Basketball fans can expect several multi-player races for the 2008 NBA Awards.
The NBA season is winding down, which makes it about time for the league to hand out its awards. Though there's still several regular season games to play, and the awards aren't announced until varying dates during the playoffs, it never hurts to speculate as to how the votes might go.
MVP Prediction: Kobe Bryant wins; Chris Paul undervalued
There's no reason for Kobe Bryant not to win this award, though there are plenty of others one could make cases for. Still, Bryant's led the Lakers to one of the top records so far in the Western Conference, which by the way is stacked with talent. Moreover, he's done it with several key teammates injured, including recently aquired Pau Gasol, and the young center Andrew Bynum.
Chris Paul is deserving of the award, but youth will play to his disadvantage. Still, Paul's led the New Orleans Hornets into a new era. They currently have the best record in the Western Conference, which is quite a change from last year when they won just 39 games.
Certainly Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics and LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers are worthy of MVP honors, as well. Garnett's led the Celtics to the best record in the NBA and James continues to be a one-man show. However, the Cavs' record isn't good enough for him to be considered (40-31), and Garnett has already missed nine games.
Rookie of the Year Prediction: Kevin Durants steals the award from Al Horford
If the Atlanta Hawks slip into the playoffs, Horford might take the honor. He may be more deserving than Durant, but Durant's numbers are nothing to sneeze at. He's the leading scoring on a team without much help, which means he's shown the ability to score despite defenses locking in on him. Durant's averaged 19.6 ppg, 4.1 rbpg, 1.0 spg, 1.0 bspg in 69 games so far this season. Though he's only shot 42% from the field, he has shot 87% from the line in 5.6 attempts per game.
Meanwhile, Al Horford has averaged 9.8 ppg, 9.8 rbpg and has shot 47% from the field in 68 games so far this season.
Defensive Player of the Year Prediction: Kevin Garnett
Garnett has been the key to the Celtics' lock-down defense. Though his numbers are down, the energy he brings at the defensive end has been a huge part of their success this season. The Celtics give up the least amounts of points per game (90.4) at the lowest FG% per game (41.9). On top of that, their opponents only manage to get off 77.6 shots per game when playing Boston, which is third fewest in the league. What's even more telling is that their opponents averaged 95.9 ppg in those games that Garnett missed, and of those nine teams, five were against teams with below-.500 records.
Most Improved Player Prediction: Jose Calderon tops long list of deserving candidates
Jose Calderon saved the Toronto Raptors season when TJ Ford went down with injury. Calderon averaged 12.2 ppg and 8.4 apg and has helped lead the Raptors into playoff contention. Lakers center Andrew Bynum and Clippers center Chris Kaman might be worth candidates, but the slew of games they've both missed sort of takes them out of the mix for this award.
6th Man of the Year: Ginobili dazzles fans
San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili should win this without trouble. Michael Finley's been the regular starter in order to save Ginobili for later in games. He's responded well, leading the team in scoring off the bench (20.1 ppg), while adding 4.9 rbpg, 4.6 apg, 1.6 spg and 2.3 treys per game.
Coach of the Year Award Prediction: Byron Scott lead candidate
The Hornets weren't even a playoff team in 2007. Part of that was due to injuries, but Scott has done a tremendous job developing this young crop of players and molding them into a unified, defensive-minded unit. Rick Adelmain of the Houston Rockets deserves mention, but it would be shocking if Scott didn't win the award with the Hornets being as consistent as they've been.
Executive of the Year Award Prediction: Danny Ainge wins - who'd have thought?
Criticized for much of his front office career for not making smart transactions, Danny Ainge ought to be commended for having the guts to trade half of his team for the aging Kevin Garnett. Even before that, he should be praised for having such backbone that compelled him to deal for Ray Allen, bad ankles and all. The result has been the turning of a 24-58 lottery team, to a 55-15 (so far) championship contender.
