Kobe Bryant is the MVP, but who will round out the league's other year-end awards?
Time to pass out the regular season awards where there is never a shortage of debate over deserving winners. To me, winning and contributing to a winner counts and that is paramount when it comes time to mark a ballot.
Most Valuable Player: What makes this difficult is the floating criteria that is open to any voter's interpretation. Is it the best player on the best team? Is it the guy who, without him, the team falls apart? What about a great player on a middle of the road team? I have maintained that this is the year Kobe Bryant is going to win it; and by winning the Western Conference, Bryant just cemented his hold on the trophy. I was wavering slightly as Chris Paul made me think twice, but Bryant and his team's success makes him a deserving winner.
Honorable Mention: Chris Paul (New Orleans) Kevin Garnett (Boston), LeBron James (Cleveland), Dwight Howard (Orlando), Tracy McGrady (Houston)
Coach of the Year: This is a tough one because teams who are expected to play well often make it easy to have their coach overlooked. The nod here goes to Byron Scott of the New Orleans Hornets. There were rumblings that he had lost the room in New Jersey when he was relieved of his duties. He might have; but I know one thing, he got the Nets to the Finals in back to back seasons and they haven't had a sniff since. Look at the great job he did this year as the Hornets will finish with home court advantage after winning the Southwest Division title.
Honorable Mention: Doc Rivers (Boston), Rick Adelman (Houston), Eddie Jordan (Washington), Maurice Cheeks (Philadelphia), Phi Jackson (LA Lakers)
Defensive Player of the Year: There is a tendency to look at shot blockers and those guys who stand in the key. You know those guys who clog the lane and have opponents afraid to be plastered all over the nightly highlights after their shots have been spiked into the expensive seats. But again consider the team aspect and look at what Kevin Garnett (and the addition of assistant coach and defensive guru Tom Thibodeau) has done for Boston Celtics. Boston leads the league in several defensive categories (points allowed, opponent's field goal percentage, opponent's three point percentage). They allow fewer assists than all teams but one and force more turnovers than every other team except Golden State and Denver. But then again we know what kind of defense those two squads play. When Boston added Ray Allen and Garnett, they knew they were getting offense from both but they also knew they were going to get a guy to anchor the defense in Garnett.
Honorable Mention: Marcus Camby (Denver), Josh Smith (Atlanta), Bruce Bowen (San Antonio), Shane Battier (Houston).
Rookie of the Year: Here's the dilemma: is it the best rookie talent wise or, like the MVP vote, do you give the nod to a player that has made a difference and is contributing to a winning team? In the first instance the numbers don't matter, just look at the talent. But what if two or three players are close and one of those guys is making his team better. Again with winning being the trump card, I give it to Al Horford of Atlanta. Kevin Durrant may yet win it but Horford gets my vote for making the Hawks a playoff team for the first since 1999. He came in NBA ready and held his own battling on the front line putting up good numbers where he was not the focal point of the offense.
Honorable Mention: Kevin Durant (Seattle), Luis Scola (Houston), Jamario Moon (Toronto), Al Thornton (Clippers), Rodney Stuckey (Detroit)
Most Improved Player: On occasion this award is where winning sometimes takes a back seat. Can a player win in two seasons is a row? No, sorry Golden State's Monta Ellis. In this season, however, two of the most worthy recipients are making major contributions to winning teams that will be part of the post season. Hedo Turkoglu gets the nod over Jose Calderon. Turkoglu is one of only five players in the NBA, at the time of this writing, to average 18.0 ppg, 5.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists. The others in that select class: Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady.
But don't dismiss consideration for Calderon as simply a vote for the hometown hero. After much digging and if you find others, please let me know, only four other players have had a season where they have been 50per cent from the field, 40per cent from behind the arc and over 90per cent from the charity stripe. Yes Calderon did it this season even though he did not have enough attempts to qualify amongst the leaders in free throw percentage but he still joins only Larry Bird (twice) Steve Nash (twice), Mark Price, Dirk Nowitzki and Reggie Miller in that statistical stratosphere.
Honorable Mention: Jose Calderon (Toronto), Rudy Gay (Memphis), Mike Dunleavy (Indiana), Travis Outlaw (Portland), Chris Kaman (Clippers)
Sixth Man: If there is going to be a unanimous award this season, this is it. Look at what Manu Ginobili has done for the San Antonio Spurs and it is a lock. He is their leading scorer and has done it coming off the bench. His attitude is terrific as he considers the age old saying, "It's not who starts the game but who finishes the game that matters."
Honorable Mention: Leandro Barbosa (Phoenix), Jason Terry (Dallas).
Tip-Ins: While Oklahoma State is reportedly set to name a new head coach in Travis Ford, they did contact John Lucas in Toronto to check his interest level. Hey why not? Lucas' son played there and he wants to coach again. The younger Lucas, John III, is looking to get back into the NBA after a stint with the Rockets and don't be surprised when he pops up at free agent camps and on summer league team some place, maybe even Toronto ... While some originally thought wearing a microphone would be problematic, it continues to be a prized possession as some players are openly campaigning to wear it on national television broadcasts. Hey, you can be your own public relations machine.
