They may be honor-bound
The All-Star break serves as more of a second intermission than a midseason classic.
NBA teams darted to this point almost four months ago, save for Brooklyn’s meandering.
Teams are taking a breather as they ponder the ramifications of Thursday, when the trade deadline hits and play resumes. The season’s final stretch will be a race to the finish for more than only playoff seeding. Most award races remain more debatable than Russell Westbrook’s fashion choices.
Most valuable player
Winning the MVP requires the remarkable more than ever.
Four-time MVP LeBron James is rarely mentioned as a front-runner, but he might eclipse his career high in scoring and finish with a career-high average in assists.
Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant account for the last three MVPs but Durant’s case will be offset by some who favor Curry, while others will judge Durant’s free-agency move.
The majority see this as a two-point guard race between Durant’s ex-Thunder teammates — Houston’s James Harden (29.2 points per game, 11.3 assists per game, 8.3 rebounds per game, 44 field-goal percentage, 35 three-point percentage) and Westbrook (30.9 ppg, 10.1 apg, 10.4 rpg, 42 field-goal percentage, 33 three-point percentage).
Harden and Westbrook also share compelling story lines. Harden went from 2015 MVP runner-up to being excluded from All-NBA consideration last year. This year he changed his body and position for the NBA’s fourth-best team. Westbrook sustains a stunning usage rate, keeping the Thunder as a playoff team while projecting to be the first player with a triple-double average since Oscar Robertson in 1961-62’s high-possession era.
LEADER: Harden, for how he has lifted Houston’s record and teammates.
Coach of the year
It is like 2005, when it was tough to decide whether Steve Nash or Mike D’Antoni deserved credit for Phoenix’s turnaround.
Voters chose both. Nash won MVP. D’Antoni won coach of the year.
This time in Houston, D’Antoni installed the ideal system with a new point guard this season. Like making Amar’e Stoudemire a center and Shawn Marion a power forward in Phoenix, D’Antoni put the ball in Harden’s hands even more to enhance his talents. Houston has no other All-Star but jumped from .500 last year to a 57-win pace this season.
After Houston’s recent 9-9 stretch, the race is not over. Scott Brooks’ Washington Wizards are surging. David Fizdale is winning tight games and making the right moves in Memphis as a rookie head coach. Quin Snyder has lifted Utah’s master plan to a playoff level. Dwane Casey is underappreciated annually in Toronto. Golden State’s Steve Kerr and San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich are magnificent but no longer provoke awe, even with the NBA’s top two records.
LEADER: D’Antoni in a vindicating statement.
Rookie of the year
The two-year wait for Philadelphia center Joel Embiid proved fortuitous for the NBA. Without him, the rookie-of-the-year award would not have a worthy candidate.
Despite missing 25 of 56 games, Embiid is a front-runner for his productivity and how substantially Philadelphia improves with him on the court.
With playing time restrictions, he is averaging 20.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in 25.4 minutes per game with slams, three-pointers, elite defense and charisma.
LEADER: Embiid in another rookie-ofthe-year blowout.
Defensive player of the year
This award has another strong two-man race with Golden State’s Draymond Green and Utah’s Rudy Gobert.
There are worthy repeat candidates in San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard and Memphis’ Marc Gasol, a sleeper in Durant and a fast-riser in Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Green is more essential for the Warriors. He ranks second in the NBA for deflections and third in contested shots. His versatility to be mobile enough to cover the perimeter and strong enough to cover the post is topped only by his energy. He is averaging more steals (2.1) and blocks (1.5) than ever but has competition in Gobert, the NBA’s shot-blocking leader, who has anchored a top Jazz defense despite changing parts.
LEADER: Green after two runner-up seasons.
Sixth-man award
Memphis’ Zach Randolph embraced a bench role at age 35 and averages 14.2 points and 8.2 rebounds in 24.3 minutes per game. Eric Gordon has emerged from an injuryplagued career to give Houston 17.3 points per game. Denver’s Wilson Chandler missed all of last season with a hip injury but is averaging career highs for points (15.6) and rebounds (6.7).
But Lou Williams has outdone himself. He led Philadelphia in scoring off the bench in 2011-12 and will do it again for the Lakers this season with a scoring rate that defies being a sixth man — a career-high 18.5 points per game in 24.2 minutes per game with career-high 38% three-point shooting.
LEADER: Williams might deserve it more than his 2015 award.
Most improved player
Views vary about who is worthy and how this award is judged. Isaiah Thomas’ star kept rising in Boston. Dallas’ Harrison Barnes became a star. Denver’s Nikola Jokic made more than a typical second-year jump by improving again once he became a starter in mid-December. Washington’s Otto Porter is shooting and defending better.
But they are Greek Freak-ing out in Milwaukee about how Antetokounmpo has improved his averages for points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks for a fourth consecutive season. He was not even an All-Star candidate last season but will start Sunday’s game.
LEADER: Antetokounmpo rises from last year’s third-place finish.