Halftime Hype

This past week, it was announced that the Sacramento Kings' Tyreke Evans is the 2009-2010 Rookie of the Year and that the MVP award goes to none other than Lebron James. Both recipients were extremely deserving. That said...

Tyreke Evans might have not even been in the running for the Rookie of the Year award if it weren't for Kevin Martin's lengthy injury and subsequent trade. Tyreke Evans would have never been able to make as much of an impact if the Kings' former star, Martin, was still in Sacramento. If Martin weren't injured, there's no doubt that the Rookie of the Year award belongs to Stephen Curry. But in the end, a 20-point scorer in Martin was replaced by another 20-point scorer in Evans. According to USA Today, "Evans became the fourth rookie ever to average at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists per game, joining Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan, and Lebron James in an exclusive club." No matter what your cirmcumstances were, that's impressive.

What clinches the award for Evans, though, was his consistency. The other rookies simply couldn't sustain their efforts as well as Evans over an 82 game span. Sure, Brandon Jennings had 55 points in his seventh regular season game, but that means nothing when he shoots so poorly so frequently. In Jennings' 82 games, he scored less than 10 points twenty three times. That's not getting the job done. As for Curry, well, he was up there with Evans. I guess the prevailing arguement is that Evans is more crucial to the Kings' success than Curry is to the Warriors' success - although neither team made the playoffs, so I can't associate them with success. It also helps that Blake Griffin was injured for the enitre season and wasn't given the oppurtunity to make his case. Overall, it's hard to vote against a rookie who averaged 20 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds - every game.



In the MVP race, everyone knew Lebron would win it. In fact, there was even talk about LBJ being the only unanimous recipient of the Most Valuable Player award. Statistics don't always do justice, but in this case, they most certainly do; James finished the regular season with averages of: 29.7 points on 50.3% shooting, 7.3 rebounds, 8.6 assists, 1 block, and 1.6 steals. That's just insane. Those stats say a lot about a player. His points show he's a scorer; the percentage indicates he must be a good shooter; the rebounds prove he boxes and hustles to hunt down misses; the assists signify that despite the fact that Lebron is a forward, he can find the open man better than many guards; and the blocks & steals illustrate his daunting defensive presence.

You have to be a truly amazing player to win MVP for two consecutive years. But I don't expect Lebron's streak to continue. A healthy Chris Paul or D-Wade or a more dominant Durant should snag the MVP trophy next season. I particularly believe that Durant has a great shot at stealing the award from Lebron mainly because they're somewhat similar players in the sense that they can be amazing forwards or just as easily be amazing guards. They have such a diverse skill set that they could totally swith their style on a game-to-game basis. One game, Durant or Lebron could be remembered for their rebounds and finding the open man, while the the next game fans will recall their ability to steal the ball and put points on the board. And that actually goes for Paul and Wade, too. There are too many other talented players in the NBA for Lebron to win the MVP award for a third consecutive year.

Yes, it's that time of year again. NCAA March Madness has begun - as well as the dog days of the NBA season, as exhibited by their play (Phoenix 152-114 victory over Minnesota the lone exception). After tens of grueling games, tiresome road trips, and hours of practice, NBA players probably want a spring break right about now. For the multi-dimensional basketball fan, March is the bittersweet month when the up-and-coming superstars give 110% and the current pros are left hovering around 85%. Have no fear though, the NBA playoffs commence in about a month (April 17), with plenty of entertaining college action to serve as amusement until then.