NBA Awards Watch #4 (November 19, 2012)

Welcome back to the fourth edition of our NBA Awards Watch! We do this every Monday during the NBA season, where we take a look at the top-three candidates for each of the individual awards in the NBA.

Stats listed are current as of games completed on November 18th.

Most Improved Player

James Harden isn’t a runaway winner in the most improved player catgory, as Kyrie Irving is slowly catching up. The fact is, both players have a great opportunity as the only real offensive option on their respective teams. Nicolas Batum deserves some credit, as he’s putting up terrific numbers on both ends of the court.

1. James Harden

Season	Age	Tm	G	GS	MP	FG%	3P%	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
2012-13	23	HOU	10	10	400	.436	.279	.823	9	36	45	49	15	6	42	22	260
Career			230	17	6273	.443	.364	.834	128	668	796	591	249	65	391	579	3055

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/19/2012.

2. Kyrie Irving

Season	Age	Tm	G	GS	MP	FG%	3P%	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
2012-13	20	CLE	10	10	352	.463	.391	.825	5	32	37	56	11	3	41	29	229
Career			61	61	1910	.468	.397	.862	49	179	228	331	65	23	201	139	1173

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/19/2012.

3. Nicolas Batum

Season	Age	Tm	G	GS	MP	FG%	3P%	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
2012-13	24	POR	10	10	395	.480	.408	.786	15	46	61	31	21	12	27	19	208
Career			265	212	7080	.462	.375	.831	321	733	1054	356	220	186	277	540	2817

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/19/2012.

Sixth Man of the Year

There’s no way that Jamal Crawford can continue his terrific pace, right? Those gaudy shooting percentages won’t hold up, but his role on the team will. He’s expected to come in and shoot at will. Unless he gets injured, there’s no reason for him to not win this award. Kevin Martin could find his way in to the Thunder’s starting lineup, but he’s in a very similar position otherwise.

1. Jamal Crawford

Season	Age	Tm	G	GS	MP	FG%	3P%	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
2012-13	32	LAC	9	0	253	.522	.440	.917	1	16	17	10	12	0	18	10	186
Career			821	399	26067	.410	.349	.853	327	1770	2097	3163	808	185	1680	1321	12595

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/19/2012.

2. Kevin Martin

Season	Age	Tm	G	GS	MP	FG%	3P%	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
2012-13	29	OKC	11	0	326	.487	.536	.947	2	30	32	25	13	2	18	23	194
Career			486	387	15175	.443	.381	.866	305	1372	1677	1003	459	62	881	964	8922

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/19/2012.

3. J.R. Smith

Season	Age	Tm	G	GS	MP	FG%	3P%	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
2012-13	27	NYK	8	0	270	.481	.600	.833	2	41	43	23	13	5	10	20	130
Career			546	130	13272	.428	.371	.741	278	1311	1589	1111	539	97	805	1160	6855

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/19/2012.

Defensive Player of the Year

Duncan has found the fountain of youth and isn’t telling anyone. He’s playing excellent defense both on an individual level and within the team schemes. Durant is an underrated defender and is one of the few players with steal and block percentages higher than two, with a defensive rating under 99. Kirilenko has always been a good defender, and he’s been all over the place for the Timberwolves.

1. Tim Duncan

Season	Age	Tm	G	GS	MP	FG%	3P%	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
2012-13	36	SAS	10	10	301	.526	.500	.740	14	82	96	25	11	28	13	18	178
Career			1121	1119	39670	.507	.181	.688	3306	9323	12629	3453	833	2497	2867	2781	22736

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/19/2012.

2. Kevin Durant

Season	Age	Tm	G	GS	MP	FG%	3P%	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
2012-13	24	OKC	11	11	426	.511	.469	.885	9	106	115	51	18	15	42	13	270
Career			391	391	14902	.469	.366	.878	358	2270	2628	1124	480	380	1236	732	10248

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/19/2012.

3. Andrei Kirilenko

Season	Age	Tm	G	GS	MP	FG%	3P%	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
2012-13	31	MIN	9	9	325	.597	.533	.675	21	54	75	28	13	20	26	8	127
Career			690	487	21314	.472	.315	.762	1262	2649	3911	1947	973	1400	1370	1465	8538

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/19/2012.

Rookie of the Year

Davis gets the slight nod over Lillard for now, despite missing a few games with his concussion. Davis has played within himself and is gaining more confidence. His aggression will result in more blocks (he’s already averaging over two) and more rebounds (already over eight). Lillard has been terrific for the Blazers and the game is starting to slow down for him. He had a short stretch where his shooting struggled, but he’s coming back around. Could see co-Rookies of the Year.

1. Anthony Davis

Season	Age	Tm	G	GS	MP	FG%	3P%	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
2012-13	19	NOH	6	6	170	.493	.000	.839	20	30	50	5	6	13	9	11	96
Career			6	6	170	.493	.000	.839	20	30	50	5	6	13	9	11	96

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/19/2012.

2. Damian Lillard

Season	Age	Tm	G	GS	MP	FG%	3P%	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
2012-13	22	POR	10	10	375	.447	.387	.833	7	25	32	61	15	1	33	19	190
Career			10	10	375	.447	.387	.833	7	25	32	61	15	1	33	19	190

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/19/2012.

3. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist

Season	Age	Tm	G	GS	MP	FG%	3P%	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
2012-13	19	CHA	8	8	27.0	.492	1.000	.735	2.6	4.4	7.0	1.4	1.1	1.6	2.0	3.1	11.3
Career			8	8	27.0	.492	1.000	.735	2.6	4.4	7.0	1.4	1.1	1.6	2.0	3.1	11.3

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/19/2012.

Most Valuable Player

Until James and the Heat are knocked off the mountain, it’s hard to give the MVP to anyone else. James plays a total game, working relentlessly on both ends of the court. If we had to pick on him for something, it would be his free-throw percentage, which is well below what he’s capable of. Kobe Bryant has been awesome and his shooting percentages are amazing.

1. Lebron James

Season	Age	Tm	G	GS	MP	FG%	3P%	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
2012-13	28	MIA	11	11	400	.524	.438	.661	16	83	99	71	10	11	23	18	269
Career			700	699	27897	.484	.332	.746	868	4174	5042	4822	1204	593	2322	1347	19314

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/19/2012.

2. Kobe Bryant

Season	Age	Tm	G	GS	MP	FG%	3P%	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
2012-13	34	LAL	10	10	363	.528	.405	.894	9	48	57	54	15	0	34	26	264
Career			1171	1023	42740	.454	.337	.838	1373	4826	6199	5472	1737	594	3466	3017	29748

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/19/2012.

3. Tim Duncan

Season	Age	Tm	G	GS	MP	FG%	3P%	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
2012-13	36	SAS	10	10	301	.526	.500	.740	14	82	96	25	11	28	13	18	178
Career			1121	1119	39670	.507	.181	.688	3306	9323	12629	3453	833	2497	2867	2781	22736

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/19/2012.

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HoopsHabit’s Regular Column Schedule:

Monday – NBA Awards Watch
Wednesday – NBA Power Rankings
Friday – NBA Stat Central
Sunday – Your NBA Fix Podcast