The 2nd Annual All-Kevin Love Team

There is no greater honor in basketball than inclusion in the All-Kevin Love team. Its prestige has propelled many to new fame and fortune. Just ask selections from last year's inaugural team: alums like Ryan Anderson, now a fantasy juggernaut ranked 6th overall in Yahoo. I put my money where my prose is and drafted Anderson, along with fellow honoree Jared Dudley this year with great success. And let's not forget Ian Mahinmi, who has earned mentions in a record number of TDZ blog entries (7), plus some minor plaudits from the lamestream media. Powerful stuff.

YES! I live for minor plaudits!

As the NBA hits the All-Star break, TDZ once again goes rooting around the back of the NBA fridge for the forgotten and unappreciated players who are riding the back shelf, only getting snack time duty when they deserve full meal time minutes.




This year was particularly difficult for coming up with good selections due to the compressed nature of the season. Many teams have had to shuffle their lineups considerably based on injuries, so many players were able to achieve atypical minutes. There's no better case than Jeremy Lin. Here's a guy that was getting garbage time minutes at best with Golden State and, later, the Knicks. Then injuries/old point guards opened a window of opportunity. I'm happy to say I've started him in literally every single start he's made, propelling Mondo Rondo to a slim first place lead!

Aww yeah. I got the Linstincts.

With players like Lin and others (e.g. Nikola Pekovic, Greivis Vasquez) off the table from a qualification standpoint, I've had to really reach this year to come up with any possible surprises, maneuvering around smelly cartons of Chinese food and moldy produce. The general rules I follow for the awards:

• Average roughly 20 minutes per game or less
• No rookies (they're expected to develop anyways)

Without further ado, I present the 2012 All-Kevin Love Team!


T.J. Ford - Point Guard - San Antonio Spurs

• Ford's one of those chronically underrated stat machines, and he seemed to disappear in the last couple years even though he's only 28 years old.
• The main thing to know about Ford is that he's an elite assists guy. This year with the Spurs his per 36 is an impressive 8.8.
• Other per 36 categories he contributes to are FT% (.82 for his career), steals (1.4), and he can keep you afloat for point guard rebounds (career per 36 of 4).
• Think of him as a poor man's Andre Miller, also known as a poor man's poor man's Kyle Lowry.

Rodrigue Beaubois - Shooting Guard Point Guard - Dallas Mavericks

• Now in his third year with the Mavericks, I'm flabbergasted at how poorly the team continues to use Rowdy Roddy B. For starters, the Mavericks use the 6'2" Beaubois as a shooting guard. I guess no one on the team got the memo that it's 2012 and most teams have shooting guards closer to 6'6" now. Secondly, his usage ranges from 36 minutes to DNP-CD. I haven't seen such a waste of human resources since Peggy Olson was used as a secretary.
• Despite potential size mismatches, Bubba Beaubois's athleticism is unquestionable. On the occasions when he's matched up against point guards, he's a swat machine. During a 3 game stretch in late January, he had 10 blocks in 3 games, and 15 in 7 games.
• He's also more than capable of managing the offense from the point. Take a look at what happened when Jason Kidd left the game and Hot Rod took over in this win on January 27. He put up substantial stats in every category and led the team to victory without Dirk Nowitzki.
• Per 36 your looking at 14.6 ppg, almost 6 rpg, 5 apg, and about 2 steals and blocks per game, and that's assuming he still gets the majority of his time at SG. As a PG, expect higher returns.

It's a Guadeloupe alley oop!

Steve Novak - Small Forward - New York Knicks

• Jeremy Lin isn't the only surprise at Madison Square Garden. Now in his 6th year, Novak has been displaying his sharp-shooter skills of late. His slash line: .466/.457/.1000. It doesn't get much better than that.
• Per 36, you're looking at a very solid 17.9 ppg.
• Despite his 6'10" stature, he doesn't do a whole lot defensively, but his potential contributions across the aforementioned 4 categories are quite good. Think of him as an even more unathletic Ryan Anderson.

Anthony Randolph - Power Forward - Minnesota Timberwolves

• Well, there's no chance of getting consistent minutes with Kevin Love leading the depth chart, but this post-post-hype sleeper could provide an inexplicable Inception-like plot twist down the line.
• Like Beaubois, his athleticism makes him unique, and he was considered a potential future star, but his work ethic and poor attitude seemed to always have him in the doghouse. 
• Now in his 4th year, his talent has been nearly forgotten by most fans, even though his per minute contributions have not waned. I wouldn't be surprised to see him randomly emerge again as a star, assuming he hasn't been blackballed by all coaches.
• Per 36, expect solid numbers across the board: 17.1 ppg, 46% FG, 75% FT (solid for a big man), 7.4 rebounds (probably closer to 10 if you look at his career numbers), 1.8 blocks, 1.2 steals
• In two starts for an injured Kevin Love last year: 31 and 11, and 24 and 15. Crybaby or not, the dude produces.

Stop pouting for 5 seconds and accept your award. Everything's gotta be a thing with you.

Hamed Haddadi - Center - Memphis Grizzlies

• Well, now that Jeremy Lin has erupted on the scene, it's time for the NBA's only Asian (continent) player to blow up: 7'2" Iranian Hamed Haddadi. I'll admit, this selection is a long shot, but like Iran's nuclear ambitions, it's - unfortunately - not a joke.
• For starters, he leads the league in rebounds per minute. 
• "But he only plays 6 minutes a game!" you snort derisively, your incredulity knowing no bounds. Well, his blocks per minute are also 14th in the league. Per 36, his point production would be about 14 per game, also very respectable to go along with those defensive stats.
• In the 2010 FIBA World Championships, he finished the tourney 6th in scoring, 2nd in rebounds, and 2nd in blocks. He was also the only Olympian in 2008 to average a double-double, and led the tournament in - what else - rebounds and blocks.
• Convinced? Probably not, but with Lin's unexpected surge, I think it's worth keeping an open mind about ballers from atypical races and backgrounds.

Wow, what a legendary collection of misfits and foreigners. I didn't think I could top the last AKL team, but I'll let you be the judge. Don't be surprised if you have to wait a little bit longer to see the fantasy returns on these guys...