Giannis, Jokic, or Embiid?

Author: Jack Gordon

The 2021-2022 NBA regular season is starting to wind down with only a few games remaining, which means that it’s finally time to start talking about who might be the MVP of the -

What’s that? We’ve been talking about it since week 1?

Well, either way, it’s actually going to be a difficult decision this year.

One of the weirdest things about the MVP award is that it’s all about narratives. Someone else claims the award every couple of weeks depending on how they’re playing, how the team is doing, and the kind of story that appeals to both fans and voters. Anybody that goes on a two-week tear can suddenly become the MVP.

Really early on it was Steph Curry that was labeled as the frontrunner, until he started to go into an extended shooting slump. Then KD had it for a bit, but he got injured. Then after about 30 or 40 games with the Bulls at the top of the East, every early-morning sports talk show led their program with the “HOW CAN YOU NOT HAVE DEMAR DEROZAN IN THE MVP DISCUSSION?!” take.

As a side note, I would just like to put this out there once and for all: Why is it so disrespectful not to mention a player as the MVP if we don’t actually think he’s a legitimate contender to win the award? All season long I turn on the TV and see Kendrick Perkins foaming at the mouth that we aren’t including Ja Morant or Derozan in the “MVP conversation.” Great, I guess I’m just required to mention their names if I’m talking about it? Stop getting so angry at us.

Anyway, the person that took the main narrative by mid-season was Joel Embiid. He was absolutely dominating other big men in some nationally televised games, and he hadn't won it before, so he became the guy.

And now, in a league that has drastically shifted towards guard play and shooting, the three contenders to win the MVP are ironically all big men: Embiid, Jokic, and Giannis.

We’ll start with the guy that I think everyone wants to give the award to: Joel Embiid. It’s pretty incredible that a guy who only played in 31 games in his first three seasons became one of the most consistent and durable players in the league (although we still need to see it last through the postseason). He’s second in the league in scoring at 29.8 PPG, to go along with 11.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists. It feels like it’s his time. This is a guy that is truly competitive and really cares. He’s a nightmare to deal with when he’s really being aggressive, and the near 12 free throw attempts per game is a testament to that. The other thing going for him is that it’s really impressive how he’s dealt with the crap show that has been the Sixers this year. Ben Simmons, along with maybe Kyrie Irving, was one of the most discussed players in the entire league, and the guy wasn’t even playing. Philly was dealing with severe media attention along with missing their second-best player and defensive stopper all year, and it was clear that Embiid didn’t care - he put his head down, decided to go for the MVP, and kept his team afloat near the top of the East. The thing going against Embiid is that it seems like there’s a possibility for this new-look team to flame out early in the playoffs in disappointing fashion once again, in which case we might look back and regret our decision. Although, it’s supposed to be a regular season award and that technically shouldn’t matter.

If you are going just purely based on the name of the award, Nikola Jokic should probably be the MVP. He is top 10 in the following categories: points, rebounds, assists, field goal percentage, and is far and away the most dominant fantasy basketball player this season. If you actually look at the Nuggets roster, it’s not very good. They’re missing both Jamal Murrary and Michael Porter Jr., and Jokic has had to essentially do everything for them - and that he has done. His stats are incredible, but all it takes to understand how good he is is to watch him play. He is the center of the universe on that team. As soon as he touches the ball, every player is suddenly cutting off of him or spotted up in the corner because they know that he can hit them at any moment. The most incredible thing that’s hard to grasp with him is that he’s somehow able to make a play at literally any time he needs to. Whether it’s a close game with the time running down or just a set in the first quarter, his skill and basketball IQ essentially makes it a guarantee that if he’s not going to score, then he’s going to draw a double and make an insane pass to create a wide open shot for a teammate. He has been the most dominant player this season, and has done the most with the least. He has a few things going against him: the first is that he won it last year, and voters typically like to spread the award around. The second is that despite the incredible plays he makes, he’s just not a sexy player. He does not have mass appeal with casual fans, and no matter what he does it's somehow always hard to believe that he’s good because he just doesn’t look it. The last and most important thing against his case for MVP is that the Nuggets are sixth in the West, with the potential to drop into the play-in tournament. At some point, it’s just not enough team success to warrant giving him the award.

Last but not least, Giannis Antetokounmpo is having as good of a season as ever, but his name has been rather quiet in the discussion. He essentially has the exact same stats as Embiid across the board, with the added factor that he is one of the best, if not the best, defensive players in the NBA. Not to mention that the Bucks have the exact same record as the Sixers, and will likely end up surpassing them. The case for Giannis is that he is as good as he’s ever been, has the stats to back it up, and is probably the second best player in the league and maybe it’s important to commemorate the fact that he is a generational talent. But make no mistake, this would not be a commemoration MVP. In fact, if Giannis had never won the MVP before, this might be a no brainer, but voter fatigue is a real issue. From an objective standpoint considering all the factors, Giannis probably deserves to win and there is really no case against him, but rather only a case for the others. What he has going against him is the voter fatigue and that the team came out to a slow start based on expectations, but there were a lot of reasons for that, including injuries, the championship hangover, and their top players coming off an Olympics run in Tokyo. And, since then, the team has picked it up and is still the most dependable pick to repeat as champions.

This is a weird year for the MVP, because there are three incredible candidates that it seems like not many people are very excited about (except maybe Embiid). The best part is that there is no wrong answer for a winner, and the worst part is that there will inevitably be two players who deserved the award that won’t win.

Who do I think should win, you ask? I really don’t know between the three guys, so I say give the MVP to Austin Reaves, the best player in the league.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE

Should the Knicks Move On From Tom Thibodeau

Author: Frank Caggino

After Tom Thibodeau won coach of the year, it looked like the Knicks finally found their head coach. He is New York’s fifth head coach in the past decade. Tom, was also the first coach to have a winning record in almost a decade. However, with the Knicks’ struggles this season, fans are now questioning if he is the right man for the job. Thibodeau’s decision-making and unwillingness to change, has caused Knicks fans to be concerned.

When the Knicks struggled on offense in the postseason, it was clear they need some players that can generate their own shot. The Knicks signed Kemba Walker and while some fans were happy, it seems like Tom Thibodeau was not. This was clearly evident when early in the season, Walker was benched and it looked like he was going to be out of the rotation. Due to injures and players getting sick, Walker found his way back into the starting lineup and played well at the end of December. Kemba has not been able to string together consistent high-scoring numbers and now, is going to sit out the rest of the season. Tom Thibodeau is a defensive-minded coach and Kemba Walker is not a good defender, which is one of the main reasons why Thibodeau has decided to bench him. Unfortunately, this is not the only player that has been brought in that has not gotten the playing time the front office hoped for.

The only acquisition the Knicks made during the season was trading for Cam Reddish from the Atlanta Hawks. However, it took several games before Reddish received consistent minutes. Multiple reports came out that Thibodeau did not want the Knicks to acquire Reddish. This is another example of the head coach and front office not being on the same page. Regardless of who is the general manager, it is hard to see the coach remaining with his inability to adapt.

Some of the reasons why Tom Thibodeau is no longer coaching the Bulls or Timberwolves is because of playing his veterans too many minutes and not being creative on offense. Those same criticisms have held true this year, with the number of minutes players such as Alec Burks and Taj Gibson have gotten this season. The Knicks’ half-court offense, particularly late in games has been poor and has led to them having a losing record. Unfortunately, even if the Knicks move on from Thibodeau, replacing him will not be easy.

It took four different head coaches for the Knicks to have a winning season. Hopefully, it will not take four more head coaches for the Knicks to have another winning record. Luckily for New York, there are some quality head coaching candidates out there. One of the names that comes to mind is Kenny Attkinson, who coached a young Brooklyn Nets team to a playoff team. Because of their success, they were able to attract Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. Atkinson has experience working in New York and working with a young team which is what the Knicks currently have. Kenny is also from New York, which helps when interacting with the media. Another name to consider is Mark Jackson who is also from New York but has not coached since 2014. If the Knicks are considering moving on from Thibodeau, now is the time while a coach such as Kenny Atkinson is still available. As great as Tom and the Knicks were last year, this year has been very different which is why the Knicks need a coach that is very different.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE

The Eastern Conference Still Sucks

Author: Jack Gordon

It is time to stop declaring that “the East is finally as good as the West” in the NBA.

It’s not, and it never has been in my lifetime.

The West, for decades, has been just better than the East in a myriad of ways. There is virtually no disputing this - go back every year, and the level of all-star talent and the number of truly competitive teams is completely unbalanced. For anyone that follows the NBA, think no further than LeBron James and the narratives that followed him for a decade. James made nine Finals appearances in the Eastern Conference, including eight straight with the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers. He was the King in the East - he was so dominant that for as long as he remained in the Conference, it was nearly a guarantee that his team would at least make the Finals. And it wasn’t just that he’s an all-time great player, but he was set up for success - he had almost no resistance. Who were his big rivals in the East after beating Boston in 2011 and 2012? The Mike Budenholzer Hawks? The Roy Hibbert Pacers?

When he signed with the Lakers in 2019, the narrative became that it would be harder for him to do what he had done; an obvious sign of acknowledgement from everyone in the media that the West was far more competitive than the East.

Some things just are the way they are. The truth is that the Western Conference has more desirable markets, including three teams in California (No, Sacramento doesn’t count). The big potential draw in the East other than Miami - New York, New York - hasn’t been a draw in over twenty years until KD showed up (and he didn’t even show up to New York City; he showed up to Brooklyn). And let’s be honest, if a player can make $40 million and do it in warm weather, it’s tough to turn down.

But for the NBA, this reality kind of sucks. What the league wants, as well as the fans, is for equal parody across the league. It would be awesome to be able to have conversations about teams no matter where they are. It would be awesome to be arguing about who might make it in the West, and then look over to the East and see a bunch of teams that might have equally compelling playoff matchups in the first and second rounds.

So every year for the past few years, people have been trying to talk themselves into the idea that the East has finally caught up with the West. People in the media are responsible for creating hype and interest around the season, and say this to trick people into watching. They want this to be true, and they point to the top-end talent in the East and argue that they match up as well, if not better, than the best in the West.

And every year, we quickly realize it not to be true. Because sure, in any given year the top three or four teams in the East might look really good. But that’s not the only thing that matters, and people know it. When we talk about the Western Conference being better than the East, a lot of times it has to do with not only the really great teams, but the teams in the middle class and even the teams just outside the playoffs. Almost every year, these teams in the West are solid, if not really good at least competent teams that can win on any given night. But in the East, we typically see a massive dropoff after the top teams, so much so that it’s impossible not to argue that the record of the top teams in the East are being inflated because they get to play so many horrible teams.

At the beginning of this season, we were hearing some of these same things. With the reigning champs in Milwaukee, a scary-looking Nets team, a beefed-up Miami team and a chaotic but lurking Sixers team, people early on were convinced that the East might be better than the West.

And then, the actual season played out, and once again this take became harder to support. As of the all-star break, a good but fairly old Miami team is the one seed in the East with a record of 38-21. The top three seeds in the West - Phoenix, Golden State and Memphis - all have better records. The Chicago Bulls, who have had horrible injury luck throughout the year, are still somehow hovering around the one seed and may even get it. The Sixers and Nets, who were supposed to be the best teams in the East, had major stress with their stars, which led to them trading for each others’ problems. The Nets have spiraled to the play-in game with Durant out and with Kyrie playing only road games, and who knows what will happen with Ben Simmons once we get to the playoffs. Embiid over in Philly has been dominant, but once again, who knows what Harden will look like, whether or not the two will mesh together, and if losing Seth Curry is a bigger deal than people realize.

The Cavs have come out of nowhere but does anyone actually think they’re a threat? Does anyone have any idea what will happen in this conference? Does anyone have actual confidence in any team other than the Milwaukee Bucks? Who is to say that the Celtics can’t make a run to the Conference Finals at this point if nobody else can figure anything out?

Here are probably the worst teams currently in play-in contention in the East: Atlanta, Charlotte, Toronto, Boston, Cleveland (sorry Cleveland I love Garland and Allen).

Here are probably the worst teams currently in play-in contention in the West: Portland, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Minnesota… Utah? Dallas? Denver?

The point is, those mid-tier teams in the West are just better. The Warriors and Suns are really steady, while the top teams in the East are all floundering around. Yes, there are good teams and dramatic storylines in the East, but that’s not all that matters.

Ultimately, this is not an argument about which Conference will win the NBA Championship. It’s about the competition before the Finals and how difficult it is to get there. Every year, the West has been better than the East. Maybe this will change one day, maybe it will change next year. But until then, stop saying that the East has caught up to the West - because the East sucks, just like every other year.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE