Mid-Season Awards

MVP – Steve Nash

Shaquille O’Neal. LeBron James. Dirk Nowitzki. Gilbert Arenas.

Question: What do these four players have in common?

Answer: These all-planet superstars all had (and in the case of Dirk and Gil, are still having) MVP type seasons, but were, and will be, beaten out for the THIRD STRAIGHT YEAR by a diminutive point guard from British Columbia, Canada.

Let’s already come to terms with it. It’s easier to do it now, rather than denying the obvious and finally admitting it at the end of the season. It’s a less bitter pill to swallow.

To say Steve Nash continues to amaze is an understatement of mammoth proportions. It’s like saying Mary Kate Olsen is a little bit on the slim side.
The dude is having the BEST season of a career and providing he stays healthy, will win his third Most Valuable Player award.

All points are leading to Steve Nash winning MVP no. 3A month away from being 33, Nash is playing at a level that is way past great, it’s bordering on magical. He makes it so easy for his teammates that everyone looks like All-Stars when they play with him and scrubs when they leave (that’s you Tim Thomas). He’s great at shooting from anywhere in the court, his ball-handling and
passing skills are flawless and his basketball IQ
is second-to-none.

He’s the captain of a Phoenix team that’s scorching the entire league with a 15-game winning streak after already reaching 15 in a row earlier this season.

Bill Simmons made a great point when he said that had it not been for a 5-point loss to the Wizards (Arenas dropped 54 on them and Nash’s three to win at the end of regulation went in-and-out) and a 2-point loss to Dallas (where Nowitzki hit the game-winner), the Suns would be riding a 33-game winning streak right now, which ties the NBA record for most games won in a row (set by the ’71 Lakers led by Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West).

Had those two breaks gone Phoenix’s way (Nash making the three and Dirk missing the game winner, we would have witnessed history, fellas.

And we have Steve Nash to thank for it.

Runners up: Dirk Nowitzki and Gilbert Arenas

Coach of the Year: Jerry Sloan

His time has come. There is no coach in this league who deserves this award more than Jerry Sloan. Nobody expected the Jazz to play this good so far into the season, including me, but he’s proven that he can get the most out of his players by getting them to play hard and compete night in an night out.

This Jazz team executes well offensively, they move the ball around they have versatile players capable of playing multiple roles every night.

Is it a sentimental pick because he has never won the award yet? You bet it is. But at least I’m comforted by the fact that he’s got a winning team playing great basketball to justify my biasness.

Runners up: Mike D’Antoni, Phil Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy

Rookie of the Year: Brandon Roy

Despite missing 20 games, I’m still taking Brandon Roy as the Rookie of the Year. Nobody has really shown anything worthy of being considered the top rookie. Adam Morrison has put a new definition to the term “erratically inconsistent”, Andrea Bargnani has been showing some worth the last month but is still a long ways from becoming a consistent threat and Randy Foye hasn’t been given enough PT to warrant consideration. Roy leads all rookies in scoring with 14.3 points per game. He’s also grabbing 4.3 boards, dishing out 3 assists, and steals the ball at a rate of 1.3 per game.

If it wasn’t for that 20 games he missed, this award would have been a landslide.

Runners up: Adam Morrison, Andrea Bargnani

Most Improved Player of the Year: Deron Williams

This award proved to be a head-scratcher, too. But unlike the ROY award, the MIP is tough because there’s just too many worthy choices.

Heck, the Golden State Warriors alone have three players to pick from!

In the end, though, I’m going with Utah’s Deron Williams, with Kevin Martin of the Kings a close second.

While Lil’ K-Mart has become a premier scoring threat for the Kings (even with that ugly jump shot of his), Deron Williams that has taken his game to a whole new level. After struggling with his weight and Utah’s style of play last year, Williams spent time in the summer shredding the unwanted pounds and going under the wing of the man whose shoes he was supposed to fill, John Stockton.


So far, the Jazz have been playing great music together led by a reinvented Williams. He’s been a consistent scorer and he’s making the beautiful passes (with a 21 assist game under his belt) Jazz fans haven’t seen since No. 12 was leading the break.

Runner up: Kevin Martin

Honorable Mention: Luke Walton, Monta Ellis, Andris Biedrins, Matt Barnes, Matt Carroll, Jason Kapono, David Lee

Sixth Man of the Year: Ben Gordon

This was a toss-up between Gordon and Leandro Barbosa.

Both players having been playing off-the-charts basketball while coming off the bench. Barbosa has been averaging 16.5 points per game, while dishing out 4.2 assists per game for a Suns team that is blistering the league at a frenetic pace. Gordon, on the other hand, has been putting up monster numbers off the bench too, with averages of 21.3 points per game and 3.5 dimes per game.

I’m leaning towards Gordon for the Sixth Man Award simply because he’s more important to the Bulls success than Barbosa is to Phoenix.

I’m not saying that Barbosa is expendable; but I believe the Suns wouldn’t miss a beat if he goes down with an injury, whereas the Bulls would probably implode if Gordon doesn’t suit up.

Runner up: Leandro Barbosa


Defensive Player of the Year: Alonzo Mourning

What Alonzo Mourning has done this year is nothing short of remarkable. Filling in for an injured Shaq four games into the season, Zo has done a yeoman’s job in manning the middle for the Heat. While he’s offensive production has taken a hit because he’s not the focal point of the offense anymore, he’s defensive production has been like the Zo of old. He leads the league in blocked shots with 3 a game and if there was a category for number of shots altered just by sheer presence alone, he’d probably be on top of that list too.

What’s most impressive about Mourning this year is that he’s doing all of this while only logging 24 minutes a game. Jermaine O’Neal, who also blocks three shots per game, logs 12 more minutes a game than Zo.

Runner up: Shawn Marion