NBA Mid-Season Report

by: Nick Silverman
Fenway2Freeway.com
February 16, 2009

LAKERS GRADE: A

They came into this season with the mindset championship or bust. Their offense has been clicking on all cylinders for the entire year, and they have showed signs of defensive intensity and physical toughness at points this season. They still are weak on their defensive rotation, and they give up the most three-pointers per game in the NBA. They have bounced back from the loss of Bynum (8-12 weeks; maybe sooner, maybe later), who was playing the best basketball of his career. But sweeping the Celtics and the Cavs cannot be overlooked, especially in consecutive games only a week ago on the road. The emergence of Lamar Odom in Bynum’s absence has been huge. Bryant is playing MVP caliber ball, and Gasol has been spectacular. The trade of Radmonivic frees up some money for next summer and Shannon Brown and Morrison may provide a few minutes of pt. All signs are pointing to the Lakers playing into June, and if they get Bynum back by the playoffs, it would almost guarantee the fact. At 42-10, they are right where they need to be.

MVP: LEBRON JAMES

As much as it pains me not to give it to Kobe, I think at this point the edge goes to James, who is putting up ridiculous numbers and has his team as a legit title contender.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: DERRICK ROSE

I was lucky enough to see this kid play in person, and he may be the fast guy off the dribble I’ve seen in a while. He’s a special player. Averagin 17 points, 6 assists and almost 4 rebounds a game while shooting 47%, almost unheard of for a rookie point guard. If the Bulls are able to win the Amare sweepstakes, look for those numbers to skyrocket.

SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR – JASON TERRY

20 points a game for an inconsistent Dallas Team. He came off the bench but was still the leader of the team until he broke his wrist. We’ll see if Dallas makes a move or can stay significant long enough for Terry to get back.

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER OF THE YEAR—JAMEER NELSON

Before he tore he suffered his season-ending shoulder injury, Nelson was averaging almost 17 points a game and dishing out over 5 assists while shooting 50% from the floor, one of the best in the league for a PG. He was raining 3’s at a 45% clip, one of the best in the league. The Magic will miss this guy severely as the season wears on.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: KEVIN GARNETT

You can’t measure this guy’s impact on the defensive side of the court with statistics.

WESTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFF PREDICTION:

So I was off on my Clippers playoff pick, lets try a more educated guess at how the Western Conference will look come season’s end.

1. LAKERS (68-14) They will run away with the number one seed, even without Bynum. But can they get home court in the finals?
2. SPURS (57-25) Are they going to make a move for Vince Carter? Either way, a healthy Manu, Tim, and Tony is going to be trouble for anyone.
3. NUGGETS (55-27) This team is actually playing some defense, if they can stay healthy from here on out, they’ll be hosting a 1st round playoff game.
4. BLAZERS (54-28) Another team burning up the trade rumors websites because of the slew of young roleplayers, but either way, with Roy at the helm, they will be dangerous.
5. HORNETS (52-30) CP3. That’s all you need to say. They are weaker on the inside than they were last year.
6. JAZZ. (50-32) When will Boozer come back? But Millsap has stepped up big time. Deron Williams is a tremendous player.
7. ROCKETS (49-33) When are we going to see the whole team on the court at the same time? T-Mac has been disappointing and rumors of locker room unrest spell out another predictable first round exit for one of the most talented teams on paper.
8. MAVERICKS (46-36) With the Suns about to blow up their team, the Mavs get this spot by default. But they will do whatever they can to avoid a first round sentence with the Lakers.