The NBA Awards: Three Thoughts

Early this week, the NBA revealed their awardees for the 2017-2018. Here's an abbreviated list featuring several high profile categories:

Most Valuable Player: James Harden
Rookie of the Year: Ben Simmons
Defensive Player of the Year: Rudy Gobert
Most Improved Player: Victor Oladipo
Sixth Man of the Year: Lou Williams
Coach of the Year: Dwayne Casey

Here are my three thoughts to ponder on:

Thought #1 There were no surprises.
Everyone who won were the same players whom most people thought would win. Case in point: James Harden. Everyone was of the opinion at the beginning of this year that he would be the 2018 MVP. And he won despite the fact that Russell Westbrook made history again by being the ONLY player to average a triple-double (25.4pts, 10.1 reb, 10.3 assists) for two seasons (and back-to-back seasons too!). Lebron James also had better overall stats than James Harden but still, being the favorite for most of the year seemed to work  out for James Harden.

NBA Predictions: Who Wins And Why

With one day to go before the start of the NBA’s regular season, it’s time to take a look at who we predict will be raking in the trophies (both real and imaginary) this year.

2015-2016 CHAMPIONS: San Antonio Spurs

They’ve reloaded with LaMarcus Aldridge and David West. Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, Boris Diaw and Patty Mills are all back. They’re just too good not to win it this year, presuming there are no major injuries.

EASTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS: Cleveland Cavaliers

Lebron James will lead his team back to the Finals but his supporting cast will be found lacking against the Spurs. Ironically, they would have won last year had Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love been healthy. This year, it won’t make a difference.

FINALS MVP: LaMarcus Aldridge

Aldridge completes his transition to the new Tim Duncan as the Big Fundamental reprises David Robinson’s role as the calming presence of this championship team.

MVP Parks Has Something To Prove.

Bobby Ray Parks is the first UAAP MVP to come from NU. He's also the first to come from a non-Final Four team.

And that seems to be enough for people to question whether he deserves to be the UAAP MVP.

The young Parks hears all the questions and criticisms but says he prefers to let his actions speak for him. Parks aims to improve his game over the year-long break and prove to one and all that his MVP title is well-deserved.

Philippines To Host 2013 FIBA Asia?

MVP is at it again.

After bringing world-class basketball to the Philippines in the form of the Smart All-Stars, he is now hard at work in bringing the best of Asian basketball to Manila.

MVP, in a conversation with FIBA officials during the just concluded Fiba Asia Championships, bared plans to bid for the FIBA Asia Championships in 2013, a qualifying tournament for the FIBA World Championships in 2014 that will be hosted by Spain.

MVP also revealed some thoughts he had on roster formation, saying that Gilas will take a look at bigger guards, to offset our height liabilities. This might mean tapping more Fil-Ams to join the team as tall homegrown guards are hard to find.

More on this story here.

MVP Is Indeed The MVP of Philippine Sports!

Is Manny Pangilinan the knight in shining armor of Philippine sports?

Reports indicate that may very well be just that. POC insiders have revealed that MVP has committed to supporting the Philippine team which will be sent to the upcoming SEA Games.

With the POC's limited budget of just 30million, it would be impossible for them to send all qualified Filipino athletes to the SEA Games as each athlete-delegate is budgeted at around P100,000 each.

But with Manny Pangilinan seemingly taking care of 4 major sports (basketball, boxing, tae kwon do, badminton) more doors could be opened for the other Filipino athletes.

MVP has already taken under his wing the national basketball team (Smart-Gilas), the national football team (Azkals), plus the national teams for tennis, badminton, boxing, tae kwon do, running, baseball and cycling.

Maybe we should just name his President of Philippine Sports?

Pinoy Sports Benefactor Making A Play For Sacramento Kings?

The Pinoy sports vines are all agog about the news that a well-known Pinoy sports benefactor is about to become a minority owner of the NBA's Sacramento Kings.

The Pinoy businessman is supposedly ready to sink 60million dollars into the Kings franchise as he strives to become the first full-blooded Pinoy to become a minority team owner in the NBA.

Until this news becomes official, everything is a hush-hush. But the clue I got was that if you heard his initials, you'd know who it was immediately.

Let's cross our fingers everyone!

Michael Jordan's 2010-2011 MVP Is...

Yup,  Jordan thinks Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls, a team Jordan once owned lock, stock and barrel, should be named MVP.

Here's an excerpt from an article posted by huffingtonpost.com...

''He's the MVP for the season,'' said Jordan, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. ''He deserves it. He's playing that well. And if he doesn't get it, you'll see how I felt a lot of years.''

Jordan still thinks he's the measuring stick for everyone. He may be right.

NBA PREDICTIONS!

We've got 2 days to go before the NBA season opens so it's time to lay my proverbial eggs in a prophetic basket and say the sooth!

And so, here are my picks for:

Rookie of the Year - O.J. Mayo. Yes, I know, the safe choice seems to be Greg Oden, Michael Beasley or Derrick Rose. Now, while I think that  Oden is a future Hall-of-Famer and Beasley and Rose will be perennial All Stars, they will all be laboring under the wings of more established stars (Wade, Roy, Aldrige, Haslem, Deng, Gordon). My pick has the chance to be The Man (albeit of the Grizz),  right in his very first year. 

Sixth Man of the Year - Manu Ginobili. There's no better 6th man in the league as the unselfish Argentine would probably start for the 29 other teams in the league...but prefers to play his "spark of the bench" role to perfection. If current team rotations hold true to form, he'll face tough challenges from Andrei Kirilenko and Kirk Hinrich.

Coach of the Year - Jerry Sloan. While people look at New Orleans as a possible Finals contender, I cast a wary eye on the Jazz. Sloan will have this crew ready to rock and roll and Williams, Boozer, Kirilenko, Okur, Brewer, Millsap and Korver will make believers out of pundits.

MVP - Lebron James. Only because I feel like everyone is thinking he should get one already. There are too many people saying the same thing, which makes me wonder is the voting is already done and over with.

Eastern Champion - Celtics. I know the Big Three are old but they've got young guys who are way good and KG, The Truth and Jesus Shuttlesworth may have developed a hankering for the taste of championships.

Western Champion - Lakers. Bynum is back. You mean aside from Kobe, Pau and Odom, the Lakers also welcome back Bynum the behemoth? Rockets and Jazz have a chance against the Laker Machine. Hornets and Spurs will crumble earlier than anyone else thought.

NBA Champion - Lakers. I don't like it anymore than half the world does but the fact is, on a purely basketball world, I'd take Kobe, Pau, Odom, Bynum, Fisher, Radmanovic and Vujavic over KG, Pierce, Ray Allen, Rondo, Perkins, Powe and Davis.

Team I will be following - Bulls. I'm a Nocioni freak and Captain Kirk is also a favorite of mine. Here's hoping they make it to the second round where they can be shown the door by the Cavs.

CANDACE PARKER IS WNBA MVP & ROY!

She's young but she routinely and thoroughly outplays stars 5-10 years older.

She's big but she outruns and outdribbles most WNBA point guards.

She's pretty but she outrebounds and outmuscles heftier and more, ehem, "masculine" players.

She's 22 year old Candace Parker, the LA Sparks' prized rookie, who has just made history by being the first WNBA player to win both the Rookie of the Year Award as well as the Most Valuable Player award in the same season.

Of course, her offseason goal was to win the WNBA championship and that isn't gonna happen...Still the ROY and MVP awards are pretty good consolation prizes.