It’s hard to believe we’ve reached the mid-point of the NBA season already. With the All-Star break looming next Saturday, now is a good time to sit back and evaluate just who is in the running for the league’s major awards.
Coach of the Year: Mike Budenholzer – Atlanta Hawks – It’s a rather common occurrence for the coach of the league’s most surprising team to wind up being the coach of the year. This season is no different — The 42-9 Atlanta Hawks are that team, and Budenholzer is the catalyst behind it all. His team has fully bought into all the traits that he has emphasized and encouraged since his tenure began. Unselfish ball-sharing, excellent shot selection, defensive commitment, it’s all there, and it’s working at an incredible rate, as we recently witnessed during their 19-game winning streak. Budenholzer doesn’t have the luxury of a player like LeBron or Kevin Durant to bail his team out when things aren’t going right, but he does have the benefit of a team that compensates for each other’s deficiencies while playing as a cohesive unit, and that is entirely his doing. Gregg Popovich is surely proud of his pupil, but might be secretly hoping that their teams don’t cross paths in the playoffs.
Most Valuable Player: Stephen Curry – Golden State Warriors – It’s a close call between James Harden and Curry right now, but Curry gets the edge for three reasons. One, he’s the undisputed leader and facilitator of the offense on the best team in the NBA right now. Two, his field goal percentage, assists, and three-point percentage are better than Harden’s. Three, he’s second in the league in steals per game. Curry doesn’t get the MVP nod on just statistics alone, he has simply been the epitome of a complete player all season. He can take over games when the Warriors need scoring, (as evidenced by his 51 points against Dallas on Wednesday,) he knows when to give the ball to a teammate with the hot-hand (like he does often with Klay Thompson,) and he is constantly leading the charge defensively with his perimeter ball-hawking ways. Many are quick to point out the fact that Curry is surrounded by more talent than Harden, but that is precisely why Curry gets the edge — he’s producing the most on a team stocked with players that are fully capable of eating away at his own personal stats.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CJ_zszwyms
Rookie of the Year: Andrew Wiggins – Minnesota Timberwolves – It’s almost like Wiggins waited until fellow rookie contenders Joseph Randle and Jabari Parker went down with season ending injuries before he decided to turn his game up. At this point in the season, it is simply Wiggins, and everyone else. Sure, Nerlens Noel and Elfrid Payton have been very solid contributors to their respective teams this year, but Wiggins’ production has been increasing each month to the point where he is looking more and more like a future All-Star. Wiggins had a stellar January, averaging 19.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Even more intriguing is the fact that two of his best games of the season have come against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team that dealt him shortly after the draft for Kevin Love. Wiggins is averaging 30.0 points and 2.5 steals in the two games against Cleveland to go along with 56 percent shooting. The Timberwolves may not be very good this season, but Wiggins provides a great reason to watch them, and he is running away with the award.
Most Improved Player: Jimmy Butler – Chicago Bulls – This isn’t a hard one to pick. Butler showed signs last year that he was about to step his game up, and the light finally came on this season. Nobody, not even Butler nor his coach Tom Thibodeau, could have predicted such a breakout season as the team’s go-to scorer, especially with a semi-healthy Derrick Rose and Pau Gasol in the lineup. Butler has more than filled the void of his predecessor Luol Deng, and is currently averaging 20.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game on the year, as opposed to 13.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists last season, and he’s doing it in just about the same amount of minutes that he played last year. So what’s the main reason behind his seven-point increase in per game point production? His shooting: Butler is currently shooting 46 percent from the field while taking four more shots per game than he did last season, when shot 39 percent.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gK2fWzTUCo
Defensive Player of the Year: Draymond Green – Golden State Warriors – There is plenty of competition for this one. Tim Duncan, Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis, even 76ers rookie Nerlens Noel can all be considered contenders. But at the moment, Green bests them all, despite being overlooked constantly while playing with teammates draining threes left and right. He has been the anchor of a Warrior defense that has completely turned it around from last year, and without any negative effects offensively, which he also is a factor in. Green ranks towards the top of nearly every defensive efficiency statistic. His 1.4 blocks and 1.6 steals per game are definitely impressive, but it’s more about his defensive skills off the ball and in the lane. If he’s guarding someone man-to-man, he stays on them, rarely letting them get free. If he’s on the weak side, he is often able to come across the court and make a play on the ball. Green is quick enough to keep up with smaller guards and forwards, and possess enough strength to block out opposing big men in the post. This is a 6-foot-7 forward who can legitimately guard every position on the floor. Green is the best defender on the league’s best defensive team, and this is only his third season.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KXzttIw23A
Sixth Man of the Year: Lou Williams – Toronto Raptors – Williams is certainly enjoying a resurgence of sorts with the Raptors this season, with some thanks to the injury woes of DeMar DeRozan. Williams has fully recovered from his own injury problems, averaging a career-high 15.2 points per game on 40 percent shooting, and he’s doing it only 24.5 minutes per game. He’s posted multiple 30-point games, and hit what was essentially the game-winning three against the Wizards last weekend in a close matchup of Eastern Conference playoff teams. His ability to back up Kyle Lowry and DeRozan while anchoring the Raptors’ second unit is a big reason why they have been one of the top contenders in the East this season. It’s hard to see them keep that pace without a player like Williams on the bench.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qz6t9E9Otb0
