Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell missed the game against the Suns due to injury, and Porzingis missed the game against the Trail Blazers due to injury. They both missed the game for the 18th time this season, so their attendance this season will be limited. If you reach 65 games, you will not be able to participate in all award selections.
espn labor agreement expert Bobby Marks came up with a list of 21 people who were not eligible to participate in major award selections due to the new 65-game attendance rule. It seems that the pool of award candidates this season has been reduced a lot because of the new rules. But in fact, the so-called "21-man roster" is even bigger. Because a large part of them will not be able to participate in the award competition even if they meet the 65 new rules.
65 The biggest controversial point of the new rules is that the rules are too strict, which may prevent some players who performed well during the season from receiving honors, especially some players who are facing super-maximum contract extensions. They may face a double loss of honors and money. .
This season, many people complained about the new rules of 65 games. So, how much impact will the new 65-game rule have on this season’s award selection? Will it overshadow the awards selection?
mvp selection
Embiid's performance and leadership record before the injury were definitely at MVP level, but unfortunately, Embiid suffered a knee injury and had surgery. Embiid has only played 34 games so far. Even if he comes back at some point at the end of the season, his attendance rate will be difficult to exceed 45 games. With such an attendance rate, he is not qualified to compete for mvp no matter which season he puts it.
It is a pity that Embiid has withdrawn, but the competition between Jokic and Alexander is still fierce. Jokic currently has the advantage, but until the end, no one dares to say whether Alexander can complete the lead.
In addition, no matter who is elected mvp this season, he deserves it. The new 65-game rule does not eliminate many better options and pushes stars who are some distance away from the mvp to a position that should not belong to them. What's more, in previous years, MVP-level stars have withdrawn from the competition due to injuries, and Embiid is not an exception. It makes no sense to blame the new regulations.
Best lineup selection
Best lineup selection will be affected to some extent, but in fact, the impact is not as serious as emphasized by the rhetoric of "21 people will not be able to compete". Among these 21 people, the only ones who can compete for the best team are Randall, Embiid, and Mitchell. If Towns, Trae Young, and Booker also fall in, the pool of candidates for the best team will be 6 short.
But will the All-NBA selection be greatly affected? Let’s take a look at the remaining candidate pool first.
The basically uncontroversial stars selected for the All-NBA Team include:
Alexander, Antetokounmpo, Doncic, Jokic, Leonard, James, Durant, Curry, Tatum, Davis, Edwards . This already accounts for 11 places. It needs to be emphasized that there are no position restrictions in the selection of the best team this season. Haliburton is currently in a pending state, and there is still a certain probability that he will not be able to meet the new 65-game rule.
The remaining spots are competed by George, Brunson, Lillard, Fox, Jaylen Brown, Sasha, Gobert, Zion, Ingram and others. Taking into account the team's record and performance, these players are also eligible to be selected for the best team.
Best Defensive Team
In fact, the selection of the Best Defensive Team is the most affected. Embiid, Green, Smart, Anunoby, Porzingis, and Ivan Mobley were all extremely There is hope of being selected for the All-Defensive Team. Originally, there were only two sets of 10 spots in the All-Defensive Team. Now there are 6 strong candidates missing, and the All-Defensive Team has become much more difficult to produce.
In this era, defense is not encouraged, and there are not many outstanding defenders. Now the remaining candidates are Caruso, Gobert, Alexander, Suggs, Herbert Jones, Leonard, Antetokounmpo, Pope, McDaniels, Edwards, Davis, Holiday, Jarrett Allen, Adebayo. Bunyama's defensive deterrence is sufficient, but unfortunately the team's poor record makes it difficult to enter the discussion.
Conclusion
Overall, the 65-game new rule has not caused a lot of controversy in the selection of mvp and best team. On the contrary, the selection of best defensive team has been greatly affected, and there will definitely be more controversy this year.It was previously reported that both labor and management are still considering whether to optimize the new 65-game rules. After this year's awards, both parties may modify the details to make the rules more reasonable.
