NBA Awards Watch: If The Season Ended Today

J.R. Smith has made some big shots for the New York Knicks this year and is a candidate for Sixth Man of the Year. Photo Credit: Keith Allison, Flickr.com

We all like to think we’ve got some sort of future-telling powers within us. And I think we’d all love to put those powers into those ever-enticing yet elusive lottery numbers. Sadly that doesn’t always work out so I’m going to look into my crystal ball and make predictions about the NBA instead, starting with the individual awards:

Most Valuable Player – LeBron James, Miami Heat

Let’s be honest, were you really expecting anyone else?

Truth is, since last year’s title winning run, LeBron James has dropped the title of “Choke Artist” or “LeChoke” as some preferred to call him, and King James has been the premier basketball player on the planet for the last five years or so. Were it not for Derrick Rose’s slightly controversial MVP award for the 2010-11 season, this would have been his fifth straight MVP award. Wow.

Defensive Player of the Year – Joakim Noah, Chicago Bulls

Joakim Noah has been the Chicago Bulls best player this season, leading with defense. Photo Credit: Keith Allison, Flickr.com

On face value, Larry Sanders of the Milwaukee Bucks would seem like the obvious choice with his 3.05 blocks per game, But not for me.

Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah has been and is the cornerstone of the Bulls’ defense, which has been the key to Chicago’s survival. Starved of offense in the absence of superstar Derrick Rose, they rank dead last in points per game scored with 93 ppg.

Unlike most of the candidates for the award, Noah has both the individual and team stats to back him up, averaging 11.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game, good enough for fifth and sixth, respectively, with 1.2 steals ppg. Not to mention the fact that he’s led his Chicago team to the third best defensive record with 92.3 ppg.

Sixth Man of the Year – J.R. Smith, New York Knicks

Realistically this is a two-man race between J.R Smith and Jamal Crawford of the Los Angeles Clippers. Though it would be pretty ignorant of me to not even acknowledge Jarrett Jack because the Golden State guard has been a big part of the Warriors’ resurgence into the playoffs.

Statistically, Smith and Crawford are having pretty similar seasons with Smith averaging 17.4 points and 2.8 assists per game while Crawford has 16.4 ppg and 2.5 apg respectively.

Smith has the advantage when it comes to rebounding with 5.1 rpg compared to Crawford’s measly 1.6, though he does have the better shooting efficiency with superior field-goal, 3 point and free-throw percentages.

All things considered, Smith is my choice for the award because he’s been the most important to his team between the two. Don’t get me wrong, the Clippers’ bench wouldn’t be as fierce without Crawford, but Smith has had to pick up the scoring slack from time to time. Especially with the litany of injuries in the New York Knicks’ ranks over the course of the season, including stars Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire along with defensive anchor Tyson Chandler.

Most Improved Player – James Harden, Houston Rockets

This is a pretty obvious choice in my books.

Harden has played out his mind this season averaging; 26 points, 5.6 assists, 4.8 rebounds and two steals per game. All while showing Oklahoma City what it is missing as he’s become a full-fledged superstar in the NBA following his trade to Houston before the start of the season.

Granted there are some worthy candidates out there like Milwaukee’s Larry Sanders, Indiana’s Paul George or Philadelphia’s Jrue Holiday. But none of them have risen from being a contributor and NBA Sixth Man Award winner on a championship caliber team to being a bona fide MVP candidate.

Rookie of the Year – Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers

At the start of the season, the consensus favorite for the ROY award was New Orleans big man Anthony Davis. However he went down and it was open season. In came Portland’s Damian Lillard.

Although to be honest, even if he was healthy, I don’t think Davis could have done much to top the 6’3” point guard out of little Weber State who has quickly risen to stardom.

Lillard was handed the keys to the offense right from the get go and he didn’t disappoint. He went for 21 points and 7 assists at the home of perennial All-Star Russell Westbrook and the Western Conference champion Oklahoma City Thunder in just his first game. Then he led his Trail Blazers to a 95-85 win at Houston’s Toyota Center with a 20-point, nine-assist and six-rebound performance the very next night and he’s never looked back since.

With such high confidence, leadership ability and skills, Damian Lillard is poised for many years of success in this league. Starting with the Rookie of the Year award.