All-NBA Teams, MVP Ballot, 2nd Round Results (UPDATED)

Hey guys, I've been real busy the past week and haven't had a chance to post anything between Playoff games and life stuff. I've watched at least a quarter or two of every game, but I haven't missed a single quarter of any Lakers, Boston, or Cleveland games; they're too exciting. I was disappointed by the fact that there was 3 sweeps in the Conference Semis, and it also bothered me that Atlanta put up no fight against the 8-0 Magic. No offense to Orlando, but they haven't been too fun to watch lately (unless you're a fan or really enjoy blowouts).

This post is going to be really long, by the way, because I have a lot of my thoughts that I want to share. First off is the All-NBA Teams. Here are the official teams, and you can find mine below.

2009-10 BasketBlogger All-NBA Teams

FIRST TEAM Position Player, Team (1st Team Votes) Points Forward LeBron James, Cleveland (-) - Forward Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City (-) - Center Dwight Howard, Orlando (-) - Guard Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers (-) - Guard Dwyane Wade, Miami (-) - SECOND TEAM Forward Carmelo Anthony, Denver (-) - Forward Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas (-) - Center Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix (-) - Guard Steve Nash, Phoenix (-) - Guard Rajon Rondo, Boston (-) - THIRD TEAM Forward Josh Smith, Atlanta -- - Forward Pau Gasol, L.A. Lakers -- - Center Tim Duncan, San Antonio -- - Guard Joe Johnson, Atlanta -- - Guard Deron Williams, Utah -- -

No problems with the First Team, but on the Second Team, how did they manage to leave off my boy Rajon Rondo??? This kid has led a team stacked with veterans (and three future Hall of Famers) into the Playoffs (which was expected) almost single-handedly. He's also putting up ridiculous numbers in the postseason that not only spell ALL-STAR, but possibly even SUPERSTAR. Remember that he's only 24, too. 

Tim Duncan made that 3rd Team on the official list, but he was listed as a forward. I changed it to center on mine because Timmy was listed as that on the All-Defensive Teams, and I also think that he was more worthy for the spot than Andrew Bogut, who didn't even make the All-Star Team. That shift gave me room to add another player who didn't make the All-Star Team (which he deserved to make), Josh Smith. 

Moving on, here is the official MVP results, while my own MVP ballot can be seen below (I kept it at 10 players):

2010 BasketBlogger NBA Most Valuable Player Voting

Player, Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Total LeBron James, Cle - - - - - - Kevin Durant, OKC - - - - - - Dwight Howard, Orl - - - - - - Kobe Bryant, LAL - - - - - - Carmelo Anthony, Den - - - - - - Dirk Nowitzki, Dal - - - - - - Steve Nash, Pho - - - - - - Dwyane Wade, Mia - - - - - - Deron Williams, Utah - - - - - - Rajon Rondo, Bos - - - - - -

Finally, below are the results of the Second Round (aka the Conference Semi-Finals), and I scored myself with the procedure I used at the end of the First Round. My guesses are on the left, while the act results are on the right. I gave myself 2 points for every correct prediction (exact number of games, team) and 1 point if I got the correct team. The total score is out of 8.

CLE vs. BOS: Celtics in 7 games.  -Celtics in 6 games.   -CORRECT! (1pt)

ORL vs. ATL: Magic in 6 games.   -Magic in 4 games.   -CORRECT! (1pt)

LAL vs. UTA: Lakers in 6 games.  -Lakers in 4 games.  -CORRECT! (1pt)

PHX vs. SAS: Spurs in 7 games.    -Suns in 4 games.     -WRONG! (0pt)

Completely Correct Predictions: 0/4

Completely Wrong Predictions: 1/4

Eastern Conference Score: 2/4

Western Conference Score: 1/4

Total Score: 3/8

I didn't guess anything completely far-fetched, but I didn't hit anything right on the head. I was expecting Joe Johnson to step up for the Hawks after a poor showing against Milwaukee, but he sadly didn't and it led to a second consecutive year of being swept in the Second Round after barely surviving the First (they went to seven games vs. Miami last year). 

The Lakers showed what they are still capable of after also having a hard time with their First Round opponent. Unlike the Hawks, however, they stepped up in the Second Round and great performances by Kobe Bryant, Ron Artest, Derrick Fisher, and Pau Gasol helped the Lakers prove that they really want another ring this year. Even though the bracket says 4-0, the Jazz fought hard every game and could have came up with at least one win if my boy Wesley Mathews' last second tip in Game 3 was just an inch closer to the rim.

I personally apologize for underestimating the Phoenix Suns so much. I thought they would fight till they lost in the First Round, and then thought they'd do the same in Round Two. I was very wrong. They proved that they could play with the big boys when they swept (yes, swept) the once-mighty Spurs in four bloody games (Steve Nash's eye is proof of the physicality of the games). Good luck with the Lakers, fellas. 

UPDATE: Boston moved on to the Eastern Conference Finals, eliminating Lebron and the Cavaliers. Bron had a slightly off shooting night (8-21 FG), but otherwise he had a superb game, almost getting quadruple-double. He notched 27 pts, 19 rbs, 10 asts, and (!) 9 turnovers. Okay, he could've done without the last part, but the real pain in the *** is the fact that the 61-21 Cavs were eliminated before even reaching the Conf. Finals, which was supposed to be a default. They seemed to lose all hope during the fourth quarter, and with 2 mins left and down by less than 10 points, they didn't even intentionally foul the C's. Is this a sign of the future of the Cavs? Even worse for them, does this prove to Lebron  that he can't win with this team and has to move on? We'll find out soon enough. In the meantime, read this article by John Schuhmann at NBA.com discussing the fact that many of us are forgetting: Boston was the team that was better in the matchup, and they were the ones who actually won the series.