Ja Morant deserves this season’s Rookie of the Year award

Thursday, August 6, 2020

 

The top three candidates for Rookie of the Year are Ja Morant, Kendrick Nunn, and Brandon Clarke.  Before the season ended, these three young men put on highly impressive rookie seasons.  If Zion Williamson wasn’t injured, I believe he would’ve been a top-two candidate.  But nevertheless, in my opinion, the Rookie of the Year award should go to Ja Morant.

Being the second pick in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft, Ja Morant had a lot of expectations to live up to and he succeeded.  After missing the postseason two straight times, Morant helped the Grizzlies become playoff contenders once again.  Honestly, it would be foolish to give the award to anyone else but Morant.

This season, Ja Morant averaged 17.6 points per game (2nd on the list of rookies and 62nd overall).  He also averaged 3.5 rebounds a game (21st on the list of rookies and 227th overall), 6.9 assists a game (1st on the list and 14th overall), 0.9 steals a game (9th on the list of rookies and 112th overall) and 0.3 blocks a game (36th on the list of rookies and 272nd overall).  He shot 49% from the field (25th on the list of rookies and 117th overall) and 37% from behind the three-point line (22nd on the list of rookies and 158th overall).  He finished with a plus/minus of -0.1 (48th on the list of rookies and 246th overall).

Kendrick Nunn has been a great player for the Miami Heat, who only been in the postseason twice after the Big Three era.  He averaged 15.6 points per game this season (3rd on the list of rookies and 78th overall).  Nunn also averaged 2.7 rebounds per game (34th on the list of rookies and 292nd overall), 3.7 assists per game (4th on the list of rookies and 84th overall), 0.8 steals per game (13th on the list of rookies and 148th overall), and 0.2 blocks per game (55th on the list of rookies and 345th overall).  He shot 45% from the field (36th on the rookie list and 221st overall) and 36% from beyond the arc (24th on the rookie list and 176th overall).  He finished with a plus/minus of 1.7 (24th on the list of rookies and 126th overall).

Ja Morant isn’t the only rookie that’s shining on the Memphis Grizzlies.  Brandon Clarke was drafted as the 21st pick in the first round of the draft.  Coming off the bench, he’s been highly impressive.

Clarke averaged 12.0 points per game in his inaugural season (12th on the list of rookies and 128th overall).  He also averaged 5.8 rebounds a game (4th on the list of rookies and 81st overall), 1.4 assists a game (24th on the list of rookies and 24th overall), 0.5 steals a game (30th on the list of rookies and 275th overall), and 0.8 blocks a game (4th on the list of rookies and 65th overall).  He shot 62% from the field (10th on the list of rookies and 31st overall) and 40% from downtown (12th on the list of rookies and 59th overall).  He finished with a plus/minus of 0.2 (41st on the list of rookies and 217th overall).

These three rookies have had very impressive introduction seasons and have a great future in the NBA.  As long as they can stay healthy, I don’t see why these players can’t succeed.  But, in my opinion, the Rookie of the Year award should go to Ja Morant.

My prediction for the Portland Trail Blazers and Boston Celtics game

Sunday, August 2, 2020

 

Portland Trail Blazers (30-37) vs. Boston Celtics (43-22):

Previous matchups this season:

February 25:

WINNER:  Boston Celtics, 118-106
TEAM HIGHS:  Boston Celtics – Jayson Tatum (36 points) Portland Trail Blazers – C.J. McCollum (28 points)

My prediction:

I’m picking the Boston Celtics to beat the Portland Trail Blazers today.  Both teams have great offenses but I really like the Celtics’ defense.  And besides, I think Jayson Tatum will make for his previous performance when he scored only five points against the Milwaukee Bucks.

My prediction for the Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers game

Thursday, July 30, 2020

 

Los Angeles Clippers (44-20) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (49-14):

Previous matchups this season:

October 22:

WINNER:  Los Angeles Clippers, 112-102
TEAM HIGHS:  Los Angeles Clippers – Kawhi Leonard (30 points) Los Angeles Lakers – Danny Green (28 points)

December 25:

WINNER:  Los Angeles Clippers, 111-106
TEAM HIGHS:  Los Angeles Clippers – Kawhi Leonard (35 points) Los Angeles Lakers – Kyle Kuzma (25 points)

March 8:

WINNER:  Los Angeles Lakers, 112-103
TEAM HIGHS:  Los Angeles Lakers – Anthony Davis (30 points) Los Angeles Clippers – Paul George (31 points)

My prediction:

I have the Los Angeles Lakers beating the Los Angeles Clippers tonight.  How close the game will be is determined if Anthony Davis (eye) plays or not.  With Montrezl Harrell (18.6 PPG) and Lou Williams (18.7 PPG) out, it could be hard for the Clippers to win this one.  In fact, Kawhi Leonard will have to drop 30+ points if they want to have a chance at winning.

Michael Jordan is the best player out of the 1984 NBA Draft

Wednesday, July 29, 2020

 

It’s no secret that the 1984 NBA Draft was one of the greatest draft classes ever.  It took place on June 19, 1984, making it the 37th annual draft of the NBA.  It featured amazing athletes like John Stockton, Charles Barkley, and Hakeem Olajuwon but, in my opinion (and I’m pretty sure a whole lot of other people, too), the best player out of the draft is Michael Jordan.

Michael Jordan was drafted as the third pick in the first round by the Chicago Bulls, with whom he spent his first 13 seasons.  Just like LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, there’s not much to say about Jordan that people haven’t already caught on to.  He’s considered arguably the greatest player of all-time.  He can do almost any and everything on the court, from shooting to driving the lane to playing superior defense.  The man is a legend.  Point blank period.

Just like Bill Russell, Jordan finished his career as one of the most decorated athletes ever.  He was a 14-time All-Star who made the NBA All-Rookie Team and won Rookie of the Year.  He also made the All-NBA First Team ten times and the All-NBA Second Team once.  He also made the NBA All-Defensive First Team nine times.  He led the league in scoring ten times (seven straight and three straight) and steals three times.  He’s a six-time champion (two three-peats) who won Defensive Player of the Year during the 1987-1988 season, as well as five league MVPs.

Michael Jordan had one of the greatest rookie seasons ever.  Not only did he win those rookie awards but he also averaged 28.2 points per game during his inaugural season.  Along with that, he averaged 6.5 rebounds a game, 5.9 assists a game, 2.4 steals a game, and 0.8 blocks a game.  He shot 52% from the field but only knocked down 9 of his 52 three-pointers attempted.  He finished with a true shooting percentage of 59%.

During the rest of his time in Chicago, he averaged 31.8 points per game, along with 6.3 rebounds per game, 5.3 assists per game, 2.5 steals per game, and 0.9 blocks per game.  He shot 51% from the field while shooting 34% from beyond the arc.  He finished with a true shooting percentage of 58%.  He also finished with 135.5 offensive win shares and 55.0 defensive win shares.

Jordan helped the Bulls make the playoffs thirteen times, winning six championships (two three-peats).  During the playoffs, he averaged 33.4 points per game.  He also averaged 6.4 rebounds a game, 5.7 assists a game, 2.1 steals a game, and 0.9 blocks a game.  He shot 49% from the field while shooting 33% from downtown.  He finished a combined true shooting percentage of 57%.  He also finished with 27.3 offensive win shares and 12.4 defensive win shares.

As of right now, Michael Jordan is the Chicago Bulls’ all-time leader in points with 29,277.  He is also their all-time leader in rebounds with 5,836, assists with 5,012, and steals with 2,306.  He is their second all-time leader in blocks with 828 and fourth all-time leader in three-pointers made with 555.

He is their all-time leader in points scored during the playoffs with 5,987.  He is also their all-time leader in assists with 1,022 and steals with 376.  He is their second all-time leader in rebounds with 1,152, as well as blocks with 158 and three-pointers made with 148.

After playing with the Chicago Bulls, Michael Jordan came out of retirement to play with the Washington Wizards for two final seasons.  He wasn’t exactly the same dominant player but he was still very productive.  He averaged 21.2 points per game with them, along with 5.9 rebounds a game, 4.4 assists a game, 1.5 steals a game, and 0.5 blocks a game.  He shot 43% from the field but knocked down just 26 of his 108 three-pointers attempted.  He finished with a true shooting percentage of 48%.  He also finished with 4.1 offensive win shares and 5.5 defensive win shares.

Michael Jordan finished his legendary career with an average of 30.1 points per game, as well as 6.2 rebounds a game, 5.3 assists a game, 2.3 steals a game, and 0.8 blocks a game.  He finished with a total of 32,292 points, along with 6,672 rebounds, 5,633 assists, 2,514 steals, 893 blocks, and 581 three-pointers.

This draft class was definitely one of, if not, the greatest draft class of all-time.  Not only did it feature the athletes stated in the first paragraph, but it also presented guys like Sam Bowie and Sam Perkins.  Nevertheless, Michael Jordan is the best player out of the draft, in my opinion.