NBA Daily: The End of 2017 NBA Awards

The End of 2017 Awards

Given that the new calendar year is upon us, its only seems fitting to do something campy and end of the year themed, so lets spend a few minutes and hand out some end of 2017 awards.

Keep in mind, we’ve already seen the 2016-17 award winners, so those are done, but who are some of the notables so far into the 2017-18 season as we end 2017?

Executive of The Year

There are a few names to mention in this discussion, some that pulled off incredible roster moves, some that stole value in the draft and some that have simply put together dominating rosters.

You can make a case basically every year for Bob Myers of the Golden State Warriors. This summer he convinced basically the entire team to come back and keep the championship train rolling, and when you look at the Warriors league-leading 29-8 record, it hard to argue against the results.

Rockets GM Daryl Morey deserves a nod here, despite their recent struggles, the Rockets have been impressive all year. When you consider Morey turned roster parts into Chris Paul and the Rockets are still one of the elite teams in the NBA; Morey deserves a lot of credit.

New Cavalier GM Koby Altman deserves a nod as well. The Cavaliers have assembled arguably the most complimentary roster to surround and amplify LeBron James as any they have had in modern history. Not only are the Cavs and James surging, but their second unit has found some defense that was sorely lacking for the past couple of seasons.

While there are several deserving candidates, it’s hard to argue that Celtics president Danny Ainge doesn’t deserve the award this far. Not only did he flip roster parts into guard Kyrie Irving in trade, but he also lured in free agent Gordon Hayward, drafted rookie of the year candidate Jason Tatum, and has seen recent draft wildcards blossom into bona fide NBA stars like Jaylen Brown and reserve point guard Terry Rozier.

The Celtics stand at 29-10 on the season and are as good as anyone in basketball on both ends of the floor.

Most Improved Player

This award is always tough, because of how subjective the nature of measuring Most Improved.

There are a few players to mention in this discussion.

Boston’s Jaylen Brown is a deserving candidate. If you look at his progression as a player and his role on the team with Gordon Hayward going out to injury, he has seen his numbers jump up but more importantly his efficiency as a player on both ends of the floor has improved dramatically.

Brooklyn’s Spencer Dinwiddie deserves a nod as well. Dinwiddie was a castoff just a season ago and with the injury to Jeremy Lin he has found himself not only starting games for the Nets but really leading the team as a floor general. Dinwiddie’s production is up all over the board, and his efficiency is impressive as well.

There are a number of qualified candidate for the award all over the NBA from Chicago’s Kris Dunn to Charlotte’s Jeremy Lamb to Houston’s Clint Capella, but its hard to argue the biggest leap so far has to be Indiana’s Victor Oladipo.

Not only has Oladipo emerged as Indiana’s go-to guy, he posting career bests from the field and the three-point line while averaging almost 25 points a game. Oladipo is making a solid case for All-Star consideration, and that’s a huge jump for after-thought player in Oklahoma City a season ago.

Sixth Man of the Year

Again, there are some notable names to put into this crowded and always contentious discussion.

There are the mainstays of this conversation like Minnesota’s Jamal Crawford, and Clippers reserve turned starter Lou Williams. Both are having solid seasons. However there are a few new names in the field that seems to be getting better as the season moves on.

Memphis’ Tyreke Evans has seen a resurgence in his career in Memphis. Evans is posting his second-best scoring season as a pro for the Grizzlies while posting career highs from both the field and the three-point line. The problem for Evans is he has played so well he’s been in the starting line-up and may start his way out of qualifying.

Denver’s Will Barton has been in this discussion for the past two seasons, but this might be his most convincing season. He is averaging a career high in points and field goal percentage and his second best from the three-point line. Barton has become a force for the Nuggets and has started just eight games on the season.

Brooklyn’s Caris LaVert is also posting a pretty impressive case for the sixth man, although his numbers are not nearly as impressive as some others in the discussion.

The name that continues to be interesting in this discussion is Cleveland’s Dwyane Wade, mainly because the Cavs were a dumpster fire before Wade moved to the reserve role and anchored the second unit. Wade has started just three games for the Cavs and is posting 11.2 points per game on 44.5 percent field goal shooting and 36.5 percent three-point shooting. His raw numbers are not nearly as impressive as say Evans or even Barton, but its hard to argue with the results in Cleveland. That combined with the fact that Wade has the clout as a future Hall of Famer to force his way into the starting lineup if he really wanted to, makes him the award winner at this point in the season.

Coach of The Year

This one is also tough because there are three or four coaching jobs this season worth talking about in this context.

Indiana’s Nate McMillian is doing a tremendous job this season and it hard to argue with the results considering most expected this to be a rebuilding season.

Chicago’s Fred Hoiberg has found a groove in Chicago despite Bulls fans wishing for losses. Hoiberg’s system has allowed Kris Dunn to flourish, along with rookie Lauri Markkanen.

Neither are really the coaching award-winning kind of storyline but absolutely worth acknowledging.

You can toss Warriors coach Steve Kerr into this discussion virtually every year, but this year more so because of the injuries and slow start. What the Warriors have done so far is impressive but easy to dismiss because of the quality of the roster. But it’s not easy to keep that many star players happy and focused, and Kerr does not get nearly enough credit for how seamless he makes it look.

Houston’s Mike D’Antoni won this award last year and is posting an equally impressive campaign to be a “back to back” winner. The Rockets, despite their recent struggles, have been lights out offensively and have steadily improved defensively (which no one gives him credit for).

Toronto’s Dwane Casey is justified in this discussion as well. The Raptors have gone 13-1 at home which is tops in the NBA. They are third in the NBA in point differential. Fourth in the NBA in points per game and they have a 24-10 record. He may not win the award, but he should be mentioned in the discussion.

While there are several worthy and justified candidates is there really anyone who’s done a better coaching job than Boston’s Brad Stevens? He was a legit candidate for the award last year, and given all that played out in Boston, the job he has done is remarkable.

Not only are the Celtics 29-10 on the season, but they are also allowing the second-fewest points in the NBA while leaning on a roster loaded with players on rookie scale contracts. When you factor in losing Gordon Hayward 5 minutes into the season and the way the team has rallied, it might be one of the best coaching jobs of the decade, and as such gets the award at this point in the season.

Defensive Player of The Year

Normally there isn’t a lot of star power on the defensive side of the ball, or at least they don’t get a lot of credit for it. Normally any defensive player list is filled with specialists or centers that block a lot of shots or carry the title “rim protector.” This season might be the first time in a while that several of the NBA’s brightest stars could be in serious consideration for Defensive Player honors.

Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid is making a pretty good case to be in this discussion in a serious way. The big challenge for Embiid is the minute restrictions and the games the team seems to be forcing him to miss. His defensive production is incredible when he is in games, however, if others play more, it’s going to be hard to justify giving him the award, but he is absolutely in the discussion.

Lost in the struggles to find their way offensively is the pretty impressive season Oklahoma City Thunder swingman Paul George is posting defensively. George has been a monster in the deflections per game category leading the NBA with 4.9 per game. He also among the league leaders in loose balls recovered at 1.9 per game. The Thunder have one of the best defenses in basketball and George is a big reason why.

The Warriors could have two players in the running for Defensive Player this year with last year’s winner Draymond Green again making a case for DYOP honors, but the winner at this point in the season has to be Kevin Durant. Not only has Durant held things down in the Bay Area while Steph Curry recovered from an ankle injury, but he is also posting some of his best stats defensively.

Durant on the season has become one the more effective isolation defenders, as well as putting up some impressive defensive field goal percentages. There is a strong case for a number of players in this category, but what Durant has done this far earns the nod.

Rookie Of The Year

This award is 76ers guard Ben Simmons to lose, so there may not be much to debate on this one.

That said there are a couple of other rookies posting crazy seasons worth mentioning, even though Simmons seems to be the far and away winner.

Utah’s Donavan Mitchell continues to bring it at an incredible clip, leading all rookies in points per game. Mitchell has quickly become the Jazz’s go-to guy on a lot of fronts, and he delivers night after night. Not only is Mitchell breathtaking to watch at the basket, but he’s also becoming an interesting defender as well. We’re not putting him in the DYOP discussion, but for a player drafted 13th overall, he’s been extremely impressive.

Lakers swingman Kyle Kuzma has also been explosively impressive in his 33 games as a Laker. He is the second leading scorer in the rookie class and has been posting pretty insane numbers for a player drafted 27th overall. Kuzma on the season has posted 17.7 points per game on 47.9 percent field goal shooting and an impressive 38.4 percent three-point average on better than five threes a game.

Chicago’s Lauri Markkanen is also making a compelling case for the Rookie of The Year race. He is the fourth leading scorer in the rookie class at 14.7 per game. Among the rookie class leaders, Markkanen is posting the lowest field goal percentages and three-point percentages, but he is still a name to mention when talking ROY.

While the award has to go to Simmons, there is a real case for Celtics rookie Jayson Tatum too. Tatum has emerged not only as being highly productive; he’s doing it on a winning team. Its one thing to post crazy stats on a team going nowhere that is building around you for the future, it’s another thing to be posting 14.2 points per game on a team that’s leading a conference.

Tatum is also producing the highest field goal percentage and three-point percent of any of the players in this discussion while having played the most games in the rookie class.

This race needs to be a lot closer than it seems at this point in the season.

The Must Watch Player of 2017

There are a few players that have become must-watch on a nightly basis. While this isn’t a traditional postseason award it is a designation worth talking about in this regard; there are a lot of NBA games in the regular season and to stop and watch all of them for any one team or player takes something special.

Its hard to argue that Boston’s Kyrie Irving hasn’t lived up to everything said about him this summer when news of him asking for a trade out of Cleveland broke. He has been breathtaking with the ball, incredible offensively and for all of those people who said he wasn’t a quality defender he’s on the team with the second-best defense in basketball.

Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid has become one of “must watch” players too. Unfortunately, he misses a lot of games, but when he does play he not only posts incredible numbers, he has become sensational at making each matchup a personal score to settle. His Twitter and Instagram handles have become epic, and he backs it up on the court.

The season LeBron James is having in Cleveland is unbelievable for a player that just turned 33. The notion that this might be his best season as a professional isn’t too far off when you consider he is posting 37.8 points per night which is 3rd best in the NBA and fourth most in his career. James has become the poster child for poise, power, and control all in one player and his sheer dominance this season is breathtaking.

But the winner for must-watch has to be Golden State’s Steph Curry. Maybe its because he missed so many games, but watching a healthy Curry drop 38 points in a single game while making it seem so effortless, it is impressive. The Curry show isn’t anything new, but the way he can create offensively is uncanny. While you can easily throw James Harden or Giannis Antetokounmpo in this list for the same reasons, there may not be a better show in basketball than Curry.

The Most Valuable Player

This award is always highly contested, and in recent years the quality of play at the top of the NBA has made picking just one player increasingly more difficult. This year is no exception.

It’s easy to talk about the front-runners. Houston’s James Harden was arguably the leader last season and again has posted a season that is so MVP worthy it’s hard not to see him gaining a lot of votes when the end of the season award ballots is cast. The Rockets and Harden’s recent struggles may put something of a dent in his campaign this season, but its hard to imagine that Harden isn’t going to find his groove again and remain towards the top of the list.

Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo is posting an incredible season for the Bucks too, and his 29.1 points per game put him second in the NBA behind Harden’s 32.1. He is also posting a scorching 54.7 percent field goal percentage and leads the NBA in minutes per game at 38.1. Antetokounmpo may get lost in the hype on this award when its all said and done, but he is deserving of mention.

Golden State’s Kevin Durant should also be in the discussion, not just because of his 25.9 points per game or his 39.5 percent three-point average, but because his team is at the top of the standings again and he’s lead the way with Steph Curry being sidelined without missing a beat. Durant’s defensive prowess has put him in the discussion as one of the game’s best two-way players. Durant will forever be dinged in the MVP talk because of the strength and depth of his team, but the truth of the matter is he’s posting as MVP worthy a season as anyone.

As for the winner at this point in the season, can you really argue that it’s not LeBron James? Maybe it’s the drama of him turning 33. Maybe it’s the romance some want to place on the situation, but the numbers paint a very real picture. Among the top ten scorers in the NBA, James ranks third in points, second in field goal percentage and second in minutes played among the top scorers. His team is 24-12 on the season.

You may not agree, but for my money, James has been the MVP so far, this season. We’ll see what the balance of the season brings, but that’s who gets the vote.

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We hope that 2018 brings you and your family prosperity and joy and we look forward to sharing the NBA season with you in 2018.

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