The Man, The Myth, The Legend: Stephen GrahaMVP
by NBRITM on Apr 12, 2011 12:16 PM EDT
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PrintSince we're nearing the end of the Nets' season, I figured it'd be the right time to take a look back and reminisce on what was a great season. Despite a slow start (and slower finish), the Nets were able to acquire arguably the league's best point-guard and have much to look forward to with Barclays Center's completion ahead of schedule and the promise of luring Dwight Howard looming in the near future.
The Nets opened the season strong with a 2-0 start; there were many who believed that Nets would make the playoffs this season and the fast start only ignited the fire. The fire was quickly put out though, as the Nets lost their next five games and never saw .500 again. The team struggled amidst trade rumors surrounding one of the NBA's best scorers, Carmelo Anthony, the team's young and promising power-forward, Derrick Favors, and their disgruntled point-guard, Devin Harris. Despite the copious number of rumors centered on the likely acquisition of Carmelo Anthony by the Nets -- with two separate trades being deemed as a "done-deal" twice -- it never came to fruition. Anthony joined the Nets' cross-river rivals, your New York Knickerbockers. All was not lost though, as Nets GM Billy King was able to swing a deal for the Jazz's Deron Williams for what was less than what the Nets were reportedly giving up for Carmelo Anthony. Nets fans were ecstatic, the future looked bright and all signs pointed towards Deron Williams remaining with the team past the conclusion of his deal. The Nets played out the remainder of season, in hopes that the following one would be drastically different as Williams would be able to attract impact players to join him bring the Nets into Brooklyn.
All in all, it was a great season: The Nets had traded for the league's best point guard, Kris Humphries showed marginal improvement and is likely to remain with the team, Brook Lopez overcame his early struggles to finish the season on a relatively strong note, Nets fans were given the privilege of watching Travis Outlaw and Johan Petro on a nightly basis, but most importantly we were graced by Stephen Graham's presence. All that needs to be known about Mr. Stephen Graham can be seen in his nickname -- GrahaMVP. The decision to anoint Graham as the team's MVP for the 2010-2011 season was unanimous amongst Nets fans. We all know that we were lucky to even take part in the pure awesomeness that is -- Stephen Graham.
From his clutch-shooting:
via www.nba.com
To his renowned defense:
via www.nypost.com
To his relentless penetration:
via www.thirdage.com
To his mentorship of the team's young players:
There's no doubt that Graham was the Nets' most valuable player. Not only did he produce at an elite level on the court, but he also provided the leadership and hard-working mentality inside the locker-room that coach Avery Johnson believed he could bring when he made the controversial decision to take his talents to Newark. It's just a shame that the Nets won't be able to bring him back next season; Graham is a free-agent this offseason (apparently, the Nets have a team-option, but that's not as fun) and with the pool as thin as it is, it's likely that he'll command a near max-salary. The Nets just can't afford to retain him when they have another star at his position in Travis Outlaw.
Let's just take a look at Graham's numbers to put into perspective how good of a season he had:
PPG - 3.2
APG - 0.7
RPG - 2.1
BPG - 0.0
SPG - 0.2
eFG% - 0.408
PER - 4.19
VA - (-87.3)
WS/48 - (-0.017)
AND-1's - 576
Amazing. To think that he was able to give the team 576 AND-1's in one season is just mind-boggling. We'll miss you Stephen Graham and we'll always remember that we...
... Were all witnesses.
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you worked way too hard on this
by SadNetsFan on Apr 12, 2011 12:20 PM EDT via mobile reply actions 1 recs
Pitiful
AND-1’s – 576
The Nets have "D-Will" to win!!!
by BrooksBridges11 on Apr 12, 2011 12:34 PM EDT reply actions
I laughed when I got to the Damion James / MVP pic.
"This isn’t fantasy or rotisserie basketball. Why would Denver want Outlaw? Would you?"
Not a chance
That would mean he averages 7 and-1’s per game over an 82 game season.
Section 18, Row 7 at The Rock!
"Your 2010-2011 New Jersey Nets - It Is What It Is"
It's somewhat believable
The Nets have "D-Will" to win!!!
by BrooksBridges11 on Apr 12, 2011 2:37 PM EDT up reply actions
I would
Condense this, but yeah, it’s pretty much what I’ve been thinking all along. Graham is literally the worst small forward/shooting guard in the NBA. It’s disgraceful that King allowed Avery to give 15 minutes a game to a mascot with no future when the goal is “a championship in 5 years.” This isn’t a tenured union, it’s a massive rebuilding project.
I look forward to the Nets acquiring Joey Graham next season in an effort to build roster chemistry.
www.twitter.com/robertjamis
Make a fan post about me next, If Graham deserves one
Commmmmme Onnnnnnn, can anyone disagree? lol
"Most people on this board are like a broken clock, Only right two times a day"
Send him to NBA D-league
Billy,Billy,Billy King what you waiting for send this Guy to NBA development league,this guy does not deserve to be in Nets roster.
Development league?
What could he possibly develop?
"Chuckers ain't champions" -- James Naismith, 1891
by calling all toasters on Apr 13, 2011 2:17 AM EDT up reply actions
Biggest FAIL of 2011
This right here almost made me break my TV
"Most people on this board are like a broken clock, Only right two times a day"
by Shameer1016 on Apr 14, 2011 12:51 AM EDT up reply actions
Rare footage of Stephen Graham as a child
Section 18, Row 7 at The Rock!
"Your 2010-2011 New Jersey Nets - It Is What It Is"
by eLonepb on Apr 12, 2011 4:35 PM EDT reply actions 7 recs
Wow ... poor kid
I want to laugh hard but its so embarrassing for the little guy.
"The trade that usually happens is the one you never hear about" - Net Income
Wasted Minutes
I think there were times that Avery played Graham, when he had other options, because I am guessing that Graham worked really hard in practice, and was a good team player. But he had/has no upside, and won’t be here next year. However, Avery finally started to give him DNPs at one point, playing DJAMES instead. It just shows you how bad OUTLAW has been this year, that Avery would rather play Graham, then let OUTLAW play his way back from the Twilight Zone. Graham’s Defense looked good, compared to others, but it was all effort, and not talent. The few wins we had this year, were more about effort, and less about talent. Avery can’t make our players more talented. What he did, most of the time, is get the most out of what he had to work with. There were 6-10 games that we lost, that if guys could have made last second plays, we could have won. But would 33 wins have meant anything more this year, than the 24 we got? Only to UTAH, not to us……But Graham, through no fault of his own, is the real definition of journeyman, and on a young team, you want upside or “has been” with something left in the tank. Graham is neither.
Paul from Sunny Delray Beach, Florida
Wow
ROFL
This is hilarious. Great Job
Official Member of the "Travis OutLOL Society". 5 years, 35 Million Dollars worth of lulz.
"We are all witnesses"
The Nets have "D-Will" to win!!!
by BrooksBridges11 on Apr 12, 2011 7:29 PM EDT reply actions 5 recs
LMFAO
Dumbest move of the season in the NBA.
"Most people on this board are like a broken clock, Only right two times a day"
at least he wasn't the worst player on the team...
that honor goes to the 35mm man. a true travesty. not sure if they’ll have the parade for him in starkville over the summer. he needs to work hard on just being average.
Most teams have several Stephan Grahams on them
And that’s OK. Everyone can’t be a star. Or even be terribly good. But most teams don’t let their Stephan Grahams average 16 mpg or start 27 games. That falls on Avery’s head. I’m surprised that the commenters on this site – which seem united in their dislike of one of the best young centers (Lopez) in the league and who constantly diminish the best rebounders in the game (Hump) are so un-critical of Avery. Johnson poisoned the team’s relationship with Harris, failed to get Lopez to meet his potential (why is a muscular 7 foot guy constantly hanging out 15 feet from the basket?) and failed to get the Nets to play at or above their potential. And yet he gave a guy like Graham more starts in one year (27) than he had in his prior seven years (15). Graham played 77% more minutes per game this year above his career average. And Graham managed to play worse than his (very modest) career figures indicated he was capable of playing.
I never expected this team to win a ring this year, but I think they were capable of winning more than 24 games and I think the Coach – more than anyone else – should be held accountable. There was nothing about the Nets this year that indicated that they were well-coached. I realize talent is the most important thing, but coaching is next on the list. A great coach can make a team with modest talent good. A poor coach can make that same team bad. Well, Nets fans, do you think the Nets were good this year?
Most teams may have a Graham or two but
this team was supposed to be different. We got a billionaire Russian owner DAMMIT! Not only that but the PF’s girlfriend is hot and we were promised a ring within 5 years.
Everything should have happened already.
Is Avery Johnson the new Eric Mangini in this town?
I expect he’ll stick around until the team is ready to go…then he’ll be unceremoniously fired for a louder, more boisterous, people friendly personality.
I don't blame Avery for Graham playing that much
I blame injuries (James/Morrow) , T.Will , Morrow not defending at times , Sasha chucking at times , and Outlaw’s garbage play for Graham getting that much playing time. I don’t mind that he can send a message to the other guys that if you don’t play right or well , Graham might get in and you’ll be watching MVP from the sidelines for a bit. He’s holding these career bench guys accountable for the big picture when and if they start to get NBA starters.
Lopez hangs out at 15 feet to set picks , draw a big away from the basket and open up lanes because he is a capable shooter ….. and he was clearly not as strong as he used to be. It looks like he needs to put on at least 15 pounds or he’s just going to get pushed out of the paint anyway (wings don’t get him the ball on time as it is in the post when he does get good position).
Has Avery made some mistakes? Sure. But I think the blame should be spread around a little more evenly between the players themselves , coaches , circumstances (so many new players / injuries) , and overall lack of talent.
Hopefully some of the players that remain with the team that didn’t play up to snuff get their act together , they get more talent and experienced players , Avery gets better , and they can be a bit more healthy. It’s going to take a lot to have a great team.
"This isn’t fantasy or rotisserie basketball. Why would Denver want Outlaw? Would you?"
by strange-brew on Apr 13, 2011 11:31 AM EDT up reply actions
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/statistics/_/order/false
Stephen Graham has the lowest PER in the NBA.
212sports.com/pros/nets
Getting Better All the Time?
I’m sure the Nets will get better (they couldn’t get much worse.) Although I’m not so optimistic that Avery will. Players (or at least the ones that are good/great) evolve – at least for their first few years in the league – that’s what happens with simply being on the court and learning the game. But I’m less convinced that Avery will evolve and be better. He strikes me as rather hard-headed and set in his ways – it’s as if the players must play as he wants them to rather than him designing a system that best works for the players’ talents. I realize this latter approach has worked out OK for Phil Jackson, but it didn’t work this past year in NJ. I know that coaches tend to look brilliant when they have great players and when they don’t have great players, they don’t look so brilliant, but I wonder … if the Nets had Greg Popovich as their coach, would they have won 24 games? Of course, it’s just speculation on my part, but I think they would’ve done a bit better.
I realize this is one of those “there’s no wrong or right answer” things but I’m really concerned that Avery is not the right General for this team.
Hollinger Stat
Just looked at the Hollinger link. What a shock to see who’s at #2!
Why do the Nets like twins?
First there was a Collins, then a Lopez, and now a Graham?
"Most people on this board are like a broken clock, Only right two times a day"
In before...
“silly” followed by a bunch of excuses and belittling of opinions.
by JohnFromLongIsland on Apr 14, 2011 8:19 AM EDT reply actions
I came across this Nets video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJ0Iz8yx81g&feature=related
And I didn’t see Graham. How did he forget MVP? If you have a youtube account , leave some comments for Graham !
"This isn’t fantasy or rotisserie basketball. Why would Denver want Outlaw? Would you?"
From B Simmons to Graham
From Sean williams to Outlaw.
From Terrence W to Vujacic
I think we made some improvement
Don't think I've ever commented on a NetsDaily post...
….but this was laugh out loud funny.
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