Biggest Surprise of the Season:
The surprise of the season has to be the Atlantic Division Champion Toronto Raptors. Not given much of a chance early in the season, the Raptors have impressively put together their finest season in their twelve-year history. Led by Chris Bosh and TJ Ford, who they were wrongly criticized in trading for, the Raptors deserve a great deal of credit, regardless of how weak the rest of their division has been this season.
Biggest Disappointment of the Season:
Remember ESPN's The Life: LA Basketball? Well it's a good thing they decided against running a sequel this year, as Los Angeles basketball is in complete disarray. The Lakers and the Clippers should both be much better than .500 teams, but that's exactly what they are as they teeter on the edge of the playoffs. In fact, we might as well expand this to include all California teams, with Sacramento and Golden State not being any better off. I would have called this year's Nuggets-Knicks brawl or the Las Vegas All-Star Game chaos that resulted in Pacman Jones's yearlong NFL suspension a bigger disappointment if only they weren't so unexpected.
Most Valuable Player:
Not to eat my own words, but despite the sorry state of the largest state, Kobe Bryant is this year's Most Valuable Player. Now, you might fall into the camp that thinks Steve Nash deserves his third straight MVP, but it's time for Kobe to be given his due. Aside from his league-leading 31.3 ppg on a respectable 45.7% shooting, Kobe is also chipping in 5.4 assists and 5.7 rebounds per contest for an otherwise awful Lakers team. Kobe has also put up 50+ points nine times this season, including a four-game stretch of such performances in which he topped 60 twice. Love him or hate him, few people have meant as much to their teams as Kobe has this season. It's not his fault the Lakers are entirely mediocre.
NBA Finals Prediction:
Miami over Dallas in six. Oh wait, last year's result has no chance of repeating itself. At least one of those teams will be getting back. Look for Dallas to squeak by Phoenix in the west before dominating whichever team they face in the finals. Just for the sake of it, Dallas over Chicago in five.
Greg Oden or Kevin Durant:
My head says Oden, but my heart says Durant. Therefore, I'm taking the Texas stud in what has become this year's "it" debate. You can't go wrong here, but I'm taking Durant because of how much more impressive he seemed over the year. We've all heard about how Oden was not himself until the tournament because of the broken wrist. And Oden was a force in the championship game - he certainly had his moments. But I just can't bring myself to fully embrace the Ohio State center. Big usually trumps small in the Association, but Kevin Durant is no slouch at 6'9". And after a lifetime spent rooting for a Patrick Ewing-led team, great centers have left me somewhat spurned. Then again, if it were guaranteed that Oden would have a Ewing-caliber career, championships or not, he'd easily be the pick. Thing is, there are no guarantees at this stage of one's career, so I'll stick with the guy who has looked better thus far. And honestly, it doesn't hurt that Durant's been freakishly good. Feel free to correct me in 10 years if I'm wrong.
