'And Now for Something Completely Different' Awards: Conference Finals Edition
We're only a few short weeks from handing out the big one, but until one of the four teams left standing hoists the Larry O'Brien Trophy, we've got some other honors to dispense.
These are the less-heralded (and also completely fictitious) awards, celebrating some of the biggest achievements and mistakes of the conference finals.
The "It's Learning!" Award
Winner: Enes Kanter
Want to know the most incredible aspect of the Oklahoma City Thunder's 133-105 dismantling of the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals on Sunday?
It wasn't Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook combining for 63 points.
It wasn't Oklahoma City running up a postseason team-high 22 fast-break points in the first half.
It wasn't Serge Ibaka showing up for the first time, drilling a corner three and then hammering home a vicious right-handed spike on Festus Ezeli's head.
It was this seemingly innocuous sequence late in the proceedings—pulled directly from the official NBA.com play-by-play so as to avoid suspicions of forgery: "6:31 [OKC 125-89]: Singler Pull-up Jump Shot: Made (2 PTS) Assist: Kanter (1 AST)."
See that? That's an Enes Kanter assist—not quite like observing a unicorn in the wild...but close.
Kanter actually has an assist in each of his last two postseason contests against Golden State after failing to register a single one during six games against the San Antonio Spurs.
On the year, he posted just 33 in 82 games.
This is relevant because Kanter has long been a target of the Warriors (and many other opponents) on both ends. Teams attack him on defense, forcing him to defend the pick-and-roll. Reliably, he comes up short. Offensively, Kanter's aversion to passing makes him an easy mark for double-teams. Generally, he'll force a shot or get rid of the ball clumsily enough to eliminate the chance of the Thunder capitalizing on the defensive aggression.
But that's changing, per NBA analyst Nate Duncan of The Cauldron:
Down 2-1 and facing its toughest foe of the past two seasons, the Warriors can hardly afford to lose one of their few remaining exploitable resources.
The "Hey, Man, Maybe Just Shoot It" Award
Winner: Andre Roberson
The Warriors are giving Andre Roberson the Tony Allen treatment this postseason, ignoring him on the perimeter to an absurd degree and using his defender as a free safety. In fact, one of the biggest signs of their discombobulation in Game 3 were the desperate runs at Roberson when the ball swung to him.
Had they been dialed in and not panicking, the Dubs would have gladly hung back and dared the career 27.4 percent three-point shooter to fire away.
Here's the thing, though: Roberson has been pretty darn good from deep lately. Through three games, he's 5-of-8 from long range, good for a 62.5 percent conversion rate that's actually better than his overall field-goal percentage (58.8) in the series.
His release remains mind-numbingly slow, but that's fine. And believe it or not, he almost looks comfortable.
Golden State, of course, should play the odds and allow Roberson to keep shooting. Wide-open threes from him (and they're all wide-open) are still preferable to Westbrook or Durant using possessions.
But at the same time, Roberson should be even more aggressive. He has passed up at least three clean looks for every one he's taken, and there's really no sense in that considering his recent accuracy.
The counter is the Thunder haven't had trouble scoring in this series, and changing anything on offense would be a mistake. But after so many gaffes in Game 3, the Warriors are likely to double down on leaving Roberson, which means there's a good chance he sees more open shots than ever.
This creates a strange situation in which doing the smart thing—taking uncontested triples—is also probably what Golden State hopes Roberson does.
The "Lost Assets Division" Award
Winner: DeMar DeRozan
Quietly, DeRozan's postseason has shifted from abject disaster to admirable progress.
After shooting 31.9 percent from the field, sitting out crucial stretches and handing over his lunch money to Paul George in the first round, DeRozan improved mildly (38.8 percent) during the second. It didn't take much to be better than he was in that opening series, per Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star.
"They are their teams' leading scorers and leading men," Doyel wrote, "but this series is close because this matchup is not. George is destroying DeRozan."
DeRozan turned in a couple of big games against the Miami Heat in that seven-game second-rounder, and he's been even more effective so far against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Incredibly, he hit at least half of his shots three times during the first four games against the Cavs after doing it just once in 14 contests against Indy and Miami.
The Toronto Raptors and their fans are already playing with house money. No matter what happens from here on, this has been the best season in franchise history. For DeRozan, though, the stretch ahead remains critical.
If the free agent-to-be continues his steady improvement, he'll almost certainly recoup the market value he lost in those first two series. And while it's true DeRozan's mid-range game, ball-stopping and lack of a three-point shot make him a risky bet as an offensive cornerstone, he'll be in much better shape if he can at least point to positive playoff results.
The "No More Half-Measures (Walter)" Award
Winner: Golden State Warriors
The Warriors have a lot of choices to make as they try to steady themselves against the Thunder, but figuring out their rebounding strategy is high on the list.
OKC was the best rebounding team in the league this year, so it's no surprise when it runs up a 52-38 advantage on the boards like it did during Game 3. It may be the case that Golden State simply can't win on the glass, though it won the rebound battle 45-36 in Game 2, which suggests it could stay competitive.
What can't happen for the Warriors, though, is a repeat of Game 3—when they casually pursued offensive rebounds at the expense of getting back in transition. Oklahoma City turned Golden State's half-hearted attempts at creating second shots into points, hauling in defensive rebounds and racing the other way before the Warriors' bigs (and sometimes guards) could get back and set up.
It was a great example of how the Thunder can leverage their incomparable athleticism, but it was also one the Warriors exacerbated. Golden State must either swear off crashing the offensive glass or do it with enough commitment to make the gamble worthwhile.
Splitting the difference got the Warriors diced up for 29 fast-break points in Game 3.
No more half-measures.
The "Ultimate Resourcefulness" Award
Winner: LeBron James
You're not supposed to thrive in the modern, spaced-out, three-happy, jump-shooting NBA if your perimeter shot is busted.
Nobody told LeBron James.
During the regular season, LBJ hit just over 30 percent of his jump shots, per NBASavant.com. That's bad.
Broken stroke be damned, James just keeps getting into the paint—despite opponents knowing that's the only place he can score. Remember Game 1 against Toronto?
John Schuhmann of NBA.com, who determined earlier this season James was the league's worst high-volume jump shooter, was impressed:
So should we all be. James is getting the shots he wants—the only shots he can make—at will. Knowing where he wants to score is a whole lot harder than keeping him from scoring.
That's ridiculous resourcefulness.
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Stats courtesy of NBA.com unless otherwise indicated and accurate through games played May 23.
