Backdoor Cut: NBA Regular Season Awards

Music to listen to:  Hammer Dance by Slaughterhouse

 

Time to give my NBA Awards since the regular season ends tonight:

Defensive Player of the Year:

1)  Tyson Chandler, New York

2)  Kevin Garnett, Boston

3)  Dwight Howard, Orlando

Honorable mention:  Serge Ibaka (Oklahoma City), LeBron James (Miami), Andre Iguodala (Philadelphia), Luol Deng (Chicago)

Thoughts:  The Knicks have gone from one of the worst defensively statistically last season to a top-five squad this year.  While some of that may have to do with the new defensive focus on interim head coach Mike Woodson, Chandler deserves credit for executing the plan on the floor.  The Knicks have below-average defenders on the floor at all times accept for Iman Shumpert and have been able to look respectable on the defensive end because of Chandler.  If you want to place Howard second on the list, that’s acceptable as well, seeing how he continues to be a defensive force and the top rebounder in the NBA.  However, I think that Chandler’s impact in attempting to change a culture of defensive ineptitude gives him the nod for the award this year.  I think the Celtics should have a representative in the top-three and Garnett gets the nod.  I don’t like having three post defenders in my list because it ignores perimeter defense so I would have no problems fielding arguments for Iguodala or Deng, who is part of, in my opinion, the best overall defensive team in the NBA, the Chicago Bulls.  Leading the NBA in blocks gets you an honorable mention in my book as well, which means Ibaka makes the list as well.

Coach of the Year:

1)  Gregg Popovich, San Antonio

2)  Tom Thibodeau, Chicago

3)  Doc Rivers, Boston

Honorable mention:  Frank Vogel (Indiana), Tyrone Corbin (Utah), Lionel Hollins (Memphis)

Thoughts:  This is always the second-hardest award to figure out every season, just behind Most Improved Player.  How do you define the coach of the year?  Do you take a coach who was able to achieve the maximum with a veteran roster and high expectations (Popovich and Rivers), someone who overachieved with a team that had their best player out due to injury (Thibodeau and Hollins) or someone who was able to take a younger and inexperienced team to its highest level (Vogel and Corbin).  I give the nod to Popovich for incorporating younger role players while handling the fitness levels of his two older top players in Tim Duncan and  Manu Ginobili, all while managing to have the top record in the Western Conference.  Thibodeau has his team with the best record in the East with last season’s MVP, Derrick Rose, missing half of the year.  Rivers has done a similar job to Popovich and has Boston in a solid position.  Hollins dealt with the Zach Randolph injury well and has Memphis as a viable playoff team.  I picked Utah to have one of the worst records in the NBA at the start of the season and Corbin has the Jazz in the playoffs.  Once again, a case could be made for all of these guys to win the award.

Most Improved Player:

1)  James Harden, Oklahoma City

2)  Ersan Ilyasova, Milwaukee

3)  Greg Monroe, Detroit

Honorable Mention:  Nikola Pekovic (Minnesota), Ryan Anderson (Orlando), DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento), Jeremy Lin (New York), Brandon Jennings (Milwaukee)

Thoughts:  Without question, the hardest award to give in the NBA every year.  I gave the nod to Harden because he elevated his game to the highest level from last season and became the premier bench player in the NBA.  Ilyasova improved his rebounding tremendously this year and nearly led the league in three-point shooting percentage.  Monroe became the go-to player on a team which includes numerous veterans but honestly, being on the Pistons hurt his cause.  All of the other players listed above showed growth overall as players with special nods to Jennings and Lin who would have been better contenders for the award if injuries and lack of team success in the case for the Bucks didn’t get in the way.

Sixth Man of the Year:

1)  James Harden (Oklahoma City)

2)  Jason Terry (Dallas)

3)  Taj Gibson (Chicago)

Honorable Mention:  Lou Williams (Philadelphia), Thaddeus Young (Philadelphia), OJ Mayo (Memphis)

Thoughts:  Easiest award to give this season.  If you want to swap one of the honorable mentions in for Gibson, I can understand that, especially in the case for Mayo who has surprisingly accepted his role for the Grizzlies.  I wanted to have one member of the top bench in the NBA, Chicago, represented on my list and Gibson gets the nod.

Rookie of the Year:

1)  Kyrie Irving (Cleveland)

2)  Kenneth Faried (Denver)

3)  Kawhi Leonard (San Antonio)

 

Honorable mention:  Ricky Rubio (Minnesota), Klay Thompson (Golden State), Isaiah Thomas (Sacramento)

Thoughts:  Irving is seeking to become the first rookie to average more than 18 points in a season and shoot better than 40 percent in three-pointers since Larry Bird.  While Irving does have the green light on offense to score whenever he pleases on a below-average Cleveland team, that statistic along with solid leadership and good defense gives him the nod in this category.  Leonard has had a better season with a superior team but Faried is the better overall player so that’s why the Nugget is listed as second.  The award is for the top overall rookie, not the most valuable rookie.   This award would have been more fun to decipher if Rubio didn’t go down with his season-ending knee injury.

And now for the main event:

Most Valuable Player:

1)  LeBron James (Miami)

2)  Chris Paul (Los Angeles Clippers)

3)  Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City)

4)  Tony Parker (San Antonio)

5)  Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers)

Honorable Mention:  Kevin Love (Minnesota), Rajon Rondo (Boston), Steve Nash (Phoenix), Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City), Tyson Chandler (New York)

Thoughts:   Before we get to the top five, it hurt to not include Love in that portion of my list.  He’s the best rebounder in the NBA or at least right up there with Howard, can average 25 points per game and one of the top post passers in the NBA.  He’s even made his defense respectable.  However, the Timberwolves record diminished greatly with the injury to Rubio and Love has missed double-digit games this season.  Bryant has missed several games this season as well and does have the help of Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, but the Lakers are still dictated by the play of Bryant and the team has managed to win its division.

Unlike the Rookie of the Year award which I like to give to the best overall player in that category regardless of the team’s record, the MVP award goes to the player who has the most impact on the overall success of his team.

James has arguably had the best statistical season ever, has carried the Heat to one of the best records in the NBA with the injury struggles of the other two best players on the squad (Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh) and has arguably one of the weakest supporting casts overall.  When Joel Anthony and Juwan Howard are getting major minutes for your squad, that’s not good.  Sure, James could be more effective at the end of games but he’s still the most valuable player on any squad within the NBA.

 

Plus, if you want to use the alternative argument of who the “best” player in the NBA is or who you would select first in a pick-up game or fantasy draft when every player in the league is available, the choice is still James getting the slight nod over Durant.

The Clippers would be a .500 team without Paul.  I know everyone gets excited over the “Lob City” concept and enjoys seeing dunks on your television highlight shows but the Clippers are a severely flawed team with average at best post-offense, perimeter shooting and has an inept head coach.  All of this and the Clippers will have home-court in the playoffs.

Durant is the best scorer in the league and has continued to improve his overall skills.  However, the emergence of Harden and Westbrook actually hurts his case in this category.

Parker has finally taken over the mantle of the top player on the Spurs even though the move has actually been in motion for the past two seasons.  With Duncan and Ginobili taking noticeably lesser roles with San Antonio this season.  While the statistics of guys like Westbrook and Steve Nash may be better and Rondo is a much better defender, Parker’s been the main catalyst for the Spurs’ top record this season.

Those are my thoughts, what are yours?