(Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
Even crazier, Roy himself is only 24 yet here he is, leading a cadre of lottery talent whose bluest chip, Greg Oden, has barely made a blip since being hailed as the league’s next great center.
More significantly, Roy keeps improving his game; he’s raised his scoring average by three points in each of his three seasons in the league (16.8 to 19.1 to 22.6) while bumping his shooting percentage from a solid 45 percent in his first two years to an impressive 48 percent this season.
He’s one of the best passing off guards in the game and has shot himself into another stratosphere of crunch time scorers, the rarest of players who can drag his team to victory by sheer force of will. How he handles his first playoffs against the aforementioned Rockets will be among the most intriguing Round One plotlines.
7. Tony Parker
It’s scary to think of where the Spurs would be if Parker hadn’t made the leap to alpha dog status this season. He averaged 22ppg/6.9apg on an absurd 50 percent shooting for the season, which would be been impressive enough had he not gone absolutely incendiary at the down the stretch.
In March and April, when Duncan’s decline became most evident, Parker picked up the slack by averaging 24.7/7.3 on a mind-blowing 54.9 percent (!!!!!) shooting.
If that wasn’t enough, he also finished third in clutch shooting percentage.
It is no exaggeration to say that Parker might be the most deadly scoring point guard since Isiah Thomas. He doesn’t shoot the three but he’s almost automatic inside twenty feet between his ever improving jumper, sneaky effective floater, and famous, lighting quick drives towards the rim.
It’s worth repeating here that he’s shooting at a clip that rivals the league’s best interior players, only he’s taking some of the toughest shots in the league.
As I wrote earlier, this is his team now and at 26, he’s just entering his prime. He’s not the all around threat that his position-mates Chris Paul or Deron Williams are, but nobody puts it in the hoop like Parker.
Tier III: In A Different Year…
6. Dirk Nowitzki
Absolutely the most underrated great season in the league from the guy who may now be its most underrated great player. Consider the following:
*He closed out the season by scoring at least 20 points in 25 straight games. That’s the longest such streak in the NBA this season.
*In those 25 games, the Mavs went 16-9 with wins over Phoenix (twice), at Portland, New Orleans, Utah, San Antonio, and Houston. In those particular games, Dirk averaged 28.7/9.6 on 56.1 percent shooting.
*In the process, they went from treading water as the eighth seed all the way up to sixth including an April of winning six out of their last eight in a gauntlet where the margin for error was razor thin. During that stretch, he averaged 30.3/8.8 on 55.1 percent shooting.
That, folks, is called stepping up down the stretch. His effort throughout the season is no less impressive. He finished fourth in the league in scoring with 25.9 ppg on 47.9 percent shooting, and did so while expanding his offensive repertoire to include what he describes as “the goofy one footed Euro fadeway,” a shot that looks horrendous but is impossible to stop.
All of this occurred with Josh Howard missing 30 games and Jason Terry missing most of February. In a season where the Mavs suffered through their worst bench play in years, Dirk went through half the season without one of the only other two competent scorers on the team and with the pressure of having to score at least 25 just to keep the team in contention to win; like usual, he came through.
Overall, a rebound to his MVP form and one of the best seasons in his stellar career. Even with Terry putting up his best season ever, Dallas would be helpless without Dirk and in a different season, this effort might have been enough to give him serious consideration for his second MVP award.
5. Dwight Howard
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