Ohonsi's NBA Blog

1st Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder) (MVP) Doncic (Mavs) Antetokounmpo (Bucks)  Jokic (Nuggets) Brunson (Knicks) 2nd Tatum (Celtics)  Booker (Suns) Durant (Suns) James (Lakers) Davis (Lakers) 3rd Edwards (Wolves) Fox (Kings) Maxey (Sixers) Mitchell (Cavs) Irving (Mavs) *Curry (Warriors) and Leonard (Clippers) would replace the last 2 if I based it off of the 65 game rule. *Mine are positionless like the real ones but I'm still applying the general modern era rule that a player needs at least 50 games played to be on the All-NBA team. And since they're positionless, the order of the players represent my MVP rankings.  *Creating All-star and All-NBA teams is a great mental exercise for me. *They're based on (in this order): scoring production and talent (explained at the end), creating shots for others, rebounding and defense, team success. *The most important skill in basketball by far is being able to score in isolation (off the dribble, posting up, or the face up jumper) at ...

On paper, I think Minnesota is best suited to represent the western conference in the finals. They're led by a star who elevates his game every time during the playoffs and is a good 3 level scorer (Ant). The Wolves also employ one of the greatest three-point shooting big men in history who can serve as an effective post scorer too (KAT). Gobert is 1 of the best rebounders and shot blockers in the modern era. Minny's quality defense extends to the perimeter as well. Edwards, McDaniels, Alexander-Walker, and Anderson are players who've shown to be at least good defenders in their careers. Reid is a skilled scorer off the bench that does a great job backing up Towns and/or Rudy. And at point guard is a reliable, battle tested vet who's a very efficient 3-point shooter in Conley. But can they figure out their 4th quarter scoring woes in the postseason?  Will Minnesota have to sacrifice the backbone of their defense (Gobert) to add more spacing late in games, especially in ...

He's by far the best player on a team that won at least 50 games and has homecourt advantage in round 1 of the playoffs. Also, based on the production and eye test, SGA has proven to be one of the top performers this season. What makes his MVP case even stronger is that OKC entered this year as the 2nd youngest squad in the NBA. They also play only 1 big man significant minutes on a consistent basis: an extremely thin rookie (Chet) with 0 postseason experience who anchors the worst rebounding team in the western conference. The Thunder are too thin, small, and young for me to see them as a legit championship contender which is why I think they have a round 2 ceiling. Their premier "3 and D" player (Dort) is only 6'4 so how do they contain formidable frontcourt scorers when the lights are brightest? J-Dub is OKC's second best scorer but he has never played in the playoffs as well. Even for Shai, this'll be his first time playing with the pressure of being the #...