CornerCube's 2019 NBA Team of The Year Award!

The Economist, a weekly world news periodical, every December reveals its “Country of the Year.” Now the countries picked are not always world powers or economic tycoons. The Economist basis its choosing off of “a country, of any size, that has changed notably for the better in the past 12 months, or made the world brighter.” The good workers at CornerCube have decided that they would like to do something similar to The Economist’s “Country of the Year,” but with an NBA team instead. Therefore, this article shall be known as the “Cornercube’s NBA Team of the Year Award.”

That’s right. This is not just some paltry recognition article but rather an award that an NBA team can hoist up alongside its championship banners in their arena’s rafters. There is no doubt that the New York Knicks’ ludicrous, cocaine infused owner, who was made rich from his father, James Dolan, will, after only reading these two short paragraphs believe that his meaningless franchise has a snow ball’s chance in Hell at winning the first CCNTOTYA (“ConerCube NBA Team of The Year Award.”).  That’s right; we believe this award is so deserving that it rightly earns its own abbreviations.  So, before James Dolan indulges in a celebratory line of coke, let it be known that the deplorable New York Knicks did NOT win the CCNTOTYA.

In fact, it should be known that there are actual and legitimate requirements to be considered a potential CCNTOTYA finalist. The first requirement is that a team must have made the playoffs. The NBA permits the top eight teams from each conference to enter that year’s playoff series. Therefore, the first requirement eliminates fourteen teams from being even initially considered.  Admittedly one qualm I do have with the NBA playoff format is the fact that it allows more than half the league to be in the playoffs. Sixteen teams out of a 30-team league is far too many. An eight seed, the lowest seed, has only upset a one seed five times and it has become even rarer after the NBA moved from best out of five game series to be best out of seven for first round games.

The second requirements is that for a team to be a finalist it must have won more games in that year’s regular season than it had lost. It is understandable to feel that this second requirement is both repetitive and frivolous. The logical thinking goes is that if a team made the playoffs, it should have won more games than it lost. However, because the NBA permits more than half its league to be in its playoffs and the fact that the NBA lacks plurality throughout its league, there are typically a few teams that are in the playoffs but with losing or .500 records. Ironically and thankfully, there was only one playoff team who was unable to earn a winning record – Detroit Pistons. Below are this year’s finalists:

2019 CCNTOTYA Finalists (Based off Requirements 1 & 2)
Western Conference	Eastern Conference
Golden State Warriors	Milwaukee Bucks
Denver Nuggets	Toronto Raptors
Portland Trailblazers	Philadelphia 76ers
Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Utah Jazz	Indiana Pacers
Oklahoma City Thunder	Brooklyn Nets
San Antonio Spurs	Orlando Magic
Los Angeles Clippers

 

Similar to The Economists “Country of the Year,” the CCNTOTYA is not decided by the team with the best record or most glamorous statistics. If it was, Golden State would be the award winners each year, and not to brag, but the CornerCube likes to believe its award choosing is more unpredictable than the NBA Playoffs (i.e. it’s not a given that Golden State will win every year). Further, CornerCube does not like to relate to “rogue teams.” In this case Golden State is the closest team to, say, a rogue state. In other words, Golden State is the China of the NBA. After Golden State’s historic 2016 season in which they won the most regular season games in the history of the NBA but lost to Lebron James and his Cavaliers in the finals, Golden State resorted to buying talent to defeat Lebron. Golden State, even with its record breaking team, was unable to defeat the greatest player in the NBA. So they decided to woo an NBA MVP, Kevin Durant, away from his former team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, to create a “mega team” in the Bay Area. Golden State is therefore like China, a country praised for its “innovation and economic winnings” but in reality, uses aggressive and ruthless trade tactics to acquire foreign trade secrets and technologies. Hence, because the CornerCube believes in the rules of a liberal world order and free trade, it will not stand to congratulate Golden State for its deplorable winning tactics.

 

Milwaukee, Toronto, and Philadelphia are all eliminated from contention. Not because they are bad actors but because what they have done this year is expected and has been routine. For instance, Toronto has been in the playoffs since the 2013/2014 season and has been ranked as either the Eastern Conference’s first seed or second seed in three of their last four playoff appearances. The Philadelphia 76ers have become dominant after years of “tanking”, but again they have managed to grab the same seed in the playoffs as they did last year – third seed. The CornerCube will admit that they are pleased to see Milwaukee, a Midwestern team, hold the highest seed in the Eastern Conference, but like Toronto and Philadelphia, this wasn’t a surprise. These teams each met expectations, but none of them exceeded expectations.

 

2019 CCNTOTYA Finalists
Western Conference	Eastern Conference
Golden State Warriors	Milwaukee Bucks
Denver Nuggets	Toronto Raptors
Portland Trailblazers	Philadelphia 76ers
Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Utah Jazz	Indiana Pacers
Oklahoma City Thunder	Brooklyn Nets
San Antonio Spurs	Orlando Magic
Los Angeles Clippers

 

 

Next are the teams who failed to live up to expectations either due to injuries or disgruntlements within the locker room. Boston, for all intents and purposes, was thought to be a one seed in the Eastern Conference, but after head scratching losses, poor production at times out of their star rookie from last year, Jayson Tatum, and Kyrie Irving’s injuries/drama, they fell all the way to the fourth seed in the East. Furthermore, the psychological blunder that the team had endured after the media speculated that Boston could deal several of its young stars for New Orleans’ prime center, Anthony Davis, is also a culprit to their surprising losses. Houston, a team a year ago just one game from going to the finals, now finds itself at the four seed as well.  Although they have James Harden, who again will be named the league’s MVP, it seems that is all they are going to be remembered for. Chris Paul, their aging point guard, and Clint Capella, their star center, both have battled injuries this year and it was only thanks to James Harden that they were able to cling to the seed they are in now. Finally, Oklahoma City Thunder is a team who always seems to be a threat, but of late, gets eliminated quickly from the playoffs. It is remarkable how they are able to capture primetime TV coverage throughout the regular season.  This may be due to their outspoken and eccentric point guard, Russell Westbrook, more so than their actual play on the court. These teams this year have created a lot of noise and received a lot of coverage, but that might be all they are able create.

 

2019 CCNTOTYA Finalists
Western Conference	Eastern Conference
Golden State Warriors	Milwaukee Bucks
Denver Nuggets	Toronto Raptors
Portland Trailblazers	Philadelphia 76ers
Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Utah Jazz	Indiana Pacers
Oklahoma City Thunder	Brooklyn Nets
San Antonio Spurs	Orlando Magic
Los Angeles Clippers

 

 

The Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Clippers should be applauded for making the playoffs but that is all they should be applauded for. Although Orlando Magic, since Dwight Howard left, has been nearing NBA obscurity, they managed to win a division that only consisted of one team with a winning record – themselves. The Southeast division is comprised of the Washington Wizards, Atlanta Hawks, Miami Heat, Charlotte Hornets and Orlando Magic. This division was so bad that the people at CornerCube had to look up which teams were even in that division. The same could be said for the Los Angeles Clippers who play in the Pacific Division. Now although the Clippers play in the same division as Golden State, that may be the only team they play in their division, as the Clippers and Golden State were the only two team from the Pacific division to muster a winning regular season record. However, as an aside, the Clippers head coach, Doc Rivers, should be given a lot of credibility for managing to get his team a winning record, considering their roster is mediocre.

 

The Portland Trailblazers, San Antonio Spurs, and Utah Jazz have become, what will be named as “filler” for the Western Conference playoff bracket. In other words, they are there to give the fans some excitement but for the most part they probably won’t muster anything past the second round. Each of these teams might make it close with the team they are going against, but none of them are legitimate contenders to make it to the finals, nor have either of them gone above expectations. San Antonio does deserve praise for dealing with the drama that Kawhi Leonard put them through and came out on top with the trade for Toronto’s All-Star, Demar DeRozan. However, San Antonio found itself again in the seventh seed. The Portland Trail Blazers did manage to win a playoff game this year, and thus avoided being swept in the first round like they have done in the two previous years. However, winning a game in the playoff series is not grounds for receiving the CCNTOTYA. Both teams are threats to make the playoffs interesting but it may just last for a series. The Utah Jazz made a splash last year by making the playoffs with their rookie, Donovan Mitchell. If the CCNTOTYA was around last year, this team would have received it. However, the award wasn’t around and the Jazz have mustered to receive the Western Conference’s fifth seed for the third season in a row. Although consistency is a hard skill to replicate, it is not enough to earn the CCNTOTYA.

 

2019 CCNTOTYA Finalists
Western Conference	Eastern Conference
Golden State Warriors	Milwaukee Bucks
Denver Nuggets	Toronto Raptors
Portland Trailblazers	Philadelphia 76ers
Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Utah Jazz	Indiana Pacers
Oklahoma City Thunder	Brooklyn Nets
San Antonio Spurs	Orlando Magic
Los Angeles Clippers

 

 

Now it is down to the three finalists – Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, and Brooklyn Nets. Each of these three teams have not been on prime-time TV as much as they probably should have been. The Indiana Pacers are a team that took the 2018 Lebron led Cavs to a game seven of the opening round of the playoffs, but lost. Further, although the Pacers have again landed the fifth seed, like they did last year, they did it without their only “nationally recognizable” player – Victor Oladipo (who was also their only all-star selection). This deserves accolades, as most people wrote the Pacers off as soon as he ruptured his quad tendon. No one deserves the praise more than their head coach, Nate McMillan, as he seems to not be afraid to coach his team. This is a rarity in a league in which the players run most teams and also the league as well. Finally, the Pacers can credit their ability to win in another phase of the NBA that is a rarity – a willingness to play good defense. The Pacers finished the year as the third best defense. With all the adversity that the Pacers overcame, it is hard not to think that their brilliance may be due more to the fact that Lebron has left their division, than their actual team’s skill. They are a team that no one wants to play in the post-season, but, as history has shown, a team that lacks an all-star on its floor doesn’t usually stand a chance to win a championship. Further, the Pacers deserve praise for continuing to win without Oladipo.  But the fact that they finished in the same spot as last year, begs the question whether Oladipo was really that big of a boost.

 

The Denver Nuggets are a team that snuck up on the entire NBA. Led by their All-Star Serbian Center, Nikola Jokic and their point guard, Jamal Murray the Nuggets managed to earn the second seed in the Western Conference and had a shot at the first seed too. This team lacks the name recognition that Houston, Golden State, or even Oklahoma City might garner, but they are no team to discount. Mike Malone, the head coach, has improved this team from a winning percentage of 34%, back in 2013/2014, and has progressively gotten the team better each year since. In 2018 the team held a winning percentage of 65.9%. They are sixth best offense and the tenth best defense in the league and that is respectable considering they play in the NBA’s tougher conference – Western Conference. Although the Denver Nuggets went from missing the playoffs the previous year to being the second seed, it should not be ignored that Denver only missed the 2017/2018 playoffs in failing to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves in the last game of the regular season. Their vast improvement is respectable but not surprising. Their accomplishments should not go unnoticed but they will finish as the first CCNTOTYA runner-up. Congratulations.

 

As much as the CornerCube hates to boost up the ego any more than New York City needs it to be boosted already, the first ever CCNTOTYA goes to the Brooklyn Nets. An obscure franchise that was for a while best known for its minority owner, and rapper, Jay-Z, than for any talent they produced on the court. The Nets also were known for being on, what now looks to be, the losing end of the worst trade in NBA history. Not only did the Nets give up three unprotected first-round picks, in 2013, for aging Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Jason Terry, but they also gave up their future to their division rival – Boston Celtics. Now the Celtics look to be a young fresh team and the credit goes to the Nets back in 2013 for providing an infusion of youth and talent to the Celtics. In turn, the fact that the Nets were able to jump from finishing, in 2017/2018, 12^th in the Eastern Conference to finishing, this year, as the six seed is respectable and ahead of schedule. Further, not only are the Nets back to relevance but so is D’Angelo Russell, a former first overall pick by the Lakers back in 2015, who is now looking like, well, a first overall pick. Russell made the NBA All-Star team this year. In addition, the team has won with not only the help from Russell, but the likes of Ed Davis, Joe Harris, Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert. Finally, and what is most inspiring is the Nets made this turnaround without having to “tank” in previous seasons (unlike the team they are playing now in the playoffs – Philadelphia 76ers). Rather because of the trade in 2013 the Nets were forced into developing a team through pure acumen and strategy rather than “tanking and picking.” Now Brooklyn looks to be a destination for a possible premier All-Star, especially with the young talent like Russell, LeVert, and Allen who will only get better in the years to come. Congratulations to the Brooklyn Nets for being the 2018/2019 CornerCube NBA Team of The Year Award recipients!

 

2019 CCNTOTYA Finalists
Western Conference	Eastern Conference
Golden State Warriors	Milwaukee Bucks
Denver Nuggets	Toronto Raptors
Portland Trailblazers	Philadelphia 76ers
Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Utah Jazz	Indiana Pacers
Oklahoma City Thunder	Brooklyn Nets
San Antonio Spurs	Orlando Magic
Los Angeles Clippers