At some point, the 2019-20 NBA season will either continue on in some extremely limited fashion or be cancelled all together. There's little clarity right now regarding which of those two options is the most likely, which is understandable considering it has proven difficult to predict how the coronavirus pandemic is going to play out over the coming weeks and months, but at some point, one of those two things is going to happen.
After it's decided how the 2019-20 season will end, the NBA will move on to handing out hardware for post-season awards. A disappointing season will almost surely result in members of the Trail Blazers missing out on most of those accolades, though Damian Lillard, who has averaged 28.9 points on 46 percent shooting from the field and 39 percent shooting from three, 7.8 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.0 steals in 36.9 minutes per game this season, will at least be in the running for All-NBA honors.
But while he's not going to win Most Valuable Player -- that honor will go to either Giannis Antetokounmpo or LeBron James -- ESPN's Zach Lowe, on a recent edition of "The Lowe Post" podcast, put him fourth on his current ballot despite Portland's record. However, Bill Simmons, Lowe's guest on this episode, did not...
Simmons then states that All-NBA, rather than Most Valuable Player, as a better way to reward great players on so-so teams, which seems like an incredibly reasonable take. After all, most every player would prefer making an All-NBA team over simply finishing in the running for MVP. One is an actual award, the other is a piece of trivia.
You can listen to the entire episode here if you want to know who else Lowe and Simmons have on their respective ballots.