And the Award for Best New Playoff Basketball Blog Goes To...

We'll let the real critics decide that one when the playoffs end in December. For now, let's all pretend we've spent the past six months following basketball more than just peripherally, more than just because football ended and baseball wasn't here yet, more than the excruciatingly long (please join our Top Ten Reasons Lockouts Rule Facebook page) and arduous regular season merits and hand out some end of the year awards.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

ESPN Expert Picks: LeBron James (unanimous)

Really? Again? Is anyone else sick and tired of Most Valuable being equated with Most Talented? Why don't they just call it what it is? When MJ was putting up sick numbers and winning multiple championships, he won an impressive five MVP awards between 1987 and 1998. At the time, he was also the best player on the planet, was firmly cementing his place in basketball history on a daily basis, and the year's he didn't win MVP (and wasn't retired) he took even greater pleasure in winning his Finals MVP trophies against regular season awards winners Charles Barkley and Karl Malone. I begrudge Michael nothing, even though it took me a decade and a half to get there. Had he defected early in his career and joined the Rockets, Knicks, or Pistons to ensure winning, and I would be singing a much less praiseworthy tune.

                      

Take Steve Nash off the Suns in 2005 and I'll show you real value. Remove Allen Iverson from the Sixers in 2000, and they might not have made the playoffs let alone the Finals. Take LeBron James off the Miami Heat, however, and you probably still have home court advantage in the first round and a clear path through the Eastern Conference. Am I partial to the little guy? Absolutely. But what I'm really partial to is candor.

If LeBron was able to take a guys named Boobie, Zydrunas, and Wally to a league best 66 wins in Cleveland, shouldn't the All-Star laden Miami Heat have to do better than that to earn him the award? And if we are just doling out Value for Talent, why did Kobe Bryant only receive one MVP award - wreaking of "lifetime achievement" mind you - during his decade-long tenure as the most gifted basketball player in the world?

 Somebody please explain that to this 5'7" Laker fan while I bungee jump off my soap box (which I will keep close by for my Coach of the Year rant) and present TSZ's MVP trophies.

Vinny's 2013 Most Valuable Player: Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks. I know, I know - surprised you with a big guy, didn't I? Chris Paul was a close second, I just think the Clippers have more depth than the Knicks. Carmelo Anthony has finally come into his own this year, and all it took was a group of 50 year-old veterans to make him look and feel spry. Although I would love to see a little more integration between Scoring Anthony and Distributing Anthony, with either Anthony on the floor this season the Knicks were 47-20. Without him, they were a sub .500 team. Enough said.

                       
Marco's 2013 Most Valuable Player: LeBron James. "Best all-around basketball player ever to play. He can do whatever the fuck he wants, whenever he wants, to whoever he wants." 

Marco doesn't know this yet, but our friendship just ended. Besides, it's whomever.

COACH OF THE YEAR

ESPN Expert Pick(s): George Karl (16), Erik Spoelstra (7), Gregg Popovich (2), Mike Woodson (2), and Lionel Hollins (1)

I'll keep it brief, I promise. Here's an analogy. Let's say you asked someone to bake you a cake and bought them all the ingredients to make sure they didn't screw it up. "Here you go," you tell them, "I bought you the number one ranked cake mix in the world. Oh, and I also purchased some delicious, cage-free eggs from Marquette and a top three, organic frosting from Canada. The recipe pretty much says mix them however you want and add some three point shooting, so good luck." I'll applaud Pat Riley, but I refuse to give his big-toothed front man any credit.

                 
                 What? It's delicious again? No way. 

Vinny's Coach of the Year: Mark Jackson, Golden State Warriors. I can't believe a lifelong G-Dub fan like Marco didn't give him the nod. Jackson took a perennial loser, a group of relatively anonymous young upstarts, and took them back to the playoffs for only the second time in seventeen years. Watch out Playoff Matrix, here comes the Oracle crowd.

My honorable mention goes to George Karl for surviving both cancer and pre-MVP Carmelo, while somehow inspiring his group of NBA athletes to play as hard as they did in college.

Marco's Coach of the Year: Gregg Popovich, San Antonio Spurs. "Amazing job with old, injured veteran players. He continues to prove it's his system that wins year after year. They simply do not turn the ball over." 

THE OTHER AWARDS

Vinny's Defensive Player of the Year: Joaqim Noah, Chicago Bulls. As a UCLA fan, I hated him and all is NBA-bound Florida Gator teammates. In the greatest turn around of a formerly held opinion in the history of my life, however, I now love the guy. He plays hard, he hates everyone who is not on his team, and he never, ever gives up on plays. I wish Derrick Rose would come back and show us all who the real MVP of this league is.

                         

Marco's Defensive Player of the Year: Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies. "He is the center piece to great Memphis defense and he lead the league in blocks at the most crucial times of games." 

I'm not sure how they calculated that very specific last stat, but it sounds good to me. 

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

Everybody's Pick: Damien Lillard. Is there anyone else that's even close? He averaged 19, 6.5, and 3 as a rookie, and logged over 3,000 minutes. Talk about a Stay In School poster child for the NBA. Four years of college equals far fewer growing pains at the next level. 

                          

SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR

Vinny's Pick: Jamal Crawford, Los Angeles Clippers. If LeBron gets the MVP every year, then I'm giving the sixth man nod to journeyman and MVT (Most Valuable Trade Commodity) Jamal Crawford. Since 2003, Crawford has played for six NBA teams, never averaging less than 14 and never playing more than 40. Kobe might be the Black Mamba, but Jamal is the Black Manu. 

                           

Marco's Pick: Jarrett Jack, Golden State Warriors. "Not only great off the bench, he is the guy they trust the most in the 4th for the game-winning shot." 

                            

And that, dear readers, brings our Reminder of How Long-Winded Vinny Can Be post to a close. Let's call this entry our Meaningless NBA Regular Season and move onto our Playoff Picks ATS, which will be available tomorrow morning at the very latest. Expect quality over quantity from here on out as we attempt to bring you our very best guesses at every game on the NBA calendar through next month.

Today we rest, but tomorrow and the next 300 or so tomorrows, we gamble. Thank you all for the welcome back e-mails and shout outs. I'm glad Marco and I weren't the only ones missing this.

Peace,

Vinny and Marco