Re: ESPN's First Trimester Awards <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>With almost everyone in the league having played at least 27 games as of Friday morning, except for the slowpokes (Denver, Minnesota and Sacramento) stuck on 26, it's time to take stock of the season's opening third:West MVP of the Trimester Steve Nash, SunsI don't think he can win three straight MVPs. Nash certainly doesn't think so, either. But the first trimester says otherwise, even with at least five serious co-candidates in the West alone: Dirk Nowitzki, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Yao Ming and the gate-crashing Carlos Boozer. As Suns assistant coach Dan D'Antoni points out, one reason Nash somehow gets better as he gets older is that he has seemingly no ceiling when it comes to getting smarter and more efficient, as long as he avoids serious injury. Nowitzki and Duncan have to be right up there using the same criteria -- backbone of an elite team -- and Boozer probably would have trumped them all if Utah hadn't wobbled lately. But I can't ignore what Nash is doing, statistically and otherwise, to bring cohesion to the Suns through a period of complicated transition just because there's a segment of society that hates the idea of him winning another Podoloff trophy.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------East MVP of the Trimester Michael Redd, BucksBiased? Guilty. It's no secret Redd is one of my favorite players -- LEFTY! -- on the planet. Allow me, nevertheless, to channel Hickory's Norman Dale here, because I apologize for nothing. With Detroit and Chicago taking an ensemble approach to winning, Cleveland and Miami too close to .500 for LeBron James and Dwyane Wade to get us salivating just yet and Dwight Howard not quite in this stratosphere, it's clear that the two best players in the East to date have been Redd and Gilbert Arenas. How to choose between them? Arenas was shaky in November before this otherworldly December; Caron Butler has been Washington's most consistent player. Redd doesn't even have that much help in Milwaukee but is starting to play a more diverse game, as the Spurs would tell you. Redd found plenty of ways to hurt them in San Antonio, on a night when he didn't even have his 3-point stroke, so he's the early choice until LeBron and D-Wade make their inevitable move.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Coach of the Trimester Jerry Sloan, JazzWe take Gregg Popovich, Avery Johnson and Mike D'Antoni for granted -- Phil Jackson, too -- but we've been taking Sloan for granted for almost two decades. Even though the new rules are supposed to punish the teams that have relied on clutching and grabbing, as we've seen from Utah for years, just take a look. Sloan has Boozer and Deron Williams, both of whom were openly doubted by countless skeptics throughout last season, standing up to the ghosts of Stockton-to-Malone and challenging each other for Most Improved plaudits, even with Andrei Kirilenko still somewhat out of sorts. As always, there's never a shortage of contenders here; Portland's Nate McMillan is an interesting case just getting the Blazers within reach of .500 in spite of Brandon Roy's lengthy absence. Yet even his peers, I suspect, would be voting for Sloan at this point. With a so-so Kirilenko and a big hole at shooting guard, Sloan's Jazz have more wins than all but two other teams. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Rookie of the Trimester Randy Foye, TimberwolvesLike a lot of Wolves fans, I wish Foye played more. Yet I've seen enough from this guy in a couple of crunch times -- at Dallas in November and Tuesday when he scored the game-winner to save the Wolves after they had blown a big lead to Chicago -- to pick him out of a struggling group that only has one rook (Adam Morrison) averaging better than 10 ppg. Truth is, I don't think the NBA can really claim to have a Rookie of the Year race at the minute. Andrea Bargnani is making some progress in Toronto alongside the underrated Jorge Garbajosa, Morrison and Utah's Paul Millsap have had their moments and Jordan Farmar has unexpectedly claimed a rotation spot with the Lakers, but it's not really a race yet. The biggest rookie story, besides Roy missing so much time, has been Foye ... as much for his feature role in the Allen Iverson Sweepstakes as anything.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sixth Man of the Trimester Ben Gordon, BullsMy preseason pick, Phoenix's Leandro Barbosa, looks like an inspired choice ... until you remember what Gordon is doing in Chicago. Only two sixth men in history have averaged 20 points for a whole season: Ricky Pierce and Eddie Johnson. Gordon entered Friday's play at 20.1 ppg after hanging 40 on Miami.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Defensive Player of the Trimester Alonzo Mourning, Heat The sad reality is that the Heat need even more than Mourning can feasibly give them with Shaquille O'Neal sidelined. But Zo being Zo, he's trying anyway to give them more than what's humanly possible at age 36, so he gets the early nod here as the league's No. 2 shot-blocker (2.9 bpg) in just 23.4 minutes per game. There will be plenty of time to sort out the long-term race featuring the usual suspects: Kevin Garnett, Duncan and Marcus Camby, perimeter aces like Bruce Bowen, Shawn Marion and Kirilenko ... and the underrated Emeka Okafor, Jermaine O'Neal and Howard.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Comeback Player of the Trimester Amare Stoudemire, SunsIn the NBA, as we repeat every year at this time, there is no Comeback award. But we're moved to maintain this category this season more than usual, watching Stoudemire's gaining-speed recovery from surgery on both knees.(Here's hoping Denver's Kenyon Martin will occupy this space next season. K-Mart is coming back from two microfractures -- Stoudemire only faced one -- but he'd be an ideal complement to the Melo-Iverson tag team if he can make it back.</div>http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?pa...ydime-061230-31I do not agree with the Micheal Redd pick. Even though 15-15 will get you to the playoffs in the East, why not go with LeBron James? The Cavs are 17-11, and Lebron is putting up better numbers than Redd.Hey guys, I called the Jerry Sloan pick for Head Coach of the year, before Utah caught on fire. Just so you know...
Re: ESPN's First Trimester Awards <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Pacers fan forever @ Dec 30 2006, 11:04 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I called Nash for MVP baby!</div>Your point? What ESPN said after a third of the season means about as much as your opinion does to me.
Re: ESPN's First Trimester Awards <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (yankshater213 @ Dec 30 2006, 11:08 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Your point? What ESPN said after a third of the season means about as much as your opinion does to me.</div>If you don't care about my point why'd you post this?
Re: ESPN's First Trimester Awards It was a general statement to everyone. I just quoted you because your making it like he just won it.
Re: ESPN's First Trimester Awards <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (yankshater213 @ Dec 30 2006, 11:12 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>It was a general statement to everyone. I just quoted you because your making it like he just won it.</div>you seriously think I thought he just won it? espn has a whole bunch of votes for mvp at the end of the season. if they crown him mvp now, chances are he will win it. and I'll be right cause I called it.
Re: ESPN's First Trimester Awards Redd has been playing good, but (and NOT just because I'm a wizards fan) what about Gilbert? They are leaing their division, and are 3rd in the playoff race in the East behind Detroit and Cleveland.
Re: ESPN's First Trimester Awards Michael Redd Eastern Conference MVP? Sure, he has had an excellent season, but Milwaukee is last in the division. Eastern Conference MVP is Gilbert Arenas, IMO. He's putting up better numbers than he ever has, he has completely exploded in games, and Washington has a better record right now than most people expected.
Re: ESPN's First Trimester Awards <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Pacers fan forever @ Dec 30 2006, 11:19 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>you seriously think I thought he just won it? espn has a whole bunch of votes for mvp at the end of the season. if they crown him mvp now, chances are he will win it. and I'll be right cause I called it.</div>oh you're real special for "callin it"just like the millions of other people who think they win some sort of award because they're predicting Nash will win a 3rd MVPpretty bad predictions if you ask meMichael Redd, MVP?
Re: ESPN's First Trimester Awards Its good to see Sloan finally getting some credit, he has been over looked so many times.
Re: ESPN's First Trimester Awards <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (redneck @ Dec 30 2006, 03:11 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Its good to see Sloan finally getting some credit, he has been over looked so many times.</div>Oh I agree wholeheartedly. Jerry Sloan is one of the greatest coaches in the history of the league, but he never gets talked about like Phil Jackson or Pat Riley does. He's a great coach, and I am extremely happy that the Jazz are finally healthy and playing good basketball. They are a good team, which was nixed out of the playoffs last year due to a couple unfortunate injuries. As of right now, they are looking awesome. Not only are they healthy, Carlos Boozer is developing quickly as a real option, and Deron Williams has come along quicker than anybody thought. Memo is an underrated center, and I definitely feel Kirilenko is arguably the most underrated player in the NBA. But I'm extremely happy that Sloan is finally getting some recogintion/respect from the media. He deserves it as much, if not more, than the next guy.
Re: ESPN's First Trimester Awards <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CelticBalla32 @ Dec 30 2006, 03:46 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Oh I agree wholeheartedly. Jerry Sloan is one of the greatest coaches in the history of the league, but he never gets talked about like Phil Jackson or Pat Riley does. He's a great coach, and I am extremely happy that the Jazz are finally healthy and playing good basketball. They are a good team, which was nixed out of the playoffs last year due to a couple unfortunate injuries. As of right now, they are looking awesome. Not only are they healthy, Carlos Boozer is developing quickly as a real option, and Deron Williams has come along quicker than anybody thought. Memo is an underrated center, and I definitely feel Kirilenko is arguably the most underrated player in the NBA. But I'm extremely happy that Sloan is finally getting some recogintion/respect from the media. He deserves it as much, if not more, than the next guy.</div>I agree with this about Okur, and I'm pretty sure I know why. He's not the toughest player on the boards and is somewhat soft and people will argue his lack of quickness makes him a liability on defense. I agree that he's underrated, but those two things people overlook, and even though his rebounding numbers aren't as high as say Boozers, he still picks up the boards and works hard even though he is a little soft. But his jump shot is very nice and when he's stroking it he can be deadly from behind the arc. You have no idea how many times Okur has killed me when he shoots the three.EDIT: You actually probably already do because you're a Celtics fan too
Re: ESPN's First Trimester Awards <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (yankshater213 @ Dec 30 2006, 03:52 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I agree with this about Okur, and I'm pretty sure I know why. He's not the toughest player on the boards and is somewhat soft and people will argue his lack of quickness makes him a liability on defense. I agree that he's underrated, but those two things people overlook, and even though his rebounding numbers aren't as high as say Boozers, he still picks up the boards and works hard even though he is a little soft. But his jump shot is very nice and when he's stroking it he can be deadly from behind the arc. You have no idea how many times Okur has killed me when he shoots the three.EDIT: You actually probably already do because you're a Celtics fan too </div> Believe me, I know. Okur always torches us, huh? I think it would be fair to label him as one of the more recent "Celtic killers" along with Mo-Pete and Arenas.And yeah, someone could have somewhat of a point that he's "soft," but I don't agree with that statement like others would. Sure, he's not a complete powerhouse that'll get in there and wreck opposing centers for rebounds. But that's not his game, and that's not how he's affective. If he tried to do that, he'd foul out. His game is stretching the defense, shooting a high percentage, and putting points on the board from every area on the floor, and consistantly. That's Okur, and almost every center in the league has a very hard time guarding him, due to the fact that you have to respect him from 25 feet as well as you respect his 5 foot shot.EDIT: Memo is what Raef LaFrentz should have been.
