russell westbrook won the nba mvp of the regular season in 2017.
russell westbrook won the nba mvp of the regular season in 2017.
who won the nba mvp of the regular season in 2017?
russell westbrook
when jeremy lin was sidelined for the 2017–18 nba season after the first game, it opened up playing time. after allen crabbe started game 2, levert entered the starting lineup for game 3 on october 22 against the atlanta hawks, posting 16 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. coming off the bench on november 6 against the phoenix suns,he posted a 5-steal performance, while locking down devin booker so well that he frustrated booker into fouling out. with injuries to point guards jeremy lin and d'angelo russell, coach kenny atkinson was impressed with levert rising to the challenge of learning a new position, earning the back-up point guard role to spencer dinwiddie. on december 7 (the first anniversary of his nba debut), he had career highs in points (21) and assists (10) against reigning nba mvp russell westbrook to lead the nets to a 100–95 win over the oklahoma city thunder in mexico city. although his performance was highlighted by his first nba double-double on offense, he was also praised for his 2-steal/2-block/5-rebound effort on defense against westbrook. on december 27 against the new orleans pelicans, levert set another career high with 22 points. two days later, he recorded 12 points and a career-high 11 assists in a 111–87 win over the miami heat. then, levert had a few minor injuries (groin and knee) in january and february, that caused him to miss a total of 10 games over 3 separate stretches. on march 4, 2018, he had a 27-point effort in a 123–120 loss to the los angeles clippers. levert posted a career-high 12 rebounds along with 19 points on march 31, against the miami heat.
caris levert
both the pistons and lakers were considered to be the two best teams in the nba entering the 1989 nba finals. behind the no-nonsense leadership of head coach chuck daly, detroit finished with a franchise best 63–19 record, which was also the best record in the league. after sweeping both the boston celtics 3-0 in the first round, and the milwaukee bucks 4-0 in the second round, the pistons eliminated michael jordan and the chicago bulls in 6 games in the eastern conference finals. meanwhile, los angeles suffered slight slippage in the regular season, finishing with a 57–25 record. however, the lakers, who still finished first in the western conference, compiled an outstanding 11-0 record in the postseason, sweeping the portland trail blazers, seattle supersonics, and phoenix suns en route to the finals. magic johnson also earned his second nba mvp award (johnson, who had already won the award in 1987, would receive his third nba mvp title in 1990). as the finals began, l.a. was once again favored to eliminate detroit and successfully three-peat as champions. however, the pistons were determined to prove that they were ready to overcome the sting of coming up short the previous year, and win the nba title. l.a.'s hopes for another championship took a turn for the worse when byron scott and johnson both suffered season-ending hamstring injuries. the pistons' physical style of play and superior defense also proved to be too much for the lakers to overcome, as detroit swept los angeles in 4 games and captured their 1st ever nba championship. pistons shooting guard joe dumars was awarded nba finals mvp honors. after the series, abdul-jabbar retired. the series would also turn out to be the final time that pat riley would make an appearance in the nba finals as head coach of the lakers. this also marked the first time that the nba finals ended in a 4-game sweep since the finals went to the current 2–3–2 format back in 1985. the pistons successfully defended their crown the following season. they defeated the trail blazers in the 1990 nba finals 4–1 to repeat as nba champions.
lakers–pistons rivalry