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Cornelissen’s NBA Awards Ballot: How do the Cavs factor in?

By Josh Cornelissen

Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers and Darius Garland, Cleveland Cavaliers. Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images
Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers and Darius Garland, Cleveland Cavaliers. Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images /
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Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics. Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images /

My NBA Award Ballot: All-NBA Teams

First Team: Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic

My MVP ballot except Joel Embiid is bumped to the Second Team center, allowing Luka Doncic to step up onto the First Team guard line. I know many will put Embiid and Jokic on the First Team because they are technically eligible at center and forward, but neither played anything but center this season. Until the rule is changed about positional designations we follow those rules.

Second Team: Ja Morant, Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, DeMar DeRozan, Joel Embiid

Devin Booker is the best player on the league’s best team, and Ja Morant claims that title for the league’s second-best. Kevin Durant has been good enough to be on the First Team but missed too much time. DeMar DeRozan resurrected his career with an incredible shot-making season to drive the Chicago Bulls this year.

Third Team: Trae Young, Chris Paul, LeBron James, Pascal Siakam, Karl-Anthony Towns

This was where the difficult decisions came in. Trae Young was the only clear lock, as he has had a sublime offensive season for the league’s second-best offense. Yet the best offensive player on the league’s best offense, the Utah Jazz, just misses out here to Chris Paul, the cool conductor of the 64-18 Phoenix Suns. Utah also misses out at center, with Karl-Anthony Towns leading the Minnesota Timberwolves back into the postseason for just the second time in 18 seasons and getting the nod over Rudy Gobert.

The forward lines see a big drop-off to five and six this season. LeBron James logged a lot of empty calories on a Los Angeles Lakers team going nowhere, and he is the only All-NBA player on a non-play-in team. Yet he still rates favorably by most advanced metrics and he very nearly led the league in scoring, so The King gets a spot. Then Pascal Siakam makes it over Jimmy Butler or Bam Adebayo, which seems insane that no one from the No. 1 seed in the East will be on the list. These are difficult decisions to be made.

Honorable Mentions: Donovan Mitchell, Fred VanVleet, Jrue Holiday, Darius Garland, Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Rudy Gobert

The Cavs: Darius Garland gets an honorable mention here as a “fifth team” guard, having a breakout year that is not only impressive statistically but absolutely vital to anything the Cavs wished to accomplish. As the Cavs continue to grow as a team he should be a perennial part of the All-NBA discussions moving forward. Jarrett Allen could be a candidate at center but faces the steep competition in a league ruled by Jokic and Embiid right now.