Wednesday, March 17th, 2010 at 8:00 am  |  75 responses

Post Up: Rookie/MVP Race

Have they both been decided already?

by Holly MacKenzie / @stackmack

Want to know when you really know a rookie has the ROY race on lock?

When they come one assist shy of the triple-double and we’re disappointed he didn’t get it, but barely raise an eyebrow at the line he did put up.

That’s special. He’s special. I did not see him being this good, this fast. I was far too focused on his less-than-perfect shooting mechanics. My bad. Apologies go out to Mr. Evans who has been one of the most exciting rookies in recent history to watch. I just hope you’re watching, too.

It’s weird though. Watching Kobe Bryant have rookies keep the pace with him two nights in a row, with Steph on Monday and now Tyreke on Tuesday. Makes me feel kind of old and makes me thankful I get to watch this generation of rookies and appreciate them from day one in a way I probably didn’t with Kobe. I followed the ’96 class and consider them “my” first real class that I loved, but I was 11. You don’t appreciate, you don’t understand the skill, effort, heart, talent in the same way. It’s more fun now.

It’s still strange hearing MVP chants for Kobe in Arco. I don’t like that. I miss the old Kings/Lakers rivalry days. I’m just in a bit of a sentimental mood today, aren’t I? I think it’s because I’m tired and am already thinking of dreamland.

Also, I’m tracking Bulls, Bobcats and the Heat to try and see where this team of mine here in Toronto is going to finish up. I just want to know if I’m going to get to cover playoffs and see my first postseason game. Pulling hard for that, so I’m pulling for the Raps to finish strong. They’re really not doing themselves any favors, unfortunately. The Hawks are in town tonight on the second night of a back-to-back, but of course, they played the Nets last night and got a whole bunch of rest.

I missed the Detroit/Cleveland game because I was liveblogging Heat/Spurs, but the world was talking about LeBron’s big block at the end. Goaltending? It certainly sounds so. Another game, another triple-double for Bron. Someone said Durant should get the MVP because Bron is, “being LeBron.”

I think this kind of works against his argument because it’s sort of saying that LeBron’s in a different category because he’s so good. Doesn’t this mean he’s the best player in the league? Yeah, I’m still not good at saying statements like this, but I think so, right? I’m just happy I get to watch him. And Kobe. And Melo. And KD. And the rest of them.

In Miami, the Spurs were all over the Heat through the first three quarters and then kind of fell apart before Manu Ginobili bailed them out with two huge 3-pointers to hold off a Heat team that trailed by as many as 26 points in the first half. Manu’s so good when he’s on, isn’t he? Love watching him drive the lane  and e-x-t-e-n-d to the hoop, drawing the foul more often than not. I also love George Hill and DeJaun Blair. The Spurs as a whole are a lot more enjoyable to watch than they get credit for. It was amazing to see the difference between Miami in the first and second half. Tale of two halves didn’t even begin to describe it.

As long as the Raps go to the postseason, I’m happy. I’m not ready for my day-to-day season to end at the end of the regular season.

So we all agree Tyreke is ROY, can we agree that Jamal Crawford is the 6th man? What other awards do we have locked up already? I think Brooks gets COTY. What else? Bron MVP? I feel like Kobe is going to go off and have five more game winners and a ton of phenomenal performances to close the season out just because I wrote that. I’d take it. Have your picks changed at all since we last spoke about this?

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  • underdog

    What kind of ROY debate are we talking about? Just check Evans’ stats, and don’t check his team’s stats. That’s all. Anyway, the Bucks are rolling just because the Bulls let Salmons walk. Now, seriously, it’s a tough one, and while I think Jennings and Curry both have a bright future in the L, you can’t ignore Evans’ dominance, versatility and consistency. Pretty good rookie class, no doubt.

  • http://idunkonthem.blogspot.com/ albie1kenobi

    Anton came up with another funny.
    also, strictly on rookie year, melo played on par if not better than lebron that season.

  • http://missjia.com meloMan2.0

    did James just say something positive about Melo?? the sky must be falling

  • Farman

    The MVP award will easily be given to Queen James. Even though Kobe is still the best player in the game. But, Kobe has better players surrounding him then Lebron does. Now that the Cavs traded for Jamieson, and will get Big Z back in a few days, the Cavs are sent to make a run for the title. Should be an easy path to the finals. Cleveland has 3 legit scorers on the team. There is no team in the east that can hang with them. I still won’t let Boston fall that easily. If Garnett’s health doesn’t get any better, it’s gonna be really hard for them to pass the Queen and the Cavaliers. As for the Lakers, Denver is gonna be the hardest team for them to beat. I know Dallas added some great players and made their team very deep. But they don’t cause the problems for the Lakers like the Nuggets do. They have no answer for Billups, and Melo is the one of the hardest covers for Ron Ron. We will see. But it looks like David Stern will finally get his wish. The NBA will be making real $$$ will Kobe and Lebron go to war this coming June………..

  • http://www.slamonline.com James the Balla

    Melo is my 3rd/4th favourite player man. His jersey is up in my closet. Bought it in his rookie season.
    CB 34 – STFU you Bron loving c( )nt f( )ck.
    Farman – Kobe is not the best in the NBA anymore. At the start of the season… maybe. Now … nope.

  • Farman

    James the Balla, explain to me why Kobe is not the best player anymore. You’re telling me that in crunch time, you would rather have the Queen than Kobe? Not only does Kobe hit game winning shots over and over again. He also shoots over 85 percent from the free throw line. Miss James has only 2 game winners in his career. Kobe has had 2 in one week this year. And also, you CANNOT count on him making foul shots. James may be a beast, but Kobe is a killer. True Story.

  • http://slamonline.com CB 34

    james: Go sit and spin somewhere you kobe loving a$$ licker.

  • http://www.slamonline.com James the Balla

    Farman – I love Kobe no doubt. But Lebron is in his prime. Kobe is still there. But … anyways… not even getting into it.

    CB 34 – If you think… sorry, let me re-phrase that. If you tried to think, you would know that Melo lost that ROY trophy, because Bron is the NBA’s golden child. Melo had a better season. That’s it… and losing that ROY, f( )cked him up a bit I think.

  • http://slamonline.com CB 34

    james: the way i look at it, that ROY could have gone either way but Bron just barely beat Melo. Just a matter of preference i guess. Melo winning would have been justified.

  • http://www.slamonline.com/ niQ

    @ Mvpitzki lol.
    If you’re going to have a list like that you might as well put Dampier as most improved player. LOL

  • Reemo

    Why no love for Mac Gasol for MIP? He was a scrub and he’s a contributor, a large one at that

  • A.

    Farman Posted: Mar.17 at 2:03 pm
    James the Balla, explain to me why Kobe is not the best player anymore. You’re telling me that in crunch time, you would rather have the Queen than Kobe? Not only does Kobe hit game winning shots over and over again. He also shoots over 85 percent from the free throw line. Miss James has only 2 game winners in his career. Kobe has had 2 in one week this year. And also, you CANNOT count on him making foul shots. James may be a beast, but Kobe is a killer. True Story. —

    A game lasts 48 minutes. Crunch time is around the last minute or 2 of a game. You can have Kobe in the last minute. Give me LeBron for the entire game, that way I know I won’t need Kobe to bail me out on a last second shot cause the game will most probably have been over since the middle of the 4th. Or end of the 3rd. The Cavs don’t let people hang around if they can kill their hopes a lot earlier. Therefore, no need for game winners. There. Game winners and free throws. That’s all Laker fans can now rest their hats on? Oh and ofcourse the Chips Kobe won alone.

  • A.

    It’s funny how people say that Tyreke deserves it because he’s one of 4 players to average the mythical 20-5-5 as a rookie. But yet, they say that Melo deserved it against one of the 4th players who averaged the mythical 20-5-5. I mean, LeBron did something that ONLY TWO PLAYERS BEFORE HIM DID. In the history of EVER. That alone proves he deserved it. And that’s why Tyreke’s going to win. It’s just that simple.

  • http://www.slamonline.com James the Balla

    A, does that stand for Anton?

  • A.

    Not at all. It stands for my real name. Anton is Anton.

  • A.

    Correction, it’s the first letter of my name. If you by any chance you didn’t get that.

  • jumpman3224

    For the record I never said that Tyreke deserved it on the strenght of 20-5-5. But, I do say Melo deserved it over LBJ in spite of his 20-5-5. LBJ’s rookie campaign and subsequent ROY award is not an apple to apples comparison to the big O and MJ. For starters, both of them led all rookies in scoring (both at near 30 ppg), which LBJ didn’t and they didn’t have another rookie with comparable numbers AND better win-loss sucess.

  • jumpman3224

    No disrespect to LBJ intended. What he did as a rookie and ever since has been amazing.

  • http://www.teflinprague.com SAB

    now, i love LeBron, and definitely take LeBron over Kobe, if only because of all the Laker-whiners who call him Queen James, etc…
    that being said, Kobe has six game-winners this season. SIX. what if they lose all of those games? they would be not have a comfortable lead in first, in fact, they would be battling for homecourt in the West…
    that does make him pretty f###ing valuable

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    Since starting, Darren Collison has been the best rookie this year, aside from maybe Tyreke Evans.

  • Logues

    Anton: haha that was hilarious, u need a job at SLAM

  • hova

    Kobe should be mvp? why are people saying LeBron is better than kobe when kobe has 4 rings and and the Queen has NONE.Kobe should have won mvp in ’06 so, then he would have 2 mvp awards. Kobe has more all star mvps, and is just a beast on the court. NOBODY can guard him (since Bruce left), and he can guard ANYBODY that is a guard. Kobe has a constant drive to get better, and we aren’t seeing ANY of that from LeBron. Lets see LEBRON FOCUS ON SOMETHING ELSE BESIDES MONEY, FAME, AND COMMERCIALS, and then he is in my mvp race.

  • hova

    Kobe should be mvp !!!! why are people saying LeBron is better than kobe when kobe has 4 rings and and the Queen has NONE.Kobe should have won mvp in ‘06 so, then he would have 2 mvp awards. Kobe has more all star mvps, and is just a beast on the court. NOBODY can guard him (since Bruce left), and he can guard ANYBODY that is a guard. Kobe has a constant drive to get better, and we aren’t seeing ANY of that from LeBron. Lets see LEBRON FOCUS ON SOMETHING ELSE BESIDES MONEY, FAME, AND COMMERCIALS, and then he is in my mvp race

  • slim shady

    MVP: kobe
    ROY: steph curry
    DPOY: melo
    6th man : Crawford
    MIP: monta ellis

  • http://slamonline.com MooButter

    @Hova: Saying Lebron doesn’t have drive to get better is just silly. You can prefer Kobe over Lebron, but be reasonable. Lebron gets better every single year. He took Asst. Chris Jent on his book/movie tour with him this summer to work on his J every day. Did it pay dividends? He’s having a career best in shooting percentage, free throw percentage, and 3-point percentage. He’s improved his post game some too. If your going to post, lay off insults and stick to facts.

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