NLL Insider - A man's opinion on year end awardsby merencio, updated on Monday, May 04 2015, 12:39 am EST Warning: The following insider article is just a representation of one man's opinion. Despite much research and what is believed to be a well thought analysis, there may have been something or someone that I could have let slip up. So I'm not trying to take shots at anybody, alright? lol [Merencio] Now that that is out of the way,I thought it would be
fun to analyze every year end award and give my opinion on what the top
5 contenders for each of them are, at this time. I'll also present the
rationale behind the choices I made. The top 5 is not in any particular
order, it just means that these are the ones I consider to have a great
shot at winning the award. 6th Man of the Year - Let's start
with the most important player on any teams bench and a player that is
usually present is most contenders. The role of the bench player that
usually has starting level game but is better suited to play a specific
role and shine while the starters are taking a breather. 1- CJ Miles - Has 6th man written all over him. The position was made with him in mind. 2- Lou Williams - He is relentless when it comes to getting his. Despite starting now, he's the prototypical 6th man. 3- Jarret Jack - Spent most of his season as a 6th man and perform admirably. 4- Rodney Stuckey - Dude is balling out this season for the Cavs and mostly off the bench. He's dangerous. 5-
Bojan Bogdanovic - He has consistently put the numbers and has held his
own while being the team's go to guy off the bench. Deserves being
mentioned. Defensive Player of the Year - This is one of the
most pretigious awards in the league because it rewards those tenacious
players and the guys that are not afraid to do the dirty work and really
contribute to their team on the other end of the floor.. The less
famous, but equally important side of the ball, is recognized here. 1-
Tony Allen - Yes, he's already got a reputation for being a stout
defender, but as long as his production drops, there's reason why this
guy shouldn't be considered for this award given his task is to guard
the best player on any team, on any night. 2- Deandre Jordan - Top blocker in the league and top 4 in rebounding, plus hustle every single night. No arguments here. 3- Tyson Chandler - Another familiar face and the anchor on one of the league's best defenses. 4-
Andre Drummond - Has been great for a while now and about time he's had
recognition, already has more rings than a lot of the great folks in
history. Top rebounder in the league and an athletic beast for the Cavs. 5-
Joakim Noah - Deserves credit for quietly being the anchor on the
league's best team. Noah is still a defensive beast, despite some
injuries slowing him down. Rookie of the Year - What a rookie
class have we got this season, eh? Lots of stars in the making and some
of them haven't even taken the floor yet, which is amazing, because even
so we still have such great players to choose from when analyzing the
best rooks who haven't felt the pressure as much and are out there every
night battling it out with the best the world has to offer. Let's take a
look: 1- Andrew Wiggins - the Canadian phenom has shown no
signs of slowing down after a good rookie season, his weekly progress
and consistency tells why he's deserving. 2- Marcus Smart - A scorer
with no conscience and short term memory who's athletic enough to ball
out. Smart leads all rookies in scoring. 3- Nerlens Noel - " A
sophmore in rookie clothes", I liked this expression. He's playing like a
veteran, though.Glad to see Nerlens thriving. 4- Dante Exum - A great prospect who's got a thing for NLL production. No matter where houndy plays him, he just delivers. 5- Elfrid Payton - This dude is showing his true colors in NBA and NLL, he's got what it takes, I'm a huge fan! Most
Improved Player - This is an award I deeply appreciate, because it
rewards the grinders, the hard workers, the players who really take
their games seriously and want to improve on every aspect of basketball.
These guys have made huge leaps in production and impact for their
teams and definitely deserve the recognition. 1- Draymond Green - Dude has shown good progress in his game. He's like a swiss army knife. 2- Jimmy Butler - Well, is there any question why this guy is here. Star! 3- Avery Bradley - Is balling out since coming to Brooklyn,took a while to get it going but so young too. 4- Reggie Jackson - Has been traded quite some, but is balling wherever he goes. Deserves this silverware just as much. 5- Derrick Favors - Has taken his game to a new level this year, and is the anchor of Denver. Most
Valuable Player - THE MOST prestigious award of the season, the holy
graal. These are the ones that are set in the stone of history and the
ones that have truly left a mark on the league as a whole. The most
valuable player is the award every player dreams of getting since they
were children. Let's see who is deserving: 1- Lebron James - Need I say why? 2- Russell Westbrook - As close to a one-man team as it gets. He carries the Bucks around on sheer will. 3- Monta Ellis - Another shooter with no conscience and no short memory. Phoenix has made him nuclear dangerous. 4- Mike Conley - The true power behind Sacramento's team, this might be controversial, but I love him for MVP. 5- Blake Griffin - About time he gets the respect he deserves, best scoring big man in the league. GM
of the Year - The best manager, the best administrator, the best wizard
that is able to fulfill all different types of roles at the same time,
from budgets to deadlines, from trades to signings, whatever it takes to
make their franchises better. This award recognizes the manager that
stood out from the pack the most this season and have his hard work
recognized in NLL History. Here they are. 1- GM Jmac - Jmac
is deserving of this award, as he was last season too, due to the
shuffling done in order to improve his franchise. J has a reputation for
being kind of cocky, due to recent findings, and for going all out, be
it in Free Agency or by his trading prowess. Dude got Kevin Durant in to
his squad, enough said. 2- GM Pennywise - Penny started the year
in one direction but then injuries and marijuana didn't seem to help his
team, so he decided to turn things around and his team looks to be one
of the most dangerous around. 3- GM RyanChiasson - One of the
boldest GMs I've seen in a while, and yet nothing seems to be rushed
with him, it always seems like there is a major plan. Dude got Dwight
Howard into the building. enough said. 4- GM Sheed36 - For years
getting in his own way, this time Sheed hit his stride with his last
shuffling of players, which turned a good team into a great one. 5-
GM Proid - The most brilliant trade wizard the league's ever seen,
period. He traded everybody three times and ended up with a team full of
stars. Scary how he's still a bit under the radar, I think. |
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