Today I wanted a quick topic so I decided to redo the All-NBA team. Now that we're down to a possible ten games left in the season, it's late enough to make changes to the All-NBA team that include playoff results. In other words, it's time to make the All-NBA team actually reflective of this great season that's about to come to a close. The team allows for two forwards, two guard, and one center, with no consideration for which guard and forward spot the players occupy. Meaning, if the two best guards are point guards, then they both make the first team, etc. Let's begin.
The Actual All-NBA First Team:
F: Kevin Durant
F: LeBron James
C: Dwight Howard
G: Kobe Bryant
G: Derrick Rose
At the end of the regular season this was a decent list. Dwayne Wade has surpassed Kobe, and should have been recognized, but the other four spots were inarguable. The playoffs, however, have changed things.
Turbo's All-NBA First Team:
F: Dirk Nowitzki
F: LeBron James
C: Dwight Howard
G: Dwayne Wade
G: Derrick Rose
This is painful. Kevin Durant won his second scoring title and was terrific in the first two rounds of the playoffs before Shawn Marion exposed his need to get in the gym. I understand not wanting to lift weights or having difficulty putting on bulk. But Durant was stuck 30 feet from the basket far too often in the Thunder/Mavs series because Marion was terrific on him and made it easy for the double teams to come. The crazy thing is, as the media looks to crucify this guy for not getting it done, he still averaged 28 points and 9 rebounds a game on 43 percent shooting against the best defensive game plan drawn up against him. If he adds 15 pounds of muscle in the next two years while learning a go-to post move, he leapfrogs everybody and becomes the best player in the league, easily. But Dirk outplayed him and has been the best player in the playoffs, so he has to get the first team nod for this season.
As for Wade, he was better than Kobe this year anyway. It's been a back and forth between these two for the top 2-guard in the league for about seven years now, and neither guy is going to lose any sleep over who is where (well, Kobe might, since he's batshit insane). Kobe got the nod, and it sure seems stupid now since the Heat are about to go to the Finals and Wade's been awesome.
If you don't elect me to the first team,
I will eat your children!
The Actual All-NBA Second Team:
F: Dirk Nowitzki
F: Pau Gasol
C: Amar'e Stoudemire
G: Dwayne Wade
G: Russell Westbrook
As I've already promoted two of these guys, their spots are filled by demotions from the first team. Durant and Kobe are definitely second teamers. But is Pau Gasol really a forward? I guess since Andrew Bynum starts for the Lakers at center we have to call him a forward. And we have to demote him for his disappearing act in the playoffs, coupled with Zach Randolph's romance explosion of awesome basketball. I don't care if your girlfriend dumped you, you make approximately six lifetimes worth of money every year to play basketball. Suck it up.
Turbo's All-NBA Second Team:
F: Kevin Durant
F: Zach Randolph
C: Amar'e Stoudemire
G: Kobe Bryant
G: Chris Paul
OK, I get that Russell Westbrook had a better regular season than Chris Paul. Russell Westbrook had brief stretches this season where he looked like the best guard in the league, and it's possible he'll get there. He's an outstanding competitor, a freakish athlete, a fantastic rebounder, and he gives a crap. But he's not a smart basketball player and doesn't run the point very well. He also gets frustrated too easily, as evidenced by his brooding in Game 2 and his shove of Jason Terry last night. Chris Paul, meanwhile, didn't have as great of a regular season as we're used to seeing from him, but he showed in the playoffs that he's still the best pure point guard in the league. If the Thunder panicked and traded Westbrook for Paul straight up (if the salaries worked, they don't), the Thunder would be the favorites to win the title next year. Going forward, Westbrook is the better player and there's no way the Thunder make that move, but this season, I'd rather have had Paul.
And Zach Randolph? Who saw his monster playoffs coming? Not me. The guy was unstoppable for large stretches, was a team player, a leader, and carried a very limited Grizzlies team to the brink of the Western Finals. For that, he gets a promotion over Gasol.
The Actual All-NBA Third Team:
F: Zach Randolph
F: LaMarcus Aldridge
C: Al Horford
G: Manu Ginobili
G: Chris Paul
Turbo's All-NBA Third Team:
F: Blake Griffin
F: Paul Pierce
C: Al Horford (though I'd prefer Pau Gasol)
G: Manu Ginobili
G: Russell Westbrook
I realize Pau Gasol's playoff no-show probably shouldn't fully eliminate him from the All-NBA teams entirely. I feel he plays enough center to make the team, as a center. He's a better player than Al Horford, who backs his way onto the team by default. But for the season, I'd rather have had Aldridge or Blake Griffin than Gasol, so because of rather limiting judging criteria, and not because I'm slighting him, Gasol gets bumped from the team entirely.
Blake Griffin averaged a 22-12 and was the most exciting player in the league. I know the Clippers only won 32 games, but read that first sentence again. He has to be a third teamer. There's no way to snub the guy. He was a major story this season and these teams need to reflect that to some degree.
This leaves one forward spot for rebounding champ Kevin Love, perennial all-star and Hall of Famer Paul Pierce (best player on a 56 win team), Gasol, who probably deserves to be on the team, and Aldridge, who made the the actual team. Love has the best numbers, but on a bad team. Pierce had the most playoff success. Aldridge had some of both, averaging 22-9 for the season and 21-7 for the playoffs as the best player on a 48 win team. At this point it really comes down to personal preference. Long term, I'd want Love. For this season though, I've got to give the nod to Pierce, as a 56 win team deserves a representative more than a 48 win team, all things relatively equal. And somehow Carmelo Anthony is completely forgotten in all of this because he submarined Denver's season and then didn't mesh well in New York. He'll be back though. He's great.
This logic also applies to the guard slot Ginobili occupies, as the Spurs won 61 games. Ginobili was their best player and they had to have a representative, so it makes sense to give him the nod over Deron Williams or Rajon Rondo, the only guards in the ballpark.
I'd like to think this demonstrates two things. First, the All-NBA teams are fairly stupid and arbitrary. I basically just picked two names out of a hat to fill the third team when about seven guys were deserving. I feel the need to make a fourth team to clean up my snubs.
Turbo's All-NBA FOURTH Team:
F: LaMarcus Aldridge
F: Kevin Love
C: Pau Gasol
G: Deron Williams
G: Rajon Rondo
And since it's my fictional fourth team I can do whatever the hell I want to with the center position. Really, it should be Gasol on the third team and Horford on the fourth, but I'm playing by the rules.
So what exactly was the point in doing all of this crap? I used to really enjoy the Olympics because it gives the United States an opportunity to construct the greatest basketball teams ever assembled and beat the hell out of everyone else. Naturally, we screwed that up in 2000 and 2004, particularly in 2004 when we sent too young LeBron, Wade, Stoudemire, and too old Allen Iverson instead of Kevin Garnett, Kobe, Tracy McGrady, and Jason Kidd, all in their primes. I wake up in a cold sweat about twice a year knowing this actually happened. It's like not pulling the trigger on a great stock deal and then kicking yourself afterwards when all you have is a bronze medal while your friends are driving BMWs. I know those guys elected not to go. I blame them. It shouldn't have happened.
So naturally, I like to form the greatest possible American team at any given time. What is the best way to accomplish this goal? The exercise I just performed. We can identify all the best players and their positions, and then from there figure out their roles and how they fit together. Here we go:
Starters:
F: LeBron James
F: Blake Griffin
C: Dwight Howard
G: Dwayne Wade
G: Chris Paul
Is that not the most frightening mix of five basketball players ever seen at once? It's a never ending fast break that plays defense! After they run up a double digit lead, then you start subbing for defense and shooting.
Second Five:
F: Kevin Durant
F: Kevin Love
C: Al Horford
G: Russell Westbrook
G: Derrick Rose
This is where it gets a little more interesting. Durant is the primary scorer here, Westbrook is 97% interchangeable with Dwayne Wade, Horford gets the nod over Stoudemire for health and age reasons, Love gives you a weird mix of shooting and rebounding perfect for the international game, and Rose does Rose things. Westbrook is forced to play off the ball as the team's third point guard, which enables him to play defense and push the pace, rather than make terrible decisions.
Benchwarmers:
F: Carmelo Anthony
F: LaMarcus Aldridge
The last two spots should be a shooter that has experience in the international game and a post scorer that can help you slow the game down and protect a lead. Carmelo Anthony gets the nod over Kobe for age reasons. This would be his third Olympics, and he was outstanding in 2004 and 2008. LaMarcus Aldridge is a great low post scorer, giving you three post options with Horford and Howard. This means it's almost impossible for this team to get in foul trouble.
This team has everything you want, and has no old men that are going to break down or have an excuse not to go. Naturally, the real 2012 Olympic team won't be this good. But hey, one can dream.
You know what the biggest difference between
Turbo's USA team and us is? We actually were formed!
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