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Class with zero effort: NBA mid-season titles, including the outstanding Antocompo - Walla! sport

2022-01-18T12:48:45.003Z


Yannis is far from being a classic MVP this season, but the ability to produce a statement of intent whenever he pleases proves time and time again that he is number 1 on the floor. Ravitz awards the intermediate prizes


Class with zero effort: NBA mid-season titles, including the outstanding Antocompo

Yannis is far from being a classic MVP this season, but the ability to produce a statement of intent whenever he pleases proves time and time again that he is number 1 on the floor.

Ravitz hands out the 2021/22 Interim Awards, including the anonymous coach, the next unicorn, Drymond's fights and Doncic's blasts

Assaf Ravitz

17/01/2022

Monday, January 17, 2022, 3:00 p.m.

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Danny Abdia with Washington Wizards fans (from the Wizards' Twitter)

We passed the midpoint of the NBA season, time to split midfielders.

Despite a bizarre half-season that included Omicron Month, many of the senior players look excellent.

The MVP fight currently looks completely open and includes four players who have a serious case, all of whom are former title winners.

None of them stand out significantly in relation to the others, so I do not remember when I had such a hard time deciding, and any way to arrange the big four is legitimate in my eyes.

For me it is possible to declare a square MVP.

But let's start with the ranking of places 5-13.

Why 13?

Because this is the amount of players worth mentioning in the field in my eyes.

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Places 5-13

13. Luca Doncic (Dallas):

The quiet story of recent weeks is that Dallas suddenly has a functioning defense. If it's a real change, it makes the Mavericks a senior team for everything, because Luca is a quality one-man attack team. His shooting percentage is down and he's a bit stuck in place, but this place is one of the best players in the world.



12. Paul George (The Clippers):

He is injured and not at all sure he will return to play this year, so he deserves to be reminded that in the 26 games he managed to play he looked like a player who could carry a team on his back. Hope to see him and Kwai Leonard healthy together soon nowadays.



11. Chris Paul (Phoenix):

The league leader is a well-oiled machine, and CP3 is its engine. Even when he scores 14 points per game everything still goes through him and he is one of the most important players in the league.



10. Joel Ambide (Philadelphia):

The opening was relatively weak, and last season seemed to be a one-off, but in recent weeks it has returned to being a formidable offensive force, while at a defensive anchor it has not ceased to be.

Daryl Murray must end the Ben Simmons saga and bring to his chin a significant boost already for the upcoming season because he is at his peak and the assisting team is worthy.



9. Donovan Mitchell (Utah): The collapse of jazz without Rudy Gover last week has clouded Mitchell's wonderful season a bit.

Utah, quite quietly, is a historic attacking group, also because Mitchell is getting better.

In the minutes he plays the Jazz he scores 118.7 points per 100 passers, the best figure in the league.

14 points per game, and still everything goes through him.

Chris Paul (Photo: Reuters)

8. Ja Morant (Memphis):

In the near future he will start threatening the title. In his third year, the Athletic Coordinator is already a scorer, game manager and true leader, and there is a young bunch around him who grew up with him and looks on the safe path for many years at the top.



7. Jimmy Butler (Miami):

If he hadn’t played just 25 games he would have seriously threatened a place in the top five. He is one of the most effective players in the league leading one of the toughest teams in the league, and he seems to be at his peak this year.



6. Damar Drusen (Chicago):

The surprising Eastern leader is made up of an ensemble of four players who each contribute their share, but Drusen is the best and most important of them all. The two buzzer-bitters on consecutive nights have positioned this season of his as special.



5. LeBron James (The Lakers):

At 37, LeBron is delivering a simply wonderful personal season, and since then Anthony Davis' injury has taken the Lakers on his back.

The problem is that this is the disappointing team of the season, which even in the minutes in which it plays its net rating is negative.

Russell Westbrook justifies every question mark about him, the veterans at minimum contracts look like past players, giving up Alex Caruso seems like a terrible decision, but all of these are issues of LeBron GM.

LeBron the actor is still one of the best in the world.

Another wonderful season of LeBron The player was wasted by LeBron the GM? (Photo: Reuters)

The Big Four

4. Steph Kerry (Golden State):

Yeah, I'm surprised too. Until three weeks ago he was the undisputed half-season MVP thanks to the Warriors ’resurgence. But it can no longer be ignored that this is his weakest shooting season, by a significant margin. Currently, he stands at less than 40 percent from three for the first time in his career. A successful month can change everything, but in the middle summary it is simply less effective and consistent than usual. But, as mentioned, each of the big four is a worthy candidate for the title, and Steph's case is that he has a positive impact on Golden State in so many ways. His net rating (14.3) is the highest of all the contenders for the title, and the highest among 117 players with a usage percentage of more than 20. Even when he is not hurting, once there are players around him who know how to play with him, his very presence on the floor makes his team the best in the league. And that's a phrase that fits the MVP.



3. Kevin Durant (Brooklyn):

Kyrie Irving turned the season into an experiment, James Harden is out of shape, Blake Griffin looks unfinished, Joe Harris is injured, the rotation is unclear.

The KD none of that mattered, he was the only stable factor in Brooklyn in the first half of the season.

Still ridiculous for how easy it is for him to score in any way and from any range (29.3 points per game on 52 percent from the field and 89.4 percent from the penalty spot), he still looks like the top contender for the title of best player in the world at the moment.

He's only third in my rank precisely because he seems to be run in a separate universe from the rest of the team, not affecting the players around him like the other three on this list.

But he is so good that without his recent injury he would have been a strong contender for the title.

The injury will force Brooklyn to function without its safety net, maybe it will do her good.

Presence of MVP, despite the low percentage in careers.

Steph Kerry (Photo: Reuters)

2. Nikola Jukic (Denver):

The incumbent MVP raises this age-old question: Does it make sense to award the title to a mid-level player? Last year this question was asked about Steph, this year the creators turned around and the Joker is the one trying to drag a wounded bunch to the center of the table in the West. The arguments in his favor are very light: Denver is a great team when he plays, even though his two sub-stars are injured, and a terrible team when he rests. His personal efficiency index, the PER, is the highest in the league and if he continues it could be the highest ever. Beyond 25.3 points on 56.7 percent from the field, 13.9 rebounds and 7.2 assists, he greatly upgraded the defense and became a senior defensive chin, at least in everything related to the regular season. What prevents him from being first? Nothing substantial, but on my list someone one.



1. Yannis Antocompo (Milwaukee)



Yes, I'm surprised too.

Yannis is not a classic MVP.

The champion is injured and slightly limping throughout the half of the season and her balance sheet is fourth in the East and eighth in the league.

Yannis does what he does, continues to be a one-time natural phenomenon that affects everything that happens on both sides, with a little more polishing and nuances of a player gaining experience and confidence, but it is not the personal and team consistency that has earned him the title twice in the recent past.

What makes him first for me is that whenever he really wants to, whenever he feels like making a statement of intent, he shows superiority over any opponent.

He did it twice against Brooklyn, against Golden State, against the Lakers, in the Christmas game against Boston - on every such occasion he led Milwaukee to victory and made it clear who was number 1 on the floor.

It may not necessarily be enough for a personal title at the end of the season, but in the meantime it makes him the most impressive player in the first half in my eyes.

Do not stop wanting.

Yannis (Photo: GettyImages, Bob Levey)

The rest of the degrees

Coach: Taylor Jenkins (Memphis)



Here too my plans changed at the last minute. I wanted to take advantage of the slot to compliment Steve Kerr's method that turns all sorts of sub-players that other teams did not want into quality rotation players, or the oiled machine of Monty Williams in Phoenix, but it's time to shine a spotlight on the anonymous Jenkins. He excels in the two important areas for a young team coach: the young players are constantly improving and the team is forming an identity. Just when Morant was injured Memphis started to win, mostly thanks to a significant upgrade in defense, and by the time Ja returned to the new situation it already looked like a great team for everything. Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bain look like quality 2s and 3s in the making, the rest of the roster is laden with solid players who each find their place in Jenkins ’rotation. A lot of credit also goes to general manager Zack Kleiman who made a great draft pick and built a smart and coherent roster.

The sequence began precisely when the star was sitting outside.

Jenkins with Morant (Photo: GettyImages, Thearon W. Henderson)

Defensive Player: Drymond Green (Golden State)



While Utah is the best offensive team in the league by a significant margin, Golden State is the best defensive team by no small margin.

Green is the leader of this defense, and when he comes into the season in a combative mood he is a great defensive player on a historic scale.

He neutralizes inside players of all sorts, functions as a chin in the lethal small ball lineups, sees a few steps ahead what the offense is trying to do and covers up any mistake by teammates.

This season is marked by the next generation of defensive players, Rockies like Owen Mobley and Rabbi Jones belong to the discussion of the defensive fives of the season, but Drey is the most important defensive player of the first half of the season.

Arrived for the season in a combative mood.

Drymond (Photo: Reuters)

The Rookie: Owen Mobley (Cleveland)



If we have already mentioned Mobley, as the season progresses he establishes his status as the leading rookie in a cycle laden with quality players.

Scotty Barnes is an important player in Toronto, Franz Wagner provides impressive numbers in Orlando, Josh Giddy is a brilliant kid, Cade Cunningham shows sparks, but Mobley is the rare rookie who functions as one of the most important players on a good team.

Cleveland is one of the surprises of the season, much thanks to its diverse inside player.

In attack he has effective moves with his back and face to the basket and he knows how to deliver in motion, in defense he combines a real ability to maintain any position and a particularly high quality defense on the ring.

All indications are that a very special player in the making, the next unicorn.

Unicorn, the next generation.

Owen Mobley with Kevin Love (Photo: GettyImages, Michael Reaves)

Improving player: Jonathon Marie (San Antonio)



In the early weeks it seemed like Miles Bridges from Charlotte were on their way to taking over the title this year, but the way Marie is evolving into a senior coordinator is one of the spectacular phenomena of the season.

The feeling is that DeJonta has been in the league for many years where everyone is waiting for his break, but he is only 25 and this is only the fifth season he is playing.

He has always been a quality keeper, this year he has also become a game manager at the highest levels and a better scorer than expected, mainly thanks to an upgraded ability to get to color and finish there.

He simply developed an understanding of the game and reading moves at the superstar level.

He provides 19.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 8.9 assists on 2.4 turnovers and 2.1 steals per game.

These are numbers that will put him in the discussion of the All-Star, even if in the West it will be difficult to thread a guard.

One of the spectacular phenomena of the season.

Jonta Marie (Photo: GettyImages, Tim Nwachukwu)

Sixth Actor: Tyler Hiro (Miami)



Perhaps the Most Outstanding Category.

There are a few more quality substitutes like Kelly Ubera, Monterey Harrell and Alex Caruso, but Hiro is a senior scorer rising from the bench and changing games.

In the 27 games in which Hiro came off the bench he scored 20.7 points per game, including 2.8 threes at 42.9 percent, adding 4.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists.

These are rare numbers for a changer.

Hiro's ability to make the leap to an effective scorer is very important to Miami, which lacks players of its kind, and has played an important part in Eric Spolstra's team surviving long injuries to Jimmy Butler and Am Adbayo and staying in the top Eastern region.

  • sport

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Tags

  • Yannis Antocompo

  • Nikola Jukic

  • Kevin Durant

  • Drymond Green

  • Stephen Kerry

Source: walla

All sports articles on 2022-01-18

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