Basketball Board

Lebron James was awarded the 2012 MVP Award, receiving 85 out of 121 first place votes. However, only six votes went to the player who I believed deserved the honor. Here is how I would have filled out my ballot:

Fifth Place: Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns - Without Nash, the Suns wouldn’t have been an above-.500 team like they were; they’d likely have been the worst team in the Western Conference. Nash dropped 1...

A lot happened in the first round of the 2012 NBA Playoffs, so I'm going to cut to the chance and break down each series.

Miami Heat defeat New York Knicks 4-1

The Knicks averaged 12.6 assists per game in this series (six fewer than every other team averaged this season), shot an abysmal 41.7% from the field (only 0.3% high...

Defensive Player of the Year:

I love this award because you can have to really look at statistics and watch a good amount of the games to pick a winner. Without further ado, here are the top eight defensive players of the year, in reverse order.

8. Lebron James, Miami Heat – His suffocating perimeter defense leads to so many fastbreak points for Miami. His 1.9 s...

Here is a youtube video that my brother, Tal Akabas, made of me impersonation NBA announcers. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_a4QfFmf2qI

Share it with your friends!

I'm going to try to tackle answering some questions sent in by readers. To read "Part 1" of the mailbag, click here.

What's responsible for the Knicks' recent defensive surge? Woodson being allowed to call defensive plays? Carmelo actually trying on defense? ...

I'm going to try to tackle answering some questions sent in by readers. 

If you could give three things that the league should change (e.g., rules, season structure, etc.) in order to improve the quality and entertainment, what would they be? – Shai

I’ll give you a lot more than three.

Changes that obviou...

“Who is the best one-on-one player in the world?” is a question asked by every NBA fan. However, there is no way of answering that question… yet. Back in 1973, the NBA held a 1-on-1 tournament (which Bob Lanier won by defeating Jo Jo White in the finals). There is no reason for the NBA not to bring back this competition and make it an annual event.

Hold the first three rounds in the four-hour marathon on the afternoon of ...

10. Blake Griffin’s Dunk on Perkins

9. The lockout, which led to a compressed schedule, has had a huge impact on the way this season is being played out. For at least the first 20 games of the year, teams were really out of sync, shooting low percentages (only three teams over 46% right now), and players were out of shape. Some of these out-of-s...

With the Academy Awards (Oscars) recently given out, I decided to hand out my own NBA Oscars, paralleling the real awards. The winners are in bold.

Best Actor in a Leaing Role (Best Player in a Leading Role)

Nominees – Derrick Rose, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James

It’s easily Lebron James. I deal with this in greater detail in the Top 10 Can...

In this article, I will be offering up who should have been chosen to participate as reserves in the All-Star Game. The starters voted on by the fans are Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade, Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwight Howard (Eastern Conference), and Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, and Andrew Bynum (Western Conference). 

Before we delve into who should or shouldn't be all-stars, let's get a few things straight: