE DRPM)

[cjw]

-Klay is making the 3rd team over HarDone
-No way Love makes 3rd team over LMA
-Millsap/Bogut are making All-NBA D 2nd team over George/Horford

Anthony Davis

Klay certainly benefits from the open looks he gets being on the Ws. I think McCollom and Re have had very similar seasons to Klay's (Klay is better and more versatile defensively), while Harden absolutely deserves an All NBA spot over any of them. Could argue that Klay is the fifth most important player on the team (Curry, Green, Iguodala, Bogut).

[Kawhitstorm]

I don't think Kanter has a chance, although he should be considered..he has a poor reputation and OKC has the "2-man team" narrative..

Crawford is always a legit choice, I forgot about him..seems like Iguodala is going to win it, though, based on the media ballots I've seen, so far..

Stein picked Crawford & his recent scoring outburst against OKC/Jazz when the starters were out seems to have given him a push. Meanwhile, Iggy missed a bunch of game which could hurt him or help him b/c some folks pointed to his absence for their recent losses.

[HarlemHeat37]

Klay certainly benefits from the open looks he gets being on the Ws. I think McCollom and Re have had very similar seasons to Klay's (Klay is better and more versatile defensively), while Harden absolutely deserves an All NBA spot over any of them. Could argue that Klay is the fifth most important player on the team (Curry, Green, Iguodala, Bogut).

He's definitely one of the most overrated players in the league IMO, although I've noticed more people have realized how limited he is after watching him struggle in last year's playoffs..

Harden is a lock for all-NBA if the Rockets make the playoffs..he started off the year poorly, but has been a monster in the 2nd half..his poor conditioning and lack of off-season preparation got a coach fired, though

[SpursFan86]

Kanter has the highest PER of any bench player, FG%, WS/48, rebounds, & is the only player averaging 12/8 in 20 minutes. (He devoured Ed Davis)

You also have Crawford who balled out when Blake was out (19.5 PPG) & leads the Cripples in 4th quarter scoring. (Better than Barton)

Jeremy Lin has been inconsistent but he has had a couple of big games, Turner has also been solid for the Celtics.

Kanter is also one of the worst defenders in the league and has a negative RPM (not even top 50 among centers) I mean I guess I could see the argument for him being 3rd or something, but no way should he get it over Iguodala.

Crawford is horrible, tbh...gives you decent volume scoring with below average efficiency, and that's it. He's absolutely terrible defensively. Below average PER, negative RPM (73rd among SGs), negative BPM/VORP...list goes on. Would be an absolute crime if he won it.

Lin/Turner are decent I guess but I'd still say they're nowhere close to Iguodala.

[Kawhitstorm]

Crawford is horrible, tbh...gives you decent volume scoring with below average efficiency, and that's it. He's absolutely terrible defensively. Below average PER, negative RPM (73rd among SGs), negative BPM/VORP...list goes on. Would be an absolute crime if he won it.

Crawford is an all or nothing type player, he has won it twice over Manu doing what he has been doing this season.

[Kawhitstorm]

Harden is a lock for all-NBA if the Rockets make the playoffs..he started off the year poorly, but has been a monster in the 2nd half..his poor conditioning and lack of off-season preparation got a coach fired, though

There is NO WAY Klay is being left off the All-NBA team, it was going to be b/w Lillard & HarDone...I think we know who's going to win that battle. Hopefully, Lowry doesn't get thrown under the bus b/c he's an afterthought for most casual fans.

[will_spurs]

It's going to be really awkward if Curry wins both MVP and MIP.

[SpursFan86]

Crawford is an all or nothing type player, he has won it twice over Manu doing what he has been doing this season.

Well are you arguing that he should win/be in consideration for 6MOTY, or that he will be? If it's the latter, then yeah, I'm sure he's going to get some votes like he always does. He shouldn't though, because he's not even a net positive player at this point. At least in the other years he won 6MOTY he had respectable efficiency (57.3 TS% in 2010 and 55.6 TS% in 2014, compared to 52.9 TS% this year), although he still didn't deserve it over Manu in either of those years...especially not 2010.

[Kawhitstorm]

Well are you arguing that he should win/be in consideration for 6MOTY, or that he will be? If it's the latter, then yeah, I'm sure he's going to get some votes like he always does. He shouldn't though, because he's not even a net positive player at this point. At least in the other years he won 6MOTY he had respectable efficiency (57.3 TS% in 2010 and 55.6 TS% in 2014, compared to 52.9 TS% this year), although he still didn't deserve it over Manu in either of those years...especially not 2010.

I believe the debate is about who is GOING to win/be nominated for the awards by the VOTERS. (There was an ST award ballot when folks were debating whether Anthony Davis will make it: the media said he will but seem like they have changed their tunes like I predicted)

[steeledl]

Not a lot to complain about here. I'd like to see Kawhi go back to back DPOY though. Also feel like Stotts should get coach of the year.... His team has exceeded expectations. If Kerr doesn't ring his season is a disappointment .

[midnightpulp]

It's going to piss me off if Raymond wins DPOY.

One of the problems some of the new media writers have is that they look at metrics and nothing but, so they'll see Raymond's higher DRPM vs. Kawhi and might call it a day.

But I'll go on record and say Raymond is one of the most overrated defenders in the league.

- The Warriors have a mediocre points-in-the paint defense. I know Raymond isn't a traditional paint anchor, but still.

- Raymond typically can't guard bigs 1-on-1 for long stretches, and (contrary to even my perception), the Warriors have been getting killed by 4-5s all season. It's not until they start swarming that opposing bigs begin to have trouble. Yet the metrics will disproportionally "credit" Raymond in these instances.

- The wing positions are much, much deeper in talent than the big positions. As a result of that, Kawhi will naturally be tasked with much more of a defensive load any given night.

- The Warriors offense. Their offense is arguably the most exhausting offense to defend in NBA history. You constantly have to switch. Chase Curry and Klay through a barrage of (illegal) screens. Constantly rotate to cover shooters and secondary action. By virtue of that, players will have less energy to expend on offense themselves, making defending other teams easier. It's like in the NFL. A best offense can also be your best defense. The Spurs offense these days, while relatively hard to defend, isn't necessarily "tiring."

- When Kawhi was out, the defense was on the level of the Lakers. Granted, it wasn't a huge sample size, but the team was giving up huge offensive games to the Suns and Lakers during that stretch.

I don't think it's an argument, but the "metrics."

[apalisoc_9]

He's definitely one of the most overrated players in the league IMO, although I've noticed more people have realized how limited he is after watching him struggle in last year's playoffs..

Harden is a lock for all-NBA if the Rockets make the playoffs..he started off the year poorly, but has been a monster in the 2nd half..his poor conditioning and lack of off-season preparation got a coach fired, though

Harden is not a lock imo because most have made tgeir decisions a few days ago

[apalisoc_9]

It's going to piss me off if Raymond wins DPOY.

One of the problems some of the new media writers have is that they look at metrics and nothing but, so they'll see Raymond's higher DRPM vs. Kawhi and might call it a day.

But I'll go on record and say Raymond is one of the most overrated defenders in the league.

- The Warriors have a mediocre points-in-the paint defense. I know Raymond isn't a traditional paint anchor, but still.

- Raymond typically can't guard bigs 1-on-1 for long stretches, and (contrary to even my perception), the Warriors have been getting killed by 4-5s all season. It's not until they start swarming that opposing bigs begin to have trouble. Yet the metrics will disproportionally "credit" Raymond in these instances.

- The wing positions are much, much deeper in talent than the big positions. As a result of that, Kawhi will naturally be tasked with much more of a defensive load any given night.

- The Warriors offense. Their offense is arguably the most exhausting offense to defend in NBA history. You constantly have to switch. Chase Curry and Klay through a barrage of (illegal) screens. Constantly rotate to cover shooters and secondary action. By virtue of that, players will have less energy to expend on offense themselves, making defending other teams easier. It's like in the NFL. A best offense can also be your best defense. The Spurs offense these days, while relatively hard to defend, isn't necessarily "tiring."

- When Kawhi was out, the defense was on the level of the Lakers. Granted, it wasn't a huge sample size, but the team was giving up huge offensive games to the Suns and Lakers during that stretch.

I don't think it's an argument, but the "metrics."

He will win it.

The bigger question is if he makes first team over established superstars like durant and Lebron.

[Kawhitstorm]

It's going to piss me off if Raymond wins DPOY.

Who cares about DPOY when Dwert is the ONLY player in HISTORY to win it 3 consecutive time but has NOTHING to show for it.

Once you win it once for the sake of legacy it becomes a watered down achievement thereafter.