J-Speaks: NBA Awards in Focus

As the NBA playoffs near, the debate is heating up on who will capture some serious hardware for their stellar work this season. Last week I talked about the tight race for the 2015 Most Valuable Player Award (MVP). In this post, I will bring into focus the candidates for Most Improved Player; Sixth Man of the Year; Rookie of the Year; Defensive Player of the Year and Coach of the Year for the 2015 NBA campaign.

Rookie of the Year

From the start of this season, the 2015 Rookie class was one of the most hyped up classes in recent memory. Many of the first year players were touted as the building blocks for their team’s bright future. While some of them have gotten off to tough starts, one rookie has stood out amongst them all.

That is the leading candidate in swingman Andrew Wiggins of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

While the all-around numbers have been solid for the No. 1 overall pick in from this past June’s draft, the newest sensation from Canada has risen his game each month of this season.

He averaged 12.3 and 14.6 points on just 39.9 and 40.9 percent shooting respectably in Nov. and Dec. 2014. Wiggins has averaged 14.6, 19.8, 16.8 and 17.9 points in the months of Jan., Feb. and Mar. and his shooting percentage was better in Jan. and Feb. where he shot 47.1 and 45.7 percent respectably.  

To put this in a better perspective, since the All-Star break, Wiggins is averaging 20.1 points per contest on 45 percent from the floor and he is getting to the free throw line an average of 7.7 times per contest, shooting 78.5 percent.

The emergence of Wiggins has been a bright spot in a season where the Twelves (16-64) have had a lot of losses as well as injuries to the likes of Kevin Martin, Gorgui Dieng, Shabazz Muhammed, Nikola Pekovic, Kevin Garnett and Anthony Bennett, a fellow Canadian and the No. 1 overall pick two years ago.

While other rookies like Nerlens Noel (9.9 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 1.9 bpg, 1.8 spg) of the Philadelphia 76ers, who averaged 14.3 points, 11.2 boards, 2.1 blocks and 2.4 steals and Nikola Mirotic (10.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg) of the Chicago Bulls, who averaged 20.8 points, 7.6 rebounds and scored a league leading 136 in the fourth quarter in March have come on in the past month, it is Wiggins who has been the most consistent rookie and is my choice for Rookie of the Year.

Sixth Man of the Year

When you think of this particular award, it is one that goes to the player who can come into the game and not only strike a match offensively, but can turn the game into their team’s favor and play a major role in the outcome of that particular contest.

That perfectly describes the first candidate in two-time winner Jamal Crawford (16.1 ppg) of the Los Angeles Clippers, who captured this honor in 2010 with the Atlanta Hawks and last season with the Los Angeles Clippers.

He joined 15-year veteran Ricky Pierce and former All-Star forward Detlef Schrempf as the only players to win Sixth Man of the Year twice in their careers. If Crawford were to win the award this season, he would become the all-time winner with three.

In both seasons that he won, Crawford was the top scorer off the bench averaging 18.0 and 18.6 points per game respectably.

The last six players to win this award, five of them led the league in points per contest off the pine. Then Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom, who won Sixth Man of the Year in 2011 finished third in scoring off the bench with 14.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and three assists.

Another strong candidate for this award is Isaiah Thomas (16.5 ppg, 4.2 apg, 37.1 3-Pt.%) of the Boston Celtics.

It is very rare that a player who can come into the game for one team and really play very well can do that same thing for another team midseason.

Well the namesake of the two-time NBA champion, one of the 50 Greatest Players ever and a Hall of Famer with the Detroit Pistons has done just that since joining the Celtics via a trade by the Phoenix Suns back in February.

Thomas has averaged 19.6 points and 5.3 assists since joining the Celtics (37-42) and is be a big reason why they are on the cusp of one of the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference, where they stand at the No. 7 position right now.

He was spectacular this past Wednesday night, when he scored a game-high 34 points off the bench, going 10 for 17 from the floor, including 4 for 8 from three-point range, 10 for 11 from the free throw line and six assists in leading the Celtics to a 113-103 win at the Pistons (30-49) in front of a nationally televised audience.

The third candidate is Marreese Speights of the Golden State Warriors (65-15), owners of the best record in the NBA and No. 1 Seed in the West.

While “The Splash Brothers” of Stephen Curry, my pick for MVP and Klay Thompson may grab all the headlines and they are deserving of those, the Warriors are having their best season in franchise history is because of the career season by the No. 16 overall pick in the 2008 Draft out of Florida (10.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg 49.8 FG%), who is averaging career-highs in points, field goal percentage and free throw percentage at 84.1 percent.

The final candidate is Lou Williams (15.5 ppg) of the back-to-back Atlantic Division champion Toronto Raptors (48-32).

After seven seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers, the No. 45 overall pick out of South Gwinnett High School in Snellville, GA signed with the Atlanta Hawks on July 12, 2012.

Williams’ joined the Raptors this off-season via a trade from the Atlanta Hawks. He joined them just two years removed from a torn ACL he sustained back on Jan. 18, 2013 at the Brooklyn Nets.  

The question coming into the season, could the native from Lithonia, GA returned to the form that made him one of the best instant offensive players in the game.

On Nov. 22, 2014, he answered that question in a major way with a career-high 36 points off the bench going 9 for 19 from the field and 15 for 15 from the charity stripe in leading the Raptors to a 110-93 at the Cleveland Cavaliers.

My choice for Sixth Man of the Year is Williams. While Crawford has the better scoring average, Williams has played more games, 79 to Crawford’s 61 appearances due to a calf strain sustained in a 110-105 win at the Timberwolves on Mar. 2 that put him on the shelf for 17 games.

Most Improved Player

There are players who enter the NBA and grasp the game right away and they hit the ground running. For other players, it takes time for them to really grasp what kind of player they can be in the league and how they can help their team succeed.

The four players up for Most Improved Player not only had the best season of their careers, but have established themselves as major building blocks for their respective team and have big pay days on the horizon.

Chicago Bulls (48-32) swingman Jimmy Butler, the 30^th overall pick in 2011 out of Marquette found a way onto the court by being a solid team defender and individual defender for head coach Tom Thibodeau. 

Last season, Butler averaged 13.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 67 games per contest, all of which came as a starter after averaging 2.6 and 8.9 in 124 games respectably in his first two seasons, starting a total of 20 times.

This season, Butler has become the Bulls’ leading scorer at 20.0 points per game, while also averaging 5.8 boards, 3.3 assists and 1.8 steals on 45.9 percent from the field and career-highs of 36.7 percent from three-point range and 83.8 percent from the free throw line.

He has expanded his game to where he can make shots from the perimeter, three-point range and he has shown the ability to score off the bounce and drawing fouls that get him to the charity stripe, where he attempts 7.1 per contest this season.

Butler’s incredible play on both ends as well as the play of Pau Gasol (18.5 ppg, 11.8 rpg-4^th NBA, 1.9 bpg-leads team), who established a new Bulls record with 52 double-doubles this season and the aforementioned Mirotic in recent games are why the Chicago Bulls have remained in the top tier of the East, despite that key cogs Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson. Mike Dunleavy, Kirk Hinrich and Doug McDermott have missed a lot of games because of injury.

To put Butler’s numbers into perspective, he has scored 20 points or more 33 times this season and on seven occasions he scored 30 points or more. He had a career-high 35 points on Dec. 18 2014 when the Bulls won versus the New York Knicks (16-64) 103-97 and in the Bulls 123-118 overtime setback at the Lakers (21-58) on Jan. 29.

The aforementioned Warriors are having the best season in franchise history is because of Curry and Thompson; career seasons from Speights, third-year forward Harrison Barnes (10.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 48.3 FG%, 40.1 3-Pt.%) and the next candidate Draymond Green, who is also up for another award. More on that later.

Green, the 35^th overall pick out of Michigan State University in 2012 Draft came into this league as a player who would bring an energy and toughness to the hardwood.

This season, he had risen game across the board with career-high averages of 11.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.6 steals and 1.3 blocks per contest.

While his high energy got him on the court in his first two seasons under former head coach and now NBA on ESPN/ABC analyst Mark Jackson, his solid numbers are due to the fact that All-Star forward David Lee was injured at the start of the season, which made first-year head coach and five-time NBA champion with the Bulls and San Antonio Spurs Steve Kerr make his first big decision on who starts at the power forward spot. He found that replacement in Green and he has been as good as gold as a starter.

The result 65 wins and counting and the team’s first Pacific Division crown in 39 seasons.

When the season for the Utah Jazz (37-43) began, there was very little thought about current starting center Rudy Gobert being a fixture in the plans for the future.

That all changed at the trade deadline back in February when the Jazz traded then starting center Enes Kanter to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Prior to the All-Star break, Gobert, who is from France averaged a respectable 6.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in 21.9 minutes. Since then, he has averaged 10.9 points, 13.4 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in 34.9 minutes. He had nine double-doubles prior to the All-Star break. Since then, Gobert has garnered 15 double-doubles.

Gobert has averaged a double-double of 10.9 points and 14.9 rebounds and 11.7 points and 11.8 rebounds in the months of March and so far in April, while also averaging 2.3 and 2.0 blocks shots respectably.  

If Gobert can continue to develop his body and his game, the Jazz will have something they have not had since Mark Eaton. A legitimate starting center, only Gobert has some ability at the offensive end to go along with his remarkable ability to block shots and rebound.

The future looks even brighter for the Jazz with the young core of Trey Burke, Rodney Hood, Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors, Dante Exum, Alec Burks and Gobert. If they can bring in some solid veteran players, Quin Snyder’s team may be contending for a playoff spot next season.

Around this time a season ago, the Miami Heat (35-45) were gearing up for a three-peat. This season, the four-time Eastern Conference champs are not even going to make the playoffs.

There has been one shining light and that has been Hassan Whiteside (11.5 ppg, 10.0 rpg-leads team, 2.5 bpg-leads team).

After bottoming out with the Sacramento Kings, the former No. 33 overall pick out of Marshall in 2010 went from playing in the NBA Developmental League to playing in China and Lebanon.

The Heat gave the second chance that he was looking for when he was signed on Nov. 24, 2014.

He recorded the first double-double of his career with 11 points, 10 boards to go along with five blocks in Miami’s 88-84 win versus the Brooklyn Nets (36-42).

In the Heat’s 104-90 victory at the Los Angeles Clippers on Jan. 11, Whiteside had a then career-high 23 points to go along with 16 boards, two steals and two blocks.

He introduced himself to the nation with a historic first career triple-double of 14 points, 13 rebounds and a Heat franchise record 12 blocks in a 96-84 victory at the Bulls 14 days later. Whiteside became just the fourth player in the last 25 seasons to have at least 12 points, 12 rebounds and 12 blocks in a game and is the first since the late Manute Bol to record 12 blocks off the bench in 25 minutes or fewer.

Despite falling on Feb. 4 at the Timberwolves 102-101, Whiteside had another strong performance with 24 points on 12 for 13 from the floor to go along with 20 rebounds, becoming just the fourth player in NBA history to hit 90 percent of his field goal attempts while registering a 20/20 game.

The only thing that can keep Whiteside from reaching his full potential is himself as he was suspended for one game without pay after striking Celtics’ forward Kelly Olynyk during the Heat’s 100-90 loss on Mar. 9.

One thing is for sure about these four candidates, they will be paid handsomely when they hit the free agent market. For Butler and Green, that will be this off-season.

Jimmy Butler is my choice for Most Improved Player because he went from a role player to a vital piece of the Bulls’ puzzle. Not many players can go just from being a role player to a top notch offensive player and then become a first-time All-Star on top of that.

Defensive Player of the Year

Traditionally, this award which began in 1983 has gone to more often a center like Hall of Famers David Robinson; Hakeem Olajuwon, a two-time winner; Alonzo Mourning, a two-time winner, soon to be Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace, a four-time winner, Marcus Camby, Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard, Tyson Chandler, Marc Gasol and last year’s winner Joakim Noah.

Among guards and forwards that have won the award in NBA history include Hall of Famers Michael Jordan, Gary Payton; Sidney Moncrief, a two-time winner; Alvin Robertson; five-time NBA champion Michael Cooper; Dennis Rodman, a two-time winner and Metta World Peace, formally Ron Artest.

Three of the four candidates are centers and one forward, who has shown he can guard all five positions.

Over the last few seasons, the Memphis Grizzlies (53-25) have been first and foremost a team that is predicated on getting stops consistently in games and this season is no different.

They are second in points allowed at 95.0; 10^th in opponent’s field goal percentage at 44.1 percent; No. 7 in steals at 8.5 and No. 9 in forced turnovers per contest at 14.6.

Anchoring that defense is Gasol (17.5 ppg-leads team), who is averaging 7.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per contest.

While the Warriors have been great at the offensive end this season, they are a top the West because of their stellar play at the defensive end and Draymond Green is a big reason for that.

One of the great strengths of the aforementioned Rodman in his Hall of Fame career was his ability to defend guards, forwards and centers. That is the same skill that Green brings to the table.

On many occasions this season, Green has guarded many perimeter players as well as forwards and centers in the post and has more than held his own.

That has helped Golden State hold the opposition to an NBA best 42.7 percent from the field and tied for fourth in opponent’s three-point percentage at 33.7 percent. They are fifth in rebounds per game at 44.8 per game; second in block shots per contest at 6.0; fourth in steals per game at 9.3 and tied for fourth in forced turnovers at 15.5.

While he might have come on late in the season, Gobert of the Jazz has been a major factor in the Jazz being one of the best defenses in the league.

His shot blocking and shot changing ability is a big reason why the Jazz lead the NBA in points allowed at 94.7; tied for No. 3 in blocks per game at 6.0 and for No. 1 in rebound differential at +4.8.

Ever since Glenn “Doc” Rivers has been the head coach of the Clippers, he had made DeAndre Jordan into a borderline All-Star. His advice to him starting back a season ago was to focus on rebounding, blocking shots and only shoot when you are in close to the basket.

That has worked for Jordan (11.4 ppg), who leads the league this season in rebounds per game and field goal percentage 14.9 and 70.9 percent respectably, while ranking fourth in the NBA in blocks per contest at 2.2.

Jordan had one of the best games of his career when he had 22 points, a career-high 27 rebounds and three blocks as the Clippers thumped the Dallas Mavericks (47-31) in their own gym 115-98 on Feb. 9. He followed that up versus the Houston Rockets (53-26) two nights later when he had 24 points, 20 rebounds, three steals and two blocks as the Clippers won 110-95.

Jordan has garnered 20 rebounds or more 12 times this season and the Clippers have gone 8-4 on those occasions.

The Clippers unfortunately are not playing the same kind of defense that they did a season ago. While they are ranked ninth in blocks per game at 5.0; they are just 16^th in points allowed at 100.1; 11^th in field goal percentage at 44.3 percent; tied for 13^th in opponent’s three-point percentage at 34.7 percent and 15^th in rebound differential at -0.2.

My choice is Draymond Green for Defensive Player of the Year. There is an old saying in sports. Offense wins games. Defense wins championships. The Warriors have been the best defense in the league and that is why they have a serious chance at winning it all.

 

Coach of the Year

The first two candidates for this award have led their team to the top of their respective conference and to the highest number of wins in team history and their first division titles in many years. The other two candidates have their teams on the cusp of returning to the playoffs, a place many thought they would not even come close to being at.

When the Warriors fired Mark Jackson in the summer and replaced him with first timer Steve Kerr, it was serious gamble for a team that had won 50-plus game for the first time in two decades.

That gamble has yielded 65 victories a franchise record, with 37 of those victories coming at home, anther franchise record. They won their first Pacific Division title in 39 years when they won at the Portland Trail Blazers (51-29) 122-108 on Mar. 24.

The biggest thing that Kerr did in his first year on the job was convince two former All-Stars in David Lee and Andre Iguodala to come off the bench and they did not squabble about it. That has allowed Green and Barnes to blossom this season and made the Warriors one of the deepest teams in the NBA. Having Curry and Thompson play at a high level has not hurt either.

At the start of the season, many had the Cavaliers and the Bulls as the top two in the East. Nobody had the Atlanta Hawks.

Fast forward to now, those Hawks led by head coach Mike Budenholzer in his second season sit atop the East with a franchise record 60 regular season wins.

In garnering their 60^th victory with a 104-80 victory versus the Charlotte Hornets this past Friday night, the Hawks became the 21^st franchise to win 60-plus games in a season; the 71^st team in NBA history to win 60-plus games in a season and became the fourth team in NBA history to win 60 games or more after having a losing record the season prior, where they Hawks were 38-44 in 2013-14. 

The most they had in franchise history prior to this season was 57 back as the Central Division champs in the 1986-87 season under then head coach now NBA on TNT and color analyst for the Brooklyn Nets Mike Fratello and 1993-94 when they won the Division under then Hall of Fame head coach Lenny Wilkens.

Having All-Star center Al Horford (15.2 ppg, 7.2 rpg) healthy has helped a great deal for the Southeast Division champions as well as stellar play from fellow All-Stars Paul Millsap (16.8 ppg-leads team, 7.8 rpg-leads team, 1.8 spg-leads team), Jeff Teague (16.0 ppg, 7.0 apg-leads team). Kyle Korver (12.1 ppg) is having one of the best shooting seasons for a shooter on the opposite side of 30 years old shooting 48.8 percent from the floor and 49.4 percent from three-point territory.

More than anything what has aided the Hawks rise to greatness this season has been the play DeMarre Carroll (12.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 39.7 3-Pt.%) as a solid two-way player; Dennis Schroder (9.8 ppg, 4.2 apg) who has shown he can be a great understudy to Teague and the contributions from Mike Scott (7.7 ppg, 34.3 3-Pt.%), Pero Antic, Shelvin Mack and Kent Bazemore off the bench.

Budenholzer, who is a longtime assistant of the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs has been able to implement his system complete in year two and it has worked very well. The Hawks rank second in the league in assists at 25.9 and rank 11^th in scoring at 102.7 per game. Defensively, the Hawks are sixth in points allowed surrendering just 96.9 per contest.

While they have been a solid team in the regular season, the question going into the playoffs about the Hawks is who is their go to guy at the offensive end?

Their will come a point where they will get challenge by their opponent and who will be the person to step up and carry them, particularly offensively when things get tough?

For the Milwaukee Bucks (39-40) and the Celtics, the fact that they are in the position to make the postseason after what happen to both a season ago is nothing short of remarkable.

When the Celtics traded lead guard Rajon Rondo and forward Jeff Green earlier in the season, many thought that all was lost on the season.

They were 16-30 on Feb. 1. Since then, the C’s have gone 21-12 since.  

With all the draft picks that the team has acquired and the fact that they are fighting to get into the playoffs is a testament to the leadership of head coach Brad Stevens and General Manager and former Celtic champion Danny Ainge.

Last season, the Bucks went 15-67, their worst record in franchise history. In the off-season, the team acquired a new head coach in Jason Kidd and in the Draft this past summer selected with the No. 2 overall pick Jabari Parker out of Duke University.

The Bucks played very steady for much of this season and at one point were solidly in the playoff picture at 30-23 on Feb. 11 after a 111-103 win versus the Sacramento Kings (27-52), especially after losing Parker to a torn ACL in their 96-94 win at the Phoenix Suns (39-41) on Dec. 15, 2014.

At the trade deadline, they shook the team up by shipping out lead guard Brandon Knight, who as a borderline All-Star in the first half of the season to the Phoenix Suns for guard Tyler Ennis and forward/center Miles Plumlee. They also acquired last season’s Rookie of the Year in Michael Carter-Williams (14.6 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 5.4 apg, 1.7 spg) from the Philadelphia 76ers for draft picks.

While the team has gone 9-17 since being seven games over .500, the fact that the Milwaukee Bucks are on the verge of making it to the postseason is a testament to the new ownership and their hard work in combination with Kidd and the players on the court.

Like the aforementioned Jazz, the Bucks with what they have shown this season have a bright future with Parker (12.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 49.0 FG% in 25 games) when he returns next season, Giannis Antetokounmpo (12.8 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 49.7 FG%), Khris Middleton (13.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.6 spg, 46.2 FG%, 40.9 3-Pt.%), O.J. Mayo (11.2 ppg, 35.6 3-Pt.%), Ersan Ilyasova (11.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 37.5 3-Pt.%), Jerryd Bayless (7.9 ppg) and ZaZa Pachulia (8.4 ppg, 6.9 rpg).

My choice for Coach of the Year Steve Kerr. To win at a consistent level in a tough Western Conference and to win a record number of games in your first chance is special. Not many can take over a team that is on the rise and make it better. Kerr did that and they can hopefully finish the deal with a title.

Information and statistics are courtesy of 4/4/15 3 a.m. NBATV’s “Gametime” with Rick Kamla, Dennis Scott and Vinny Del Negro; 4/6/15 5:30 p.m. NBATV’s “The Starters-The Starties Award Show” with Trey Kerby, J.E. Skeets, Tas Melas, Leigh Ellis and Kristen Ledlow; www.espn.go.com/nba/standings/statistics/teams; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milwaukee_Bucks; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hassan_Whiteside; en.wikepedia.org/wiki/Jamal_Crawford; “Sporting News” Official 2006-07 NBA Guide.