As Eric Pincus mentioned in the NBA@2, Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving has been named the NBA’s Rookie of the Year, capturing all but three first-place votes.

The race was never really close, and it shouldn’t have been. Irving was second among rookies in Player Efficiency Rating behind Denver Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried (who finished third in the ROY voting) and led all first-year players in scoring (18.5 ppg) and free throw accuracy (87.2%) while finishing second in assists (5.4) and 3-point percentage (39.9%).

But somehow, someway, someone gave Irving a third-place vote.

In fact, there were a lot of peculiar findings in the vote tally.

Nets rookie MarShon Brooks garnered only one second and one third-place vote even though he was third in rookie scoring (12.6 ppg). New Orleans Hornets power forward Gustavo Ayon played impressive defense all season and had the fourth-highest PER of any rookie (16.71), but he didn’t get a single third-place vote.

You know who did get a third-place vote?

Memphis point guard Josh Selby did, even though he had a PER of 3.36 and logged only 238 minutes during the season.

And Selby’s third-place nod is emblematic of a much larger problem for the NBA and its voting process: Some of the 120 or so voting members of the media have no idea what they’re doing.

Detroit Pistons center Greg Monroe got a vote for Defensive Player of the Year—and award that somehow seems to be based partly on offensive rebounds—while San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker received four first-place votes for MVP. And it’s not that Parker didn’t have a terrific season. Rather, he just didn’t have a year that rivaled LeBron James’ or Kevin Durant’s.

But some voters just don’t know that for some strange reason.

Even the defending MVP Derrick Rose, who played in just 39 games because of injuries, received a third-place vote for this year’s MVP.

Remember the 2008-2009 ROY voting, which Rose deservedly won? That entire process was tarnished by a second-place vote for Phoenix Suns center Robin Lopez. Presumably, whoever filed that one must have been thinking of Lopez’s twin Brook, who finished third in the voting that season.

The voters aren’t all bad. Normally there are enough valid opinions to push the vote in the right direction, but we’ll never really fix this problem until there is some accountability.

If you gave Selby a third-place vote for ROY, the public should know who you are. If you think Parker was more valuable to the Spurs than James was to the Heat, the public should know that too.

Is it too much to ask that we do something aboveboard in the NBA or does every vote have to be determined by a group of anonymous media members, some of whom don’t know that Rose and Selby played less than 40 games apiece?

Auburn’s Kenny Gabriel prepares for the NBA Draft

Former Auburn Tigers forward Kenny Gabriel is preparing for the NBA Draft at IMG Academy in Florida and while he’s already an accomplished dunker, he feels he can improve his ball handling and foot speed before draft day comes around.

He’s a bit of a tweener, but as he told HOOPSWORLD’s Steve Kyler, Gabriel can bring energy and a real transition threat to an NBA team.

Should Doc shoulder some blame for Boston’s Game 2 loss?

Doc Rivers is one of the more accomplished coaches in the NBA, but as Chris Sheridan of SheridanHoops.com suggested, he made a bit of a mistake in the Celtics’ Game 2 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night.

According to Sheridan, Rivers should have called for point guard Rajon Rondo to foul Evan Turner much sooner with his team trailing 76-75 in the game’s final moments. Instead, the Celtics tried to get a stop and that ended up burning another four seconds off the clock. Turner hit both shots to give the 76ers a 78-75 lead with 12 seconds remaining.

“By ordering Rajon Rondo to commit a foul with 14.4 seconds remaining, Doc Rivers and the Celtics gave away whatever chance they had of getting a stop, calling a timeout and inbounding from midcourt to go for the win,” Sheridan wrote.

Kevin Garnett committed an offensive foul on the ensuing possession, so that obviously factored into the loss as well.

Now the series is tied at 1-1, with Game 3 set for Wednesday night in Philadelphia.

Is Sheridan right? Definitely check out his piece and let him know your thoughts.

Carlisle Re-signs

Rick Carlisle has re-signed with the Dallas Mavericks for four years, the team announced. Some had suggested his job was in jeopardy only one year after winning the franchise’s first NBA title because the Mavericks were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

However, owner Mark Cuban consistently told the press that Carlisle would re-turn.

“We are excited that Rick will be back with the Mavericks for at least the next four years,” Cuban said in a statement. “He is a proven winner, a great teacher and a coach that will help the Mavericks improve as a team and as an organization.”

Obviously there are a lot of questions facing the Mavericks next season, most of which were recently addressed by HOOPSWORLD’s Bill Ingram.

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