ROY Race
There seems to be a lot of steam building in favor of Atlanta Hawks forward Al Horford for this year’s rookie of the year award. My only question is why? It’ll be a shame if Kevin Durant doesn’t win the thing. Period.
I suppose national writers are giving Horford consideration because the Hawks likely will be the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, ending the league’s longest current playoff drought at eight years. But here are the stat comparisons of Durant and Horford…
Kevin Durant Stat Al Horford
20.1 PPG 10.1
4.2 RPG 9.7
2.3 APG 1.5
1.0 SPG 0.8
0.9 BPG 0.9
42.5 FG% 50.2
87.9 FT% 72.6
34.3 MPG 31.4
Sure, you can make a case for Horford: The Hawks are 36-41, good for eighth in the East…….He has 23 double-doubles……. He’s missed only one game and he’s started 72 of 76.
But a much better case can be made for Durant: He’s scored 20 or more points in 35 games……. He’s scored 30 or more in six games…….He ranks 28th in scoring and leads the second closest rookie (Al Thornton, not Horford) by 7.5 points……..He’s won the West’s rookie of the month honor four times…….And statistically he’s improved each month, save a minor decline in production in February. Not to mention he’s having his best month of the season so far in April in points, rebounds, assists and minutes. That’s a considerable accomplishment considering NBA personnel love to analyze how players finish their seasons.
The drawback for Durant, however, is the Sonics are just 18-59, the second worst mark in the NBA. But I’m not buying into the wins-should-matter approach. The ROY isn’t the best rookie on the best team. Luis Scola of the Houston Rockets would win if that were the case.
Based on that line of thinking, Andrea Bargnani of the 47-35, No. 3-seeded Toronto Raptors should have won the award in 2007 in instead of Brandon Roy of the 32-50 Portland Trail Blazers. In 2006, Deron Williams should have won after leading his Utah Jazz squad to three more wins than eventual winner Chris Paul guided his Hornets team to. In 2005, Ben Gordon of the 47-35, No. 4-seeded Chicago Bulls should have won over Emeka Okafor, whose Charlotte Bobcats team finished tied for the league’s second worst record. And in 2004, Carmelo Anthony of the No. 8-seeded 43-39 Denver Nuggets should have won over LeBron James and his 35-47, lottery-bound Cavaliers. The list goes on and on.
Yes, Horford is a key piece on a likely playoff-bound Hawks team. But the Hawks are still five games under .500 and they play in the East. Imagine if Durant had Mike Bibby and Joe Johnson. Just those two. Throw in Josh Smith and Marvin Williams and the Sonics likely are a playoff team in the brutal West. That’s 50 wins, not sneaking into the postseason in a weaker conference with more than 40 losses.
-DM-
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Comments
So you’re saying that if Durant were on the Hawks instead of Horford, they’d be a playoff team in the West? I don’t think so. Now if Durant had Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis, then I’d say maybe so.
(No. I didn’t say that. Coaching plays a big part, and I’ve seen little out of Mike Woodson that suggests he would get it done in the West even with Durant on that team. Of course this is all hypothetical. But If I had my choice of surrounding Durant with Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis versus Mike Bibby, Josh Smith and Joe Johnson, I’m taking that current Hawks trio. -DM-)
horford’s numbers are a little better, but how much easier is it to play in the east? and look at that free throw percentage, ask memphis how well that works… if durant got to play the hawk’s schedule, he may have made the playoffs as well… wait, probably not, but he would have had great (maybe better) stats.
DM, I WAS STARTING TO THINK YOU HAD SOME SENSE. RAY ALLEN AND RASHARD ARE HUGE CONTRIBUTORS OF TEAMS THAT ARE GOING TO MAKE A PUSH FOR THE WHOLE TAMALE!! THE HAWKS ARE YOUNG, THUS, NOT ENOUGH EXPERIENCE. I’D PLAY YOU 2 AGAINST 3 ANYTIME D.M. WITH THOSE PLAYERS OF YOUR CHOICE. I TOLD KEVIN THE OTHER DAY TO TIGHTEN UP HIS “D” , AND, HE WOULD BE A LOCK FOR THE ROOKIE HONORS! BUT, HE IS A LIL DEPRESSED WITH THE OTHER PLAYERS ON HOW CLAY HAS THROWN THEM TO THE WOLVES!!!!!!!!
MIKE U.
(Mike, the Hawks are 2-1 against Rashard Lews and No. 3-seeded Orlando this season, with one of those wins coming at Orlando before Bibby arrived. So those inexperienced players must be doing something right. Having said that, the Hawks are 0-6 against Boston and Detroit. However, before making conclusions on which would be a better fit consider that Allen and Lewis led the Sonics to a mighty 31-51 record last season. The Hawks squad I’m speaking of went 30-52 WITHOUT Bibby. You be the judge. Oh, and I’d much rather surround Durant with a group of young guys all under 30 than a soon-to-be 33-year-old Allen and highly overpaid Rashard Lewis. But of course this is all hypothetical anyway. -DM-)
The best parallel to Durant’s rookie season is Emeka Okafor. He was the top player on a terrible team just as Durant is. Ben Gordon definitely had the best rookie season that year and Okafor won because his status as a #1 overall draft pick and for having top-player on a bad team stats. I think Ben Gordon’s contribution to his team’s success was more substantial than Horford’s contribution to the Hawks’ relative success. It would be interesting to statistically compare Okafor’s rookie season to Durant’s. I’m certain that Durant has the greatest potential coming out of their rookie season and this alone will likely get him the award.