Westbrook gets the nod over Kobe for having his team #1 seed instead of possibly lottery.

Kobe for having a team in playoff contention period.

I don't believe in best player/best team for all-NBA selections. It is best player period and even as an old man Kobe is a better player now than Westbrook will ever be. I am a Russell Westbrook fan/apologist btw and want the hometown kid to excel.

Any money you want. Any money. On Kobe getting 1st team over Westbrook. Thank god the people who vote actually know about basketball.

[This message has been edited by simplebay (edited 4/14/2013 2:27p).]

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Meanwhile Kobe and his ripe old age is still a top 5 player in the NBA.

I would argue that the Lakers have played .700 ball since the all-star break solely because of Kobe.

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His offensive play has been great, but he's been sandbagging it on defense all year. Far too much to be a legit MVP candidate

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as does Carmelo over Durant if he wins the scoring title

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This is so stupid that any opinion you will ever have on anything from now until the end of time is void.

Durant is going to be 50/40/90 this season with way less shots per game than Melo. He also does things like "pass" and "play defense", which Melo can't be bothered to do.

SanAntonioAg09,

You do realize that the media awards all-NBA teams, right? If you think a New York Knick who wins the scoring title on a first place team isn't going first team, then you're out of touch. Durant is clearly better, but Melo is going to get the honors. It isn't fair, but it will happen. Book it!

Kobe will get first team over Westbrook, but it has as much to do with people voting for the big name as it does "knowing basketball" or Kobe having a better season. Their stats aren't that much different.

Player A
23.5 ppg
5.3 rpg
7.5 apg (3.4 topg)
1.8 spg
44%-32%-80%

Player B
27.3 ppg
5.6 rpg
6 apg (3.7 topg)
1.4 spg
46%-32%-84%

It is also by virtue of Kobe being "the man" on the Lakers while Durant, not Westbrook, is "the man" for OKC.

Kobe literally willed this Laker team out of the gutter.

They aren't that far out of the gutter. I don't particularly disagree that Kobe should get a first team spot, but I also don't think that he's got a hugely better resume than Westbrook/Parker/Paul.

[This message has been edited by Ulrich (edited 4/14/2013 9:32p).]

I was only joking about the MVP consideration but he's definitely been fantastic.

Scoring 47 points at his age is ridiculous. He's been injured throughout the season and Nash has been injured a **** ton. Pau the same. Dwight...yeah, he's in his prime for sure and should be way more dominant. Dont know what his deal is.

Either way his supporting cast just beat the Spurs so I dont feel too bad about Kobe's supporting cast.

Dantoni blows though.



[This message has been edited by TheMasterplan (edited 4/15/2013 2:55a).]

5 on 5 debate about the First Team NBA team selection.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/page/5-on-5-130411/2012-13-all-nba-first-team

Basically:
CP3
Westbrook then Kobe
LBJ
Durant
Gasol then Duncan

Which Gasol? I'm guessing Marc, but neither one makes any sense over Duncan.

Marc, and he's had a fantastic season

Duncan:
18ppg (only Brook Lopez is higher at C)
10rpg (top 10 at C)
2.7 BPG (3rd in NBA)
2.7 APG (top 10 at Center)
50%/80%

Marc:
14PPG
8RPG
1.8 BPG
4 APG
49%/85%

That makes no sense.

If it makes no sense, then why did 3/5 people pick him? He's a front runner for defensive player of yhe year, so those statistics are not a fair representation of his value

Let's not pretend that Duncan is a slouch at defense. He is still moving really well and has his best block numbers in a decade. Duncan still controls the Spurs defense and is still a dominant force in the paint.

But Gasol is the single best defensive player this year, that counts for something

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But Gasol is the single best defensive player this year, that counts for something

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Yes, the Defensive Player of the Year Award.

Duncan is dominating both ends of the floor. That counts for something, right? Second at his position in points, top 10 in rebounds and 3rd in the NBA in blocks is pretty outstanding, especially for a guy that is 42 years old.

Duncan is a legitimate contender for DPOY this season, it's not like Gasol is head and shoulders above him. Duncan has 50% more blocks this season, and he's not some Larry Sanders type who gets a lot of blocks but also fouls a lot, goal tends, leaves his man open by overhelping, and gives up a lot baskets on pump fakes. Duncan is playing tremendous defense this year.

Honestly, I think Marc deserves it because of how important he is to the way the Grizzlies run their defense which allows Tony Allen and Mike Conley to get so many steals.


However, if Duncan got first team, I'd have absolutely no problem with it. Neither one of them get the media attention and recognition they both deserve.


I would have a problem with Howard getting any honors ahead of either one of them.

Duncan is the best center this season and should be selected over Gasol.

Kobe is a lock for 1st team

But I could see Duncan slipping to 2nd team if too many writers treat him like a forward and vote him 3rd-4th best forward

Maybe Kobe could use the downtime to get some recording done with CHEIZAW.

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9161188/the-secret-history-kobe-bryant-failed-attempt-rap-career

He can still rap circles around Tony Parker.

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9176296/mvp-lebron-james-rest-nba-regular-season-awards

Zach Lowe, one of the smartest nba writers, had Kobe outside his Top 5 for the Mvp race and had Tim Duncan outside his top 3 for defensive player of the year...

Well that proves it! Zack Lowe said it!

This is going to be a tight DPOY race. It seems like every voter has someone different. More than likely though, it will be Gasol or Ibaka.

It doesn't PROVE anything, it's just another datapoint from an unbiased source.

The problem is that Lowe's reasoning to knock down Tim Duncan is lack of minutes compared to the rest of the guys. However, Duncan has virtually identical minutes as Chandler did last year. (10 minutes less than Chandler did last year with one game left.)

Lowe even made the point that the Spurs give up 4.5p/100 more when Duncan sits than when he plays.

This writer is a dip****.

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It doesn't PROVE anything, it's just another datapoint from an unbiased source.

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For future reference, opinion columnists aren't unbiased sources.

Less biased than you or I

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/page/DPOY-2013/2012-13-defensive-player-year

I find it interesting that Allen and Gasol got the most votes, but their team defense isn't the best in the league.