NBA Midseason Awards

Last weekend we were treated to the biggest party of the NBA season. The All-Star break has come and gone, and now the real fun begins; the stretch-run of the NBA season.

There are four legitimate title contenders (Celtics, Cavaliers, Lakers and Spurs) and plenty of intrigue. Here at Flavors of Lovelace, we're going to hand out some midseason awards before we look toward the playoffs (and I'm aware that there's actually been 51 games played, not making it true midseason. But it's my blog. I do what I want.)

(One more thing about the All-Star game before we move along though. All of the Kobe/Shaq love stories we've been forced to read... gotta stop. Have we already forgotten that Shaq performed a not-so-flattering rap freestyle about his former teammate just last summer? Or Kobe's classy confession about Shaq's lovelife in 2004? We're really supposed to believe that these guys are boys now?!? Stop. Please, just stop.)

Kobe must be a fan of Shaq's rapping

Surprise Player - Jameer Nelson
Sad way to start the awards. Nelson was playing unbelievable this season and Orlando had a legitimate chance to get to the NBA Championship. His faults were always his defense (because of his lack of size) and his inability to go left. This year his defense was improved and he practiced all summer going to his weakside. With a healthy Nelson, Orlando can beat anyone in the league. Without him? Probably second round exit at best. Sucks.


Surprise Team - New Jersey Nets
Devin Harris has been an absolute beast this year. Who knew he had it in him? (Certainly not Mark Cuban when he traded him for an almost-washed-up Jason Kidd). Vince Carter, who has been injury-riddled an slightly apathetic the last couple of seasons, has bounced back with a vengeance. Add in the fact that Brook Lopez is playing outstanding, and the Nets are sneaky effective this year. They're battling for a playoff spot and I don't think anyone predicted that to start the year.


Disappointing Player - Elton Brand
I'm a 76ers fan, so maybe I'm a little bias in this pick. I'm not a big numbers guy (I am a writer, after all), but let's take a look at 'ol Elton's season mathematically.

Brand was averaging 13.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game on 45% shooting before getting injured for the rest of the season. He was averaging 3.7 free throw attempts a game. For his career, he's averaged 19.7 ppg, 10 rbg, 2.6 apg on 50% shooting and averaged 6.4 free throw attempts a game. With Brand, the 76ers were 13-16. Without him (as of 2/16).... 14-8.

And here's the most important number. Brand was signed to a 5-year, $80 million contract. At $16 million a year, the 6ers paid Brand roughly $551,724.14 per game this season.

Now that's money well spent.

Nice to see the recession hasn't hurt Brand's bankroll
or his expensive suits.

Disappointing Team - Phoenix Suns
The Suns have been a train-wreck this year. Coach Terry Porter got the axe on Monday, meaning he'll take the brunt of the blame, but owner Robert Sarver is the man at fault (with GM Steve Kerr a close second). He's been trying to cut costs the last four years, so he's traded or given away every pick since 2004 (except their 2008 pick, Robin Lopez, who they kept). The players they've drafted and not kept are: Loul Deng, Nate Robinson, Rajon Rondo and Rudy Fernandez. They also failed to resign Joe Johnson in 2005 when he was entering his prime and all Johnson is doing now is making multiple All-Star appearances and is the current best player on a team primed for a top-4 seed in the playoffs.

Nice work Sarv. Keep up the good work.

This current Suns team has no idea who they're supposed to be. They got Shaq with the belief that he would make Phoenix a better defensive team. Unfortunately, he also takes up a lot of space and has forced the Suns high-octane offense into a plodding half-court one. Then they trade for Jason Richardson - a classic panic trade, and a player that in no way fits with their personnel. The players are uninspired, their best young player (Amare Stoudemire) is on his way out and they have three starters over the age of 34. Hard to believe that they're currently out of the playoffs right now, isn't it?


Team Most Likely To Make A 2nd Half Surge - Indiana Pacers
Before you scoff, consider this. Do you know there's only one team in the NBA to beat the Cavs, Celtics, Lakers and Magic (the four best teams, record-wise, in the league)? That team would be the Pacers.

They played a brutal schedule before the break and are 4 1/2 games back of the 8th seed. But if they can get off to a quick start they'll be right back in the hunt. Looking at their schedule the rest of the month, it's not completely out of the question that Indiana could be just a game back or tied for the last seed going into March. Remember that no one thought Philly would make the playoffs at this time last year. They got hot at the right time and rode the momentum into the playoffs. If there's a team that can do it this year, I think it's the Pacers.


Team Most Likely To Make A 2nd Half Collapse - Detroit Pistons
It might not be fair to pick the Pistons, considering they've pretty much been collapsing since they traded for Allen Iverson, but I predict the collapse to continue. Iverson's clearly not a good fit, and they're another team without much of an identity. Rasheed Wallace looks uninterested (and a step slower), Rip Hamilton is clearly not as good a player without Chauncey Billups setting him up and Rodney Stuckey is as inconsistent as you would expect a second-year point guard getting his first starters minutes to be.

The bright side? Iverson's huge contract comes off the books after this year, so the Pistons will have a ton of money to rebuild.


Defensive Player of the Mid-year - Dwight Howard
His defensive rebounding numbers and blocks are just obscene. He really is an absolute monster in the paint right now. Not to mention he alters nine to 10 shots a game just by patrolling the paint.

ed. note: Special mention goes out to Lebron here too. King James has been filling passing lanes and flying all over the court this year. It's nice to see him commit to the defensive end so hard).


Coach of the Mid-Year - Stan Van Gundy
Van Gundy's always been a great coach. In 2005, he was a Dwayne Wade injury away from getting to the NBA Finals. Then Pat Riley took over and we forgot all about Jeff's older brother. He's made the Magic into a title contender, and no one truly believed they could be at the start of the season.

Now let's see if he can be the Coach of the Year by absorbing the Nelson injury and still take Orlando deep in the playoffs.

As a side note, I think it would be alot easier for all of us take Stan more seriously if he shaved the porn mustache. I mean, the guy looks like Ron Jeremy at a Miami night club with those blazer/black sweater combinations and the thick 'stache. Get rid of that thing Stanny boy.

Van Gundy looks like he just walked off
a porn set in these duds

Anti-Coach of the Year - Mike Dunleavy Sr.
It's tough to pinpoint what was Dunleavy's biggest grievance this season. Was it signing Baron Davis - a bonafide superstar last year, but a player with a proven track record of getting hurt and playing uninspired - to a long-term deal? Was it filling the roster with headcases like Ricky Davis and Zach Randolph? Was it acquiring Marcus Camby, Randolph and Chris Kaman for a combined 34 million, when only two can play at the same time? So many bad decisions to make it hard to pick just one.

Let's just lump them all together and say that he's sucked hard this year.


Rookie of the Year - Derrick Rose
D-Rose is legit. He came in with a lot of hype, and has more than lived up to it. He looks like a better passing Tony Parker right now. The over/under for all-star appearances for Rose in his career is eight.... and I may take the over.

That said, his team is absolutely awful. I really hate the Bulls. They have so many young guys, but they all do the same thing. The wings (Ben Gordon, Deng, Andres Nocioni) can score, but are inconsistent. Their bigs (Tyrus Thomas, Drew Gooden, Joakim Noah) are athletic but can't score (actually, Gooden can score a little bit, but isn't nearly as athletic or valuable as the other two guys). I'm not too crazy about their coach either. What makes it even worse is they were in the mix for guys like Pau Gasol, Kevin Garnett and even Kobe Bryant (to a lesser extent) and could never conjure up the cajoles to pull the trigger.

Here's hoping they get Bosh.


MVP - Lebron James
What more can be said about 'Bronbron? The guy is just an absolute specimen that will be ungaurdable in three years. It's insane to think that he's only 24, and getting better. His improvements on the defensive side of the ball can't be stated enough, and he's good for five or six "Oh my god, how the hell did he do that?" assists and scores a game.

Looking back, it's amazing that James was able to get the Cavs to the Finals in 2007 with such an uninspiring supporting cast. This current team is constructed perfectly to Lebron's strengths; Mo Williams, Delonte West and Daniel Gibson can't be left open because they can kill you with open shots. Anderson Varejao, Ben Wallace and Zydrunas Ilgauskas can take up space, protect the basket and get rebounds. And Lebron can do whatever he wants and is one of the deadliest players in the 4th quarter in the league right now. What Kobe's doing in LA shouldn't be overlooked and Tim Duncan still consistently gets it done for the Spurs, but Lebron's the clear MVP in my opinion.


Playoff Predictions
EAST
(1) Boston over (8) Indiana
(2) Cleveland over (7) Detroit
(6) Miami over (3) Orlando
(4) Atlanta over (5) Philly

(1) Boston over (4) Atlanta
(2) Cleveland over (6) Miami

(2) Cleveland over (1) Boston

WEST
(1) LA Lakers over (8) Utah
(2) San Antonio over (7) Dallas
(3) Denver over (6) Portland
(5) Houston over (4) New Orleans

(1) LA Lakers over (5) Houston
(2) San Antonio over (3) Denver

(1) LA Lakers over (2) San Antonio

NBA Title Prediction - Cleveland over LA Lakers in 6
As fans, we get the Finals we've all been hoping for. Lebron against Kobe for the Title; there's really nothing better than that. It won't be easy; the Lakers will need all their depth (and a healthy Andrew Bynum) to get past the Spurs and Boston certainly won't lay down without a war against the Cavs, but I like them both to advance to the Championship.

Even though LA has been the best team so far this year, I still wonder aloud how tough they are when they're battling against big bodies in the paint. I think Kobe does a good job defensively against Lebron too, but it's the other guys that could really make the Lakers pay. They don't have enough answers for all of the Cavs shooters. And don't forget with the injuries to West and Ilgauskas, the Cavs haven't been playing with their starting lineup since January 2nd. If they're all healthy come playoff time, I think Lebron brings a title to Cleveland.

Come this summer, James may be hoisting an NBA
Championship instead of just the Eastern Conference one