Midseason Awards

Mid Season Awards

Ok, to the five or six people that actually read this (that number might even be excessive), I apologize for not posting in a while. But in my absence, the 41 game mark came and went for all of the NBA teams, officially marking the middle of the season. And even though the natural break for the All Star game is still a few weeks away, here’s my take on who should take home the hardware from the first half…


Rookie of the Year- Tyreke Evans, PG Kings

I said in my first ever post, even while people were still anointing Brandon Jennings as the next Nate Archibald after his 55 point outburst, that Evans was the cream of this rookie class. Well now everyone else has come to their senses and he would be almost a unanimous selection for ROY at this point. He leads all rookies in scoring at 20.7 ppg and minutes (37 mpg) and before their recent losing streak (Kings have dropped 7 in a row, and 12 of 13), he had his team exceeding expectations. He still has a lot of areas to improve on, with first and foremost being his outside shot. At 6’6, 220 pounds with an incredibly explosive first step, he is a handful for any point guard in this league, but too often he settles for long range jumpers. It would be one thing if he were knocking them down at a consistent clip, but he is shooting an abysmal 23% from 3. He is at his best when he is slashing to the basket and either finishing, getting fouled, or finding an open teammate. I think that he has struggled a little bit with the return of Kevin Martin, and though the Maloofs are convinced the two can not only co-exist, but excel together on the court, there is a reason that Martin’s name is consistently in rumor reports. The Kings have asked a lot of their young superstar this season and he has responded quite well considering he is still just twenty years old. Bottom line, he will win the rookie of the year award this year barring a major setback or injury, and if he is willing to put in the work to develop a consistent perimeter game, he will be a future All-Star for sure.

Honorable Mention- Stephen Curry, Brandon Jennings

Coach of the Year- Rick Adelman, Houston Rockets

This one was much more difficult of a decision, as there are worthy candidates all over the league. But in my mind, Adelman edges out Lionel Hollins in Memphis and Larry Brown in Charlotte simply because he is doing more with less than either of those two. I applaud Hollins for bringing Memphis back from the dead, but their core of Gay, Mayo, Randolph, and Conley is very, very good. Also Brown deserves some recognition for instilling his defensive system and getting the players to buy into it in leading the Bobcats to a surprising .500 record and the honor of being the only team to beat the Cavs twice so far this year. Adelman has been in contention for this award before, but this is his best coaching job by far. On a team without Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, the Rockets were expected to be bottom feeders in the West, but instead are 24-20 and fighting for a playoff spot. The Rockets might have the least talent of any playoff hopeful in the West, but Adelman gets them to play hard every night, and puts his players in positions to excel. He understands the strengths, but more importantly the limitations of all of his players and masterfully crafts game plans to highlight the former while eradicating the latter. He brings his best player of the bench (Carl Landry), and let the reigns off point guard Aaron Brooks, allowing the little guy to talk his way into the All-Star conversation. Watching the Rockets isn’t pretty, but they are a tough, gritty, and persistent group that believe in each other and have an experienced coach leading them. I simply don’t know if they have enough talent to make the playoffs this year in the West with 11 good teams vying for 8 spots, so this award might elude Adelman in the end, but on the first half of the season he is the NBA Coach of the Year.

Honorable Mention- Larry Brown, Lionel Hollins

Sixth Man of the Year- Jamal Crawford, SG Atlanta Hawks

For the majority of his career, Jamal Crawford was known as a selfish gunslinger who put “getting his” above winning. Well now in his 9th season in the league, Crawford has shed part of that reputation. Yes, he is still on the league’s premier gunners, but now that he is finally playing for a winner he is buying into the team concept, and has embraced his role as coming off the bench. If the awards were actually given out today Crawford would split a lot of votes with Houston’s Carl Landry, who is very deserving of the award as well. But in my mind, Crawford has been just a little better. Landry has had the opportunity to start a few games this year, thus elevating his numbers a little, while Crawford has come off the bench each time. Crawford has already recorded an amazing 20 games with scoring 20+ points off the bench, and has given the Hawks a legitimate second scoring option behind Joe Johnson. He is a very streaky shooter, but when he gets hot, he can carry the Hawks for extended periods of time, including many stretches in the 4th quarter. He is among the league leaders in 4th quarter scoring, and has already won a game with a miraculous buzzer beating 3 against the Suns. Most importantly though, Crawford has helped them defeat the Celtics already 3 times this season with monster second halves in each showing. Cases can be made for both Crawford and Landry, but at the end of the day Crawford is the piece that is going to lead the Hawks a top seed in the playoffs, and so he gets the nod.

Honorable Mention- Carl Landry, Andy Varejao

Most Improved Player- Anderson Varejao, F Cleveland Cavaliers

Ok, I know this one is going to get looks and questions, and I admit that it might be a little biased, but hey it’s my blog so I can write what I want. When he came into the league he was merely an energy guy, whose sole purpose was to outwork everyone out on the court and get under the skin of the opposing team. For the last few years, he was one of the best at doing this in the league, but in the last year or two he has begun a transformation in his game. Yes, he still provides instant energy off the bench and is a nuisance to opposing teams, but now he actually looks like a basketball player out there. In a league dominated by the pick and roll, especially in late game situations, Varejao is the best in the league at defending it. He gets out to show and cut off guards so quickly that the play is often rendered useless. Also, he has developed some maturity and smarts in not trying to take charges on every drive, but now plays solid straight up defense, making it much harder for officials to bail out slashing opponents. I don’t know if I would go as far as John Hollinger in deeming him the defensive player of the first half, but he has as big an impact on that end of the floor as anyone in the league. The area of his game that has improved the most though is on the offensive end of the floor. Previously, he was a liability with the ball, but now he has developed some semblance of an inside game. His footwork is drastically improved and he now has a series of up and unders and headfakes in his arsenal. But his biggest asset on offense is his ability to find openings when his teammates are doubled. Almost every game, including twice down the stretch against Miami last night, the Heat doubled Shaq or LeBron and Varejao had the ware with all to find the opening and get two uncontested dunks. Look I know my credibility might suffer from this pick in some people’s minds, but the truth is I watch the Cavs more than any other team and his improvement is so noticeable that it had to written. He is invaluable to the best team in the league right now, and if you don’t believe me just look at the stats, as he leads the league in plus minus, as do the Cavs when he is on the floor. One of the best moves Danny Ferry made was locking him up long term after last season, because he only keeps getting better and better.

Honorable Mention- Aaron Brooks, Kevin Durant,Monta Ellis, Rajon Rondo

Defensive Player of the Year- Kendrick Perkins, C Boston Celtics

I will always maintain that Kevin Garnett forever altered the careers of Kendrick Perkins and Rajon Rondo. Pre-Garnett, Perkins was destined to be another prep to pro bust, but then KG changed everything. Perkins got the chance of the lifetime to learn the ins and outs of the game from one of the best to ever play. Almost instantly there was a change in the play and the demeanor of Perk. He tried to imitate the intensity that Garnett exuded, especially on the defensive end of the floor. Look he is never going to have anywhere near the offensive game or explosion that Garnett possesses, but Perkins has surpassed Garnett as the best interior defender on the Celtics. In fact, in my mind, Perkins has developed into the best interior defender of the league, yep even better than Superman. He is a physical monster down there, and believe me, no one wants to have to go up against Perk in the post. He has made it his calling card to make the opposing center as uncomfortable as possible, and more times than not he succeeds. He is strong enough to keep any player from consistently getting deep position and is able to play straight up without needing double teams. He is the anchor to the Celtics stifling half court defense and he never gives up an easy basket. My one knock is that he still takes some stupid fouls that limit his minutes but he has gotten much better in that area too. He leads one of the best teams in the league in rebounds and blocks, and has many more intangibles that can’t be measured by stats. Don’t believe me? Well then watch the subtle differences in the way that Rondo especially plays defense when Perk is in the game as opposed to Big Baby or Sheldon Williams. Rondo rightly has supreme confidence in Perkins to protect the rim behind him, so he is able to take more chances reaching and going for steals because even though he is now more susceptible to blow bys, opposing drivers have to be wary of Perkins lurking in front of them. I don’t think that Perkins will actually win this award because his numbers aren’t outstanding, but from what I’ve seen this year he is the defensive player of the first half, and once again Boston fans can thank KG.

Honorable Mention- Rajon Rondo, Josh Smith, Dwight Howard

Most Valuable Player- LeBron James, F Cleveland Cavaliers

For all of the tough choices I had to make, this was the antithesis as King James has truly been otherworldly. I guarantee you that if the season ended now, the title “reining MVP” would stay with LeBron into next season. For the second straight year, LeBron isn’t even making it close, with this year again leading the Cavs to the best record in the league while now taking over the league lead in scoring. Oh and did I mention that he is recording career highs in assists (7.8), and shooting a career best in FTs (78%), field goals (50.9 %), and three pointers (35.6%). Beyond just the numbers, James already has a number of “MVP” moments this year, and as a fan I honestly would not be surprised at anything he could do. Earlier this season the Cavs were playing a late night game in Utah and after a late run by the Jazz led them to a 12 point lead with just over 3 minutes left I was disgusted and exhausted (it was 1:30 am) and about to turn the game off. But for some reason I decided against it, just from the mere hope that maybe LeBron would do something special to bring them back. And just like that, the MVP took over the game, hitting 4 threes and a traditional three point play to single handedly push the Cavs into the lead. Yes, the Cavs ended up losing that game on a Sundiata Gaines buzzer 3 pointer after some horrific clutch free throw shooting, but the take home message was clear- LeBron James is the best player in the league- no questions asked. I could write two more pages with stats and examples, but I think it would be fruitless as anyone who watches the NBA closely can see it and would agree with me. He makes his teammates so much better and has so many different facets of his game that he is becoming truly unguardable. So if I were the public relations director for the Cavaliers I would start looking for locales where LeBron could accept his second of who knows how many MVP awards some afternoon in May, but if the King has it his way, it won’t be the only hardware he takes home this year.

Honorable Mention- Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Tim Duncan, Chris Bosh