Where’s the love for Dwayne Wade? One vote? Really? Wade, with the right supporting cast, is just as effective as Lebron is. I am absolutely baffled at everyone groveling at the feet of this media and self-pronounced King when he hasn’t won anything. Wade showed that he could get it done in crunch time, hence the championship jewelry to show for it. I mean, sure, Lebron is talented. No one can take that away from him. He just doesn’t have that killer instinct that other players like Kobe and Wade have. He just doesn’t.

When Wade gets hot, you could see it. Take for example his game against the Celtics in the playoffs last spring where he was torching the net. He looked at his hand and proclaimed that it was hot! When Kobe gets hot, you can just see the reckless abandoned look in his eyes. He knows that he is going to score and no one can stop him.

People will think I am spouting blasphemy here, but Dwyane Wade is every bit as good as Lebron James. Both of these guys are born bread scorers and distributors. I think they will play well off of each other this coming year. Chris Bosh will probably be averaging 25+ points a game because of the open and easy buckets he will get from the defense scrambling trying to contain James and Wade. All I’m saying is stop proclaiming James to be the godsend of modern basketball and take a closer look at the teammate he has who has already been to the mountaintop of basketball glory.

By Josh Delp of the Sports Fan Blog Network

Defense is the epitome of a successful team. Without it, a team does not win, simply put. Usually there is an anchor on any great defensive team, and usually it is a big man. The Magic have the ball devouring Dwight Howard. The Spurs have the lane-clogging, shot-altering Tim Duncan.

However, there has been a new trend of shifty little men disrupting passing lanes and playing great defense using their lateral quickness. Players that have shaped the mold for their teams include Chris Paul of the Hornets and Rajon Rondo of the Celtics. These guys disrupt an offense to the point of the play bankruptcy.

Dwight Howard has won the defensive player of the year award in back-to-back seasons. He is the first player in league history to lead the league in rebounds and blocked shots in the same season twice. Better yet, he has done it in back-to-back seasons. The question is, can he do it again? There is no slowing down for this guy. I think he will win it again this year unless Andrew Bogut of the Bucks can duplicate what Howard has done. He had a solid year last year until his horrific elbow injury sidelined him for the season. Josh Smith will always be a contender to win the award, but until proven otherwise, this is Howard’s to lose right now. He is a defensive juggernaut.

Up next is my pick for the most improved player. Stay tuned.

By Josh Delp of the Sports Fan Blog Network

Throughout the coming days, I will take a look at the upcoming 2010-2011 NBA season. Among the topics being covered include individual awards such as rookie of the year, sixth man of the year, defensive player of the year, most improved player, and most valuable player. Following these awards, I will try my hand at some teams that are poised to surprise some people as well as predict the eight playoff spots for each conference. Finally, I will assess the conference champions and delve into the NBA champion, which seems to be a two team race for the crown at this point, or so everyone says.

Up first is the always unpredictable rookie of the year. Blake Griffin, DeMarcus Cousins, John Wall, Wesley Johnson, Derrick Favors, Evan Turner… One could go insane trying to predict who will actually win it. A lot of experts like Griffin, who was last year’s number one pick, but he has to stay healthy first. He doesn’t have the easiest competition either. John Wall is the sexy pick, but I think Evan Turner is an excellent pro prospect. It will be interesting to see how he will play alongside near replica Andre Iguodala in Philly. There is always the wild cards in Cousins, Johnson, and Favors to consider as well.

I want to say Evan Turner will win the ROY, but the team he was drafted by is preventing me from doing so. Unless new coach Doug Collins plays Turner and Iguodala at the same time, it will be tough for both players to get 40+ minutes. I am going to go with Blake Griffin. He will do all he can to revive the Clippers. He’s such a physical specimen. He is poised to play well after sitting out all of last year. Let’s just hope he can stay healthy or we will be seeing a Greg Oden-esque career.

Stay tuned for my pick for the defensive player of the year.

By Josh Delp of the Sports Fan Blog Network