Finalists for the NBA’s top seasonal awards were announced Sunday and the Timberwolves were snubbed across the board.
Chris Finch for coach of the year? Nope. Patrick Beverley was surely a finalist for defensive player of the year? No. Malik Beasley for sixth man? Nuh-uh.
Finch was certainly deserving of the attention for taking the Wolves from 23 to 46 wins and the No. 1 offense in the NBA, but the competition is stiff as Taylor Jenkins (Memphis), Erik Spoelstra (Miami) and Monty Williams (Phoenix) are finalists after leading their teams to first or second place in their respective conferences.
Beverley is arguably the most tenacious, irritating defender in the game but he didn’t garner the respect for defensive player of the year as the three finalists: Mikal Bridges (Phoenix), Rudy Gobert (Utah) and Marcus Smart (Boston).
Enough is enough. Average a block and a steal a game. Top 5 in charges taken. Playoff Team this year. And still no credit for DPOY. 🤦🏾♂️ DEVIL 👿 IS A LIE🙏🏾🙏🏾
— Patrick Beverley (@patbev21) March 2, 2022
Beverley drew 19 charges during the regular season and had two in Game 1 of the playoffs against the Grizzlies. Smart drew 16 charges while Bridges and Gobert had single digits, though the three finalists all had better defensive win shares than Beverley.
Beverley has three All-NBA Defensive teams on his resume, but the selection committee obviously sees him in a different light than Bridges, Gobert and Smart.
Wolves fans could probably make the case for Beasley being one of the league’s best sixth men off the bench because he finished fifth in the NBA with 240 made threes during the regular season, but his overall game doesn’t stack up with the three sixth man finalists, Tyler Herro (Miami), Cam Johnson (Phoenix) and Kevin Love (Cleveland).
- Love: 13.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 39.2% 3PT, 19.6 PER, 5.7 WS
- Herro: 20.7 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 39.9% 3PT, 16.2 PER, 3.8 WS
- Johnson: 12.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 42.5% 3PT, 15.2 PER, 5.2 WS
- Beasley: 12.1 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 37.7% 3PT, 11.9 PER, 2.9 WS
We’ll find out if being snubbed adds a little fuel to their game when the Wolves face the Grizzlies in Game 2 Tuesday night.
