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It pains me to do it, freaks, but I gotta bring down the curtain on the 04-05 fantasy season. That's right, no more living the fantasy for me until the pads start cracking in July. It's been a great year and I appreciate the eyes and e-mails.
Here's hoping you're on the way to securing multiple Fantasy O'Briens. But whether you win or not, keep in mind that the journey is the best part of all.
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KG did everything he was asked this season.
Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images |
Most Disappointing Team: That's easy. It's my Wolves, who I objectively picked to win it all before the season. I repeat: objectively. Sadly, I can't remember being this wrong about a preseason pick. My bad. From holdouts to embarrassing quotes to a coaching change to injuries, the Wolves morphed into Team Turmoil and plummeted from the brink of greatness to the thick of mediocrity. (By the way, how awesome were Glen Taylor's quotes about Latrell Sprewell and Sam Cassell the other day?)
Worst Trade: The Hornets must have been out of their collective mind when they agreed to trade Baron Davis to the Warriors for Speedy Claxton and cap flexibility. Wow, that's bad.
Best Trade: Danny Ainge's improbable gamble of brining back Antoine Walker has been one of the best personnel moves of the new millennium. Of greatest import is the fact this trade ensured the Atlantic at least one plus-.500 team.
Worst Hair: That would have to be Sprewell and Troy Hudson, who look like Milli and Vanilli in wolves clothing.
Best Historic Development: The Clippers had a one game lead on the Lakers as this went to web. That's right, freaks, the People's Team is winning the Battle for Los Angeles against the Beautiful People's Team. If the Clips maintain their lead, it'll be the first time since 1993 that they outrank the Lakers.
Worst Rotation: From a fantasy perspective, I wasn't a fan of the rotations in Chicago, Memphis, San Antonio, or New Orleans. But I had big problems with the rotation in Philly for myriad reasons. All you need to know is that Brian Skinner and Kenny Thomas emerged from Jim O'Brien's doghouse to rock the double-doubles for Rick Adelman.
Best Contract Push: Ray Allen picked a great time to average a career-high 23.7 points per game. Way to go, Ray. Now if only he can find a team willing to pay him the max. It's times like these I wish I owned a team because I'd be a few measly millions away from employing one of the coolest players in the league.
It's about time we added some official to these unofficial awards, so let's not dance around the issue any longer.
[Editor's note: All Stats through Wednesday, April 13.]
Most Improved Player
1. LeBron James, Cavaliers: I seem to remember numerous outsiders saying as recently as the Olympics that LeBron couldn't shoot. Well, he's up from 20.9 to 26.9 points because his field-goal percentage is up from .417 to .478. Please, do not make the mistake of doubting this animal.
2. Dwyane Wade, Heat: Wade has morphed from solid to clutch, and his scoring average has hop-stepped from 16.4 to 24.1.
3. Bobby Simmons, Clippers: In his first year as a full-time starter (which happens to be a contract year), Simmons has averaged 16-6-3.
4. Primoz Brezec, Bobcats: Dude went from Indiana's injured list to Charlotte's starting lineup, and he averaged 13-and-7 in the light of day. Think Rik Smits, just not as tall or soft on the boards.
5. Dan Dickau, Hornets: Like Brezec, we all slept on Dickau because we had never seen him ball before. But like Brezec, Dickau opened our eyes with 13.4 points, 5.1 assists, 1.3 threes, 1.2 steals, and 31 minutes since his trade to New Orleans.
Sixth Man
1. Ben Gordon, Bulls: I'm going with Gordon because I've never seen a rookie come off the bench to turn so many games in the fourth quarter.
1a. Ricky Davis, Celtics: Ricky leads all reserves with 16.1 points per game and he's shooting 47 percent. Thus, the 1a bit.
3. Tyson Chandler, Bulls: Chandler leads all reserves in rebounds (9.8) and blocks (1.7), and he's been as clutch on the defensive end as teammate Gordon has been on offense.
4. Earl Boykins, Nuggets: Earl has an awesome point-per-minute ratio of 12-to-26.
5. Antonio McDyess, Pistons: Like Grant Hill, Dyess proved he was all the way back with a big season off Detroit's bench. In just 23 minutes, Dyess is averaging 9.6 points, 6.1 rebounds.
Defensive Player of the Year
1. Ben Wallace, Pistons: Big Ben recently became the fifth player in NBA history with five straight years of 100 blocks and 100 steals.
2. Larry Hughes, Wizards: Mr. Smooth came out of nowhere to lead the leagues with nearly three steals a game.
3. Marcus Camby, Nuggets: Camby has blocked at least two in every game since Feb. 11.
4. Shawn Marion, Suns: The Matrix is third in rebounds (11.5), fourth in steals (2.01) and 21st in total blocks (111). Dude's sick.
5. Kevin Garnett, Timberwolves: KG would be higher on this list were it not for a 2.2-to-1.4 drop-off in blocks, but that can be blamed entirely on a bum right knee.
Coach of the Year
1. Nate McMillan, SuperSonics: With basically the same roster that went 37-45 last season, Nate somehow squeezed 50 wins out of a team most thought would be 14th or 15th in the West.
2. Mike D'Antoni, Suns: The Suns have the league's best record because D'Antoni decided to go small and run teams out of the gym. Plus, his rotation was the most fantasy-friendly in the league.
3. Rick Carlisle, Pacers: Not since Paul Silas coached the Hornets through the death of Bobby Phills has a coach dealt with more adversity than Carlisle. Getting his thrice broken team into the playoffs was a minor miracle.
4. Scott Skiles, Bulls: How many times have you seen a team of neophytes recover from an 0-9 start to make the playoffs? Unheard of.
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The two Connecticut rookies are one-two on Kamla's list.
Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty Images |
Rookie of the Year
1. Emeka Okafor, Bobcats: Okafor was my preseason pick, and after watching him average 15.4 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks during the regular season, he's my hindsight pick as well.
2. Ben Gordon, Bulls: Okafor beats his UCONN teammate in my unofficial world. Bottom line: going 15 and 10 every game is more impressive than 20-some fourth-quarter explosions.
3. Dwight Howard, Magic: Howard may be third, but there are three reasons to love him: consistency, durability, and productivity. Prepare for a huge jump next season.
4. Andre Iguodala, 76ers: The future is infinitely bright for this Scottie Pippen-clone, who thrilled us with a triple-double and a top 10 finish in steals.
5. Josh Smith, Hawks: It was tough to go with Smith over teammate Josh Childress, Nenad Krstic, and Luol Deng, but I'm in love with blocks and Smith had 10 in his 21st professional game.
All-NBA First Team
C Shaquille O'Neal, Heat
F Kevin Garnett, Timberwolves (Fantasy MVP)
F LeBron James, Cavaliers
G Steve Nash, Suns (Reality MVP)
G Allen Iverson, 76ers
All-NBA Second Team
C Amare Stoudemire, Suns
F Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks
F Shawn Marion, Suns
G Tracy McGrady, Rockets
G Dwyane Wade, Heat
All-NBA Third Team
C Yao Ming, Rockets
F Tim Duncan, Spurs
F Vince Carter, Nets
G Ray Allen, SuperSonics
G Gilbert Arenas, Wizards (sorry, Kobe)