Whoa, people! Whoa!
Just got back from dinner, and boy, people must be bored tonight.
I will admit I made a huge mistake in my postseason ballot - a HUGE mistake - and I corrected it. There is no way I should have put Kevin Durant on the third team ahead of Tim Duncan. Have no idea what I was thinking. I have notified the NBA to change my ballot to reflect Duncan as third team forward in place of Durant.
Now as far as Brandon Roy on the third team behind Deron Williams ...
You all might be right. I never said it was an easy choice for me, and I never said it was the right choice.
I think most of you who follow my coverage of the team through The Oregonian, the Quick Chats on OregonLive and my segments on The Fan all know what I think of Roy. I think he is amazing. Exceptional. One of the best around.
I also happen to have as much respect for Deron Williams.
Now, there are a couple of factors that clouded my decision, which probably aren't fair, but as you all know, I'm pretty straightforward and not afraid to admit mistakes. I make them all the time.
First off, I will admit there was some extra caution in trying NOT to be a homer. I try to check myself throughout the year in whether I'm becoming biased toward a Blazers player, coach or front office personnel. Am I looking and evaluating these people as I would say, a person from the Lakers ... or Bucks ... or Nets? So yeah, there was probably an element - an element - of me not wanting to show favoritism toward Roy.
Second, I will admit that I probably allowed past performances to cloud my pick of Williams for second team. This honor, and vote, should be about this season.
But Williams won me over during the 2007 playoffs, when he led the Jazz to the Western Conference Finals while averaging 19.2 points and 8.6 assists. Then again, last season, he was brilliant in the playoffs, averaging 21.6 points and 10 assists in 12 playoff games. And he was an Olympian. All of that sticks with me when I think of him.
Also, I tend to think that a player who is among the NBA's top two in points, rebounding or assists needs strong consideration for high placement on the All-NBA teams. Of course, there are exceptions, like this season when Troy Murphy and David Lee are second and third in rebounding. But Williams is second in the NBA in assists at 10.6 while his main go-to-guy - Carlos Boozer - has missed more than half of the season. Williams is also averaging a steady 19.4 points.
And a third point, I should not have waited until the last second to do my ballot. In the past I have taken great strides to crunch numbers and weigh options. This season I was more rushed.
So I hear all of you saying the Blazers won more games, and Roy won more player of the week honors, and that Roy is an All-Star and Williams is not.
You may be right saying Roy deserves the second team before Williams. I may be wrong. But that's how I voted. And that's why I voted the way I did. And it wasn't an easy vote. But it's a vote I will stand behind.
I agree with you sir. Deron deserves it. :)
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