NBA Awards

Most Valuable Player:
Derrick Rose
Most "valuable" player differs greatly from most "outstanding" player.  Interestingly, it may add to Derrick Rose's MVP case that he would not be the MOP.  When you acknowledge that James had by far the best season, then you begin to dissect what Rose brought to the table to make Chicago the best team in the NBA.  The debate, for me, came down to Rose versus Howard.  The arguments were that without Howard, Orlando would arguably be the worst defensive team in the NBA, yet with him they were one of the best, and for Chicago, nobody would shoot on that team if not for Rose.  Coupling Rose's improved defense with his dynamic offense and Howard's improved offense with his dominant defense, it is difficult to differentiate which player has a greater impact on his team.  Essentially, Howard loses the award more than Rose wins it as Dwight is often too complacent and the does more to hurt his team than Derrick does (technical fouls>suspension).

2. Dwight Howard

3. Dirk Nowitzki

4. Dwyane Wade

5. LeBron James

Rookie of the Year:
Blake Griffin

Do I need to explain anything?

2. DeMarcus Cousins

3. Landry Fields

Defensive Player of the Year:
Dwight Howard
(See above)

2. Tyson Chandler

3. Tony Allen

Coach of the Year:
George Karl
The most impressive part of George Karl's coaching performance this season was that he essentially coached two completely different teams, in two completely different situations, in two completely different systems, and equally as impressive.  Prior to the Carmelo trade, Karl kept a team that 9 out of 10 times would have mailed it in competitive.  Following the trade, Denver became a top defensive team, developed great offensive balance, and played with more energy than anyone else.  More than anything else, it has to say something about the coach when a team trades its two best players for 75 cents on the dollar and becomes more feared.

2. Doug Collins

3. Lionel Hollins

Most Improved Player:
LaMarcus Aldridge
For the first few years of his career, there were numerous criticisms of LaMarcus Aldridge's game: he was an outside big, he wasn't a great defender, and he wasn't a leader.  Following Brandon Roy's surgery most people wrote Portland off, and rightfully so.  The only reason that the Blazers did not fall off the map was because of Aldridge's improvements.  He became a dominant post player, he improved his defense, he became a fantastic leader.  Aldridge put Portland on his back and carried them to places people thought they could not go.

2. Derrick Rose

3. Tyler Hansbrough

Sixth Man of the Year:
Lamar Odom
Odom separates himself from Terry and Crawford mostly because of his versatility and his value to his team.  Lamar brings an aspect to the Lakers that they do not get anywhere else and is essential to the team's success.  Terry and Crawford both pack scoring punch off of the bench but neither contributes much else.
2. Jason Terry
3. Jamal Crawford
All-NBA:
First Team:
Derrick Rose
Dwyane Wade
LeBron James
Dirk Nowitzki
Dwight Howard
Second Team:
Russell Westbrook
Kobe Bryant
Kevin Durant
LaMarcus Aldridge
Amaré Stoudemire
Third Team:
Chris Paul
Manu Ginobili
Kevin Love
Zach Randolph
Pau Gasol
All-NBA Defense:
First-Team:
Rajon Rondo
Tony Allen
Andre Iguodala
Kevin Garnett
Dwight Howard
Second-Team:
Chris Paul
Derrick Rose
Grant Hill
LeBron James
Tyson Chandler
All-NBA Rookie:
First-Team:
John Wall
Landry Fields
Greg Monroe
Blake Griffin
DeMarcus Cousins
Second-Team:
Eric Bledsoe
Wes Johnson
Paul George
Gary Neal
Derrick Favors

Top 5 Individuals Performance of the First Round

Honorable Mentions:
-Derrick Rose, Game 1 (39 pts, 6 rbs, 6 ast, 10/23 fgs, 0/9 3pts, 19/21 fts)
-Dwyane Wade, Game 3 (32 pts, 10 rbs, 8 ast, 10/19 fgs, 12/12 fts)
-Dirk Nowitzki, Game 6 (33 pts, 11 rbs, 11/17 fgs, 0/1 3pts, 11/11 fts)
-Kevin Durant, Game 1 (41 pts, 9 rbs, 13/22 fgs, 3/6 3pts, 12/15 fts)
-Zach Randolph, Game 1 (25 pts, 14 rbs, 10/15 fgs, 0/1 3pts, 5/8 fts)


5. Dwight Howard, Game 1 (46 pts, 19 rbs, 8 tos, 16/23 fgs, 14/22 fts)
If Orlando had won the game, it would be nearly impossible to keep Howard's Game 1 performance out of the top 3.  Dwight's 46 points and 19 rebounds both remain as the  top outputs so far this postseason.  While statistically the showing was outstanding, the Magic were rarely competing and never in control of the game.  It does mean something to carry the team and all Dwight was able to do was keep them afloat.


4. Carmelo Anthony, Game 2 (42 pts, 17 rbs, 6 ast, 14/30 fgs, 4/8 3pts, 10/11 fts)
While it is difficult to separate Carmelo Anthony's Game 2 performance and Dwight Howard's Game 1 on a statistical basis, a few intangible factors go into ranking Melo over Dwight.  First, while Howard dominated his game, he never took over like Carmelo did.  Anthony put up big numbers all game long but in the 4th quarter of a tight game on the road (without Amaré and Chauncey), he pushed his teammates' struggles to the curb and carried the Knicks to what should have been a meaningful victory (anyone who knows basketball saw that the refs stole that game from New York).  Second, Howard's team was the favorite at home and Carmelo's was the underdog on the road.  Carmelo putting up big numbers against Paul Pierce and the C's is more impressive than Dwight Howard against Jason Collins, Zaza Pachulia, and Hilton Armstrong.

3. Rajon Rondo, Game 3 (15 pts, 11 rbs, 20 ast, 5/13 fgs, 5/6 fts)

Rajon Rondo's first round series must be taken with a grain of salt.  Not only are the Knicks a terrible defensive team to begin with, the way Toney Douglas chose to guard Rondo throughout the series was inexcusable.  Playing off of Rondo in the half-court is the smart thing to do and you cannot fault the Knicks for such (Rondo's 5/13 field goal performance can attest to that).  Where the major issue lied was in the fast-break defense.  It seems as if Douglas' strategy was simply to keep backpedaling until he left the court.  It's not like Rajon was going all Allen Iverson on people and breaking ankles; he went straight down the middle of the lane completely uncontested.  As much as the Knicks defense can be blamed, Rondo must be praised for becoming only the second player in history to record a playoff triple-double with 20+ assists (interestingly Magic Johnson's 1991 performance was almost identical (16 pts, 11 rbs, 20 ast, 4/12 fgs, 6/6 fts).  Setting records like this must be appreciated and Rondo is getting his appreciation here.

2. Chris Paul, Game 1 (33 pts, 7 rbs, 14 ast, 11/18 fgs, 2/3 3pts, 9/12 fts)
I contest that there has never been a deeper position in any sport at any time as there currently is at the point guard spot in the NBA.  There are upwards of ten point guards that could easily lead a championship team and the gap between 1 and 5 is not nearly as big as it is for every other position.  That being said, for anybody that was beginning to reopen the debate as to who may be the best of the best, Chris Paul just spent the first round telling those people to shut up.  The Hornets had no business making the playoffs in the West (without David West) and absolutely no business taking 2 games from the Lakers and yet they did both.  Two words explain why.  Chris. Paul.


1. Chris Paul, Game 4 (27 pts, 13 rbs, 15 ast, 7/14 fgs, 2/4 3pts, 11/11 fts)
Chris Paul is unequivocally, the best and most well-rounded point guard in the NBA and there is an argument to be had that he is the most well-rounded player in the game as well.  When healthy, he is the best on-ball defensive point guard in the league, the third best passer in the league (Nash and James), the third-best playmaking point guard (Rondo and Nash), the fourth-best penetrating point guard (Rose, Parker, Williams), one of the top ten overall shooters in the league, and, for his size, an above-average rebounder.  If I were a basketball coach teaching point guards how to play the game effectively, I would make them watch Game 4 of the Hornets-Lakers series.  He dominated the game individually, he set his teammates up perfectly, and most importantly he willed his team to win a game that they should not have won.

April Awards

American League MVP: Robinson Cano

Hitting .320 with 8 home runs and 21 RBIs for the 16-9 Yankees, Robinson Cano should be the front runner for American League MVP.  The National League seems to dominate the early season statistics on an annual basis and 2011 is no different.  There are no AL standouts to this point but Cano is currently the only player in the top 10 in all average, home runs, and rbis (T8, T2, T4).  The superior statistics, coupled with the second-best record in the AL puts Cano is prime position going forward.

Candidates: Jose Bautista, Miguel Cabrera, Michael Young, Alex Gordon

American League Cy Young: Jered Weaver

No.  Brainer.  Say hello to this year's Ubaldo Jimenez.  Weaver has been absolutely dominant to start the season.  Currently on pace for the Triple Crown and leading his Angels to division-leading status, this one needs no debate.

Candidates: Dan Haren, Michael Pineda, Trevor Cahill, Justin Masterson, James Shields

American League Manager of the Month: Manny Acta

The Cleveland Indians are a MLB-leading 19-8.  Other than Acta, try to give me another good reason why.

Candidates: Terry Francona (just kidding)

National League MVP: Lance Berkman

If you watched Berkman on the 2010 Astros or Yankees, you would think that him winning the MVP this year would be insane.  The bottom-line is that The Big Puma has flat-out raked all year long.  St. Louis lost Adam Wainwright in Spring Training and Albert Pujols has not looked like Albert Pujols to this point and yet the Cardinals still lead the NL Central.  Why, you ask?  Look no further than Berkman's monstrous 1.209 OPS.  While this production most likely will not last all season, any true baseball fan has to love seeing Lance put up numbers like it's 2006 again.

Candidates: Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, Matt Kemp

National League Cy Young: Josh Johnson

Is there a more under-appreciated player in all of baseball than Josh Johnson?  If there is, please let me know.  Through 7 big-league seasons, the 27 year-old has posted a career ERA under 3.00 while winning nearly 70% of his games for a perennially poor Florida team.  This year has been no exception.  While his 3-0 record with 49 strikeouts in 6 starts is impressive on its own, sporting a 0.88 ERA and 0.71 WHIP through 41.0 innings pitched is down-right filthy.  Florida is currently half a game out of first place in the NL East (they are sporting the league's third best record), and Josh Johnson's dominance has more to do with the success as anything.

Candidates: Roy Halladay, Kyle Lohse, Shawn Marcum, Jorge De La Rosa

National League Manager of the Month: Edwin Rodriguez

The National League Manager of the Month Award is much more difficult to hand out than its American League counterpart.  Unlike the Padres last season, there is no major surprise to this point.  Out of 16 total NL teams, only 4 are currently above .500 and, given that stat prior to the season, not many people would have thought that the Marlins would be one of those 4 teams.  Edwin Rodriguez took over for Fredi Gonzalez midway through the 2010 season and since then has done a great job at keeping that club motivated.  Atlanta should right the ship and it is unlikely that only 4 National League teams finish the season above .500 but as of now Rodriguez has done the best managerial job.

Candidates: Tony LaRussa, Jim Tracy