Season Awards: Stop the debate -- Dirk is top dog
Can't tell you how many debates I got into on the road over the past few weekends. I heard Democrats discussing the worthiness of top candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, people ramble about the father of Anna Nicole Smith's kid, and of course, Greg Oden or Kevin Durant, Joakim Noah or Al Horford, and the merits of everyone rumored to become Kentucky's next head coach.
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| Dirk Nowitzki is Tony Mejia's pick for MVP. Even Steve Nash agrees. (AP) |
Roy: "And I thought having my own bobblehead was cool."
Memphis is helping push Rudy Gay's late charge with a campaign with brochures made to look like airline tickets. They're getting at the high-flyer angle. It might work better if they sent actual airline tickets.
Creative pamphlets and neat tools aren't going to sway minds, because most should already be made up by now. We don't vote on the best player for MVP, but rather the most valuable. Is there any room for late pushes in this era where "body of work" seems to be the new criteria for awards? The NBA is an 82-game marathon. Everyone has had an opportunity to play and coach 70 games. My mind is made up.
Here are this season's NBA awards:
MVP
Dirk Nowitzki limped off on Wednesday night against the Bucks, and his Mavericks still found a way to win their 60th game without him. That they're still in the mix for 70 wins is all on the big German, though, because he's consistently been the best player on the floor this season, even if he has had moments he'd like to have back.
Videotaped misses in clutch situations could be Steve Nash's ammunition if he really, really wants to win his third MVP in a row, but smear campaigns are not his style, and even he's gone on record that his good buddy deserves the award.
If Nowitzki were to retaliate, he would simply have to send voters the names of Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Larry Bird. That's the company Nash would enter if his fabulous season was deemed worthy. Since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan failed to join that exclusive club, there is sentiment out there that Nash shouldn't either.
Bryant and LeBron James will get token votes, but this is a two-man race that Nowitzki will ultimately win.
Red Auerbach Coach of the Year
Tough call here, especially at this juncture, but Utah's Jerry Sloan gets the nod. I'm not going to lie, there's a touch of sentimentality in this vote, because Sloan, for all his years of continued excellence, has never won one.
He deserves this.
Sloan, who has guided the Jazz back to the playoffs after a three-year absence, will win his division, at least 50 games, and has helped coax the development of my top two candidates for Most Improved.
Avery Johnson, especially if he winds up winning 70, is a tremendous runner-up, and Sam Mitchell should finish third for his role in Toronto's resurgence.
Most Improved Player
This is a mental coin flip between Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer, the two most obvious candidates. On one hand, Boozer is having a remarkable breakthrough season, but Williams has been amazing, too, rounding out a great tag-team.
My tie-breaker is that while Boozer has never been quite this good, he has his enormous contract for a reason. Before his injuries, he was brought in to be a worthy successor to Karl Malone. Williams was just a rookie last year, occasionally lost, often prodded by Sloan. Now, he's playing at an All-Star level. He's improved more, so he deserves the award.
Other excellent candidates in a big year for breakthroughs include Sacramento's Kevin Martin, New York's Eddy Curry, New Orleans/Oklahoma City's Tyson Chandler and Golden State's Monta Ellis.
Rookie of the Year
Taking into account all the promotional items and what not, this surprisingly turned into a runaway. Roy is R.O.Y., putting up some impressive numbers while becoming the rookie whose team can most rely on him.
That was my criteria in a season where the crop didn't make a huge impact, which is why Toronto's Andrea Bargnani will be my runner-up. Prior to his emergency appendectomy, he offered the Raptors a consistent change of pace with his strong shooting touch, becoming a strong scorer. He might have been able to make a late run at Roy had he not gone down.
Roy is the first-year player who will end the season as the most polished. The Blazers regularly look to him to finish off games, and he responds like a veteran. No one else can make that claim.
Executive of the Year
Toronto's Bryan Colangelo, hands down. He came in with a vision, convinced Chris Bosh to believe in it, and brought it to life by fishing in International leagues and dealing Charlie Villanueva for T.J. Ford.
No one could've expected he'd have the success of an Atlantic Division title this quickly. Now, the Raptors are on the fast track, and there's no denying who is chiefly responsible.
Dallas' Donn Nelson, San Antonio's R.C. Buford, and Houston's Carroll Dawson deserve mention for filling in gaps around their stars with the right pieces.
Defensive Player of the Year
There's not a clear-cut candidate to choose from, because so many players change the game in such different ways. To tell you how tough this is, among the individuals that didn't make my All-Defensive Teams below is Chicago's Ben Wallace, who has won this award four of the last five years, Ron Artest, who won the only time Wallace didn't, and Orlando's Dwight Howard, who is coming along brilliantly.
I'll go with Marcus Camby, the only player in the NBA averaging over three blocks. He managed to stay relatively healthy and has been a force all season.
Sixth Man Award
The roles of a lot of the top reserves get murky because many wind up starting a lot of games, but the true spirit of this award is captured by Phoenix's Leandro Barbosa, who has given the Suns that extra zing when he checks in. He operates at 100 mph, instantly becoming a game-altering presence by increasing the tempo.
Chicago's Ben Gordon and San Antonio's Manu Ginobili have had a drastic impact on games coming off the bench this season, but Barbosa gets my nod.
All-NBA Teams
First LeBron James, Cleveland
Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas
Tim Duncan, San Antonio
Steve Nash, Phoenix
Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers
Second
Carlos Boozer, Utah
Chris Bosh, Toronto
Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix
Gilbert Arenas, Washington
Tracy McGrady, Houston
Third
Kevin Garnett, Minnesota
Dwight Howard, Orlando
Yao Ming, Houston
Jason Kidd, New Jersey
Dwyane Wade, Miami
All-Rookie Teams
First
Brandon Roy, Portland
Rudy Gay, Memphis
Andrea Bargnani, Toronto
Randy Foye, Minnesota
Adam Morrison, Charlotte
Second
Paul Millsap, Utah
LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland
Jorge Garbajosa, Toronto
Marcus Williams, New Jersey
Tyrus Thomas, Chicago
All-Defensive Teams
First
F Josh Smith
F Kevin Garnett
C Marcus Camby
G Kobe Bryant
F/G Bruce Bowen
Second
F Emeka Okafor
F Jermaine O'Neal
C Tyson Chandler
G Jason Kidd
F Tayshaun Prince
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