Does Josh Get Player of the Month for March tonight?

[thecampster]

By this perspective, Lebron should be the player of the month then. The only stat categories that Josh did better than Lebron in March was rebounding and blocks.

That's fair but their other stats are similar and Lebron's was a drop off in stats. Josh won rebounds with Lebron by 1.5, blocks by .5 and Turnovers by .9. They were a wash but I'd buy Lebron over Pierce no problem.

[lethalweapon3]

http://www.nba.com/2012/news/04/04/pierce-durant/index.html

The League's excusplanation:

Pierce led the Celtics to a 12-5 month (second in the Eastern Conference), averaging 22.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists. Pierce recorded six games of 25 or more points. In 102-95 win at Charlotte on March 26, Pierce recorded season highs of 36 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks.

As noted already here, the Hawks went 11-8 while Smoove averaged 23.9 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 4.5 assists. Smith recorded eight games of 25 or more points (42% of games, compared to 35% for PP). Smith matched Pierce's "season high" for blocks twice in the month of March, and met or exceeded Pierce's "season high" for rebounds eight times (19, 18, 17, 13, 12 twice, 11, 10). He exceeded his own season high with 32 points on March 21, then did it again on March 31 with 34 points. And none of these "season high" accomplishments came "at Charlotte."

Smith carried much of the offensive load without Joe Johnson around for 4 of those 19 games. The Hawks went 3-1 without Joe, with that one loss being a respectable three-point loss at Miami. Pierce had Kevin Garnett (17.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists) paired with him for all of his games. Further, as Sekou Smith noted in that "MVP Next 5" article, Pierce had not Jeff Teague, but this guy, at his and KG's disposal:

April 6 -- The best player on the hottest team in the league since the All-Star break is not LeBron James or Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant or Kevin Love.

With all respect to those other MVP candidates, the honor belongs to Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics, whose MVP campaign from earlier this season was derailed by injuries and a Celtics' swoon. But Rondo and the Celtics have come on since the break -- 15-7 since All-Star Weekend in Orlando -- and have plenty of teams in the Eastern Conference fearing for their playoff lives.

No team in the East can boast more championship experience on its roster, and the Lakers and Spurs are the only teams in the league capable of matching the Celtics in that department.

The true beauty of Rondo's surge, and in turn the Celtics' post-All-Star rise, has been the unselfishness of their All-Star floor leader. Rondo's assists have spiked since the break (9.5 before and 12.6 since) while his points have taken a sizeable dip (14.8 before and 10.0 since).

Rondo averaged 13 assists in March, when the Celtics went 12-5, and has piled up double-digit assists in all but two games since the break. He is sitting on a stretch that has seen him tally 10 or more assists in 15 straight games.

According to Elias, Rondo is the first player in the Celtics' storied history to accomplish that feat. The last player in the NBA to record at least 14 straight 10-assist games was the Suns' Steve Nash, who totaled 14 in a row in 2004-05.

Again, Rondo is at 15 and counting ...

Did they even get the right Celtic? Back to the excusplanation:

Pierce played his 1,000th game with the Celtics against Portland on March 9, becoming the 16th player in NBA history to play in 1,000 games for a single franchise.

What was is that the Church Lady used to ask?

Here is a closer look at the month for Pierce and Durant:

Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics

March 2 vs. New Jersey: Registered 27 points, eight assists and four rebounds in a 107-94 win over the Nets.

March 4 vs. New York: Scored 34 points, and added seven rebounds and three assists in a 115-111 overtime victory against the Knicks.

March 22 vs. Los Angeles Clippers: Collected 25 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and one steal in a 100-91 win at the Clippers.

Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder

March 1 @ Orlando: Had 38 points and eight rebounds in a 105-102 win at Orlando.

March 21 vs. Los Angeles Clippers: Recorded 32 points, nine rebounds, five assists and a pair of steals in a 114-91 home victory against the Clippers.

March 29 vs. Los Angeles Lakers: Registered a double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds in a 102-93 win over the Lakers.

That song, "One of These Things is Not Like the Other..." comes to mind.

~lw3