continued................
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Insider First-Half Awards
MVP: Peja Stojakovic, G/F, Kings. Kevin Garnett has better numbers. Tim Duncan may be the best player in the NBA. Jason Kidd leads all players in the league's plus/minus rating. Baron Davis is having a breakout year. So how does Stojakovic get the nod? There aren't any easy answers here, but I'll try to explain my thinking. Stojakovic's Kings have the best record in the NBA despite losing their best player, Chris Webber. In C-Webb's absence, Stojakovic has stepped up with career-high numbers. His 25.1 ppg ranks third in the league. But here's the amazing thing . . . the efficiency with which he is shooting the ball this season. Seventy-seven percent of Stojakovic's shots this season are jump shots. Despite that fact, he's shooting 49 percent from the field and 43 percent from the 3-point line while taking an average of 6.6 3-pointers a game. He takes 33 percent of shots with less than eight seconds left on the shot clock, and hits 54 percent of them. He's doing this without the benefit of defenses double teaming his teammates in the paint. In other words, he's making most of these shots with a hand in his face. In league where shooting has become a lost art, Stojakovic's performance this season has been phenomenal. Once Webber gets back, this will change. At the end of the season, my guess is that this will be a two-horse race between KG and TD. But for the first half? Peja deserves the nod.
Rookie of the Year: LeBron James, G, Cavs. I know there's been a popular movement for Carmelo the past week based, in large part, on the disparity between the Nuggets' record and the Cavs'. As I said above, I do believe that a team's record should play a big part in determining the MVP Award. I feel a little differently about the ROY. To me, the award should be based on who is having the better season. James is dominating the competition without any real help around him. His good numbers aren't just the product of lots of minutes on a bad team. He dominates. Not only is he scoring more points at a higher field goal percentage, the assists and steals LeBron gets are fantastic for a rookie. Carmelo is having an outstanding year, but I wouldn't say he's dominating just yet.
Sixthman Award: Earl Boykins, G, Nuggets. Antawn Jamison and Al Harrington may have better numbers, but in crunch times, no one has been more of a spark plug off the bench than Boykins. Of the top four five-man units that the Nuggets play, Boykins is the only Nugget in all four. He's on the floor 75 percent of the time in the fourth quarter and the Nuggets outscore their opponents by an average of 7.5 ppg when Boykins is on the floor in the fourth. Ask anyone on the Nuggets and they'll tell you that Boykins is the big reason that this team is 24-18 instead of 18-24 at this point in the season. In big games, he's money.
Michael Redd
Shooting Guard
Milwaukee Bucks
Profile
2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS
GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%
40 21.7 5.5 2.4 .445 .862
Most Improved: Michael Redd, G, Bucks. In a chat last week, I said I was leaning toward Erick Dampier of the Warriors. But I decided to reconsider. Dampier is having the best year of his career, but it's an incremental increase and, it's a contract year. You could make the argument that he's just finally playing hard. Redd, on the other hand, has shown steady improvement each of his four years in the league. This year, however, he's made the jump from sixth man to all-star, and it's been impressive. His 21.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg and 2.4 apg are all career highs by a long shot and rival the production Ray Allen had when he was there. He has benefited from more playing time, but it's not a huge increase. The thing that gives Redd the biggest edge is his leadership on the floor. After being a role player for several years, he's learned how to step up and carry this team on his back.
Defensive Player: Ron Artest, G, Pacers. Ben Wallace has had his due. Artest deserved the award last year and deserves it again this year. Unlike Wallace, Artest can guard four positions on the floor. Artest's ability to shut down anyone his coach wants him to gives him the edge .
Coach of the Year: Jerry Sloan, Jazz. Rick Carlisle has done amazing things with the Pacers and Terry Porter has completely changed the style and tenor of the Bucks, but no one has done more with less than Sloan. Sloan can go into any game, regardless of who is dressing that night, with two convictions. One, no one will out execute his team. Two, no one will out hustle them. When those two factors are givens, you're going to win more than you lose. Could you imagine what Sloan could do with the young talent on a team like the Suns or Clippers?
Executive of the Year: Kiki Vandeweghe, Nuggets. This was a two-man race with Mitch Kupchak before Shaq, Kobe and Karl Malone all went down with injuries. In all the hoopla over landing two Hall of Famers, Kupchak forget to find a bench. Vandeweghe, who blew his team to pieces just two years ago, didn't forget about the bench. After adding a ton of young talent the last two seasons, his ability to find wily veterans under rocks (Boykins, Voshon Lenard, Jon Barry) gave the Nuggets enough experience to do more than just improve -- now they compete. When you factor in the Nuggets' payroll and cap space next season without losing any major players, this is a no-brainer.
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Insider First-Half Awards
MVP: Peja Stojakovic, G/F, Kings. Kevin Garnett has better numbers. Tim Duncan may be the best player in the NBA. Jason Kidd leads all players in the league's plus/minus rating. Baron Davis is having a breakout year. So how does Stojakovic get the nod? There aren't any easy answers here, but I'll try to explain my thinking. Stojakovic's Kings have the best record in the NBA despite losing their best player, Chris Webber. In C-Webb's absence, Stojakovic has stepped up with career-high numbers. His 25.1 ppg ranks third in the league. But here's the amazing thing . . . the efficiency with which he is shooting the ball this season. Seventy-seven percent of Stojakovic's shots this season are jump shots. Despite that fact, he's shooting 49 percent from the field and 43 percent from the 3-point line while taking an average of 6.6 3-pointers a game. He takes 33 percent of shots with less than eight seconds left on the shot clock, and hits 54 percent of them. He's doing this without the benefit of defenses double teaming his teammates in the paint. In other words, he's making most of these shots with a hand in his face. In league where shooting has become a lost art, Stojakovic's performance this season has been phenomenal. Once Webber gets back, this will change. At the end of the season, my guess is that this will be a two-horse race between KG and TD. But for the first half? Peja deserves the nod.
Rookie of the Year: LeBron James, G, Cavs. I know there's been a popular movement for Carmelo the past week based, in large part, on the disparity between the Nuggets' record and the Cavs'. As I said above, I do believe that a team's record should play a big part in determining the MVP Award. I feel a little differently about the ROY. To me, the award should be based on who is having the better season. James is dominating the competition without any real help around him. His good numbers aren't just the product of lots of minutes on a bad team. He dominates. Not only is he scoring more points at a higher field goal percentage, the assists and steals LeBron gets are fantastic for a rookie. Carmelo is having an outstanding year, but I wouldn't say he's dominating just yet.
Sixthman Award: Earl Boykins, G, Nuggets. Antawn Jamison and Al Harrington may have better numbers, but in crunch times, no one has been more of a spark plug off the bench than Boykins. Of the top four five-man units that the Nuggets play, Boykins is the only Nugget in all four. He's on the floor 75 percent of the time in the fourth quarter and the Nuggets outscore their opponents by an average of 7.5 ppg when Boykins is on the floor in the fourth. Ask anyone on the Nuggets and they'll tell you that Boykins is the big reason that this team is 24-18 instead of 18-24 at this point in the season. In big games, he's money.
Michael Redd
Shooting Guard
Milwaukee Bucks
Profile
2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS
GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%
40 21.7 5.5 2.4 .445 .862
Most Improved: Michael Redd, G, Bucks. In a chat last week, I said I was leaning toward Erick Dampier of the Warriors. But I decided to reconsider. Dampier is having the best year of his career, but it's an incremental increase and, it's a contract year. You could make the argument that he's just finally playing hard. Redd, on the other hand, has shown steady improvement each of his four years in the league. This year, however, he's made the jump from sixth man to all-star, and it's been impressive. His 21.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg and 2.4 apg are all career highs by a long shot and rival the production Ray Allen had when he was there. He has benefited from more playing time, but it's not a huge increase. The thing that gives Redd the biggest edge is his leadership on the floor. After being a role player for several years, he's learned how to step up and carry this team on his back.
Defensive Player: Ron Artest, G, Pacers. Ben Wallace has had his due. Artest deserved the award last year and deserves it again this year. Unlike Wallace, Artest can guard four positions on the floor. Artest's ability to shut down anyone his coach wants him to gives him the edge .
Coach of the Year: Jerry Sloan, Jazz. Rick Carlisle has done amazing things with the Pacers and Terry Porter has completely changed the style and tenor of the Bucks, but no one has done more with less than Sloan. Sloan can go into any game, regardless of who is dressing that night, with two convictions. One, no one will out execute his team. Two, no one will out hustle them. When those two factors are givens, you're going to win more than you lose. Could you imagine what Sloan could do with the young talent on a team like the Suns or Clippers?
Executive of the Year: Kiki Vandeweghe, Nuggets. This was a two-man race with Mitch Kupchak before Shaq, Kobe and Karl Malone all went down with injuries. In all the hoopla over landing two Hall of Famers, Kupchak forget to find a bench. Vandeweghe, who blew his team to pieces just two years ago, didn't forget about the bench. After adding a ton of young talent the last two seasons, his ability to find wily veterans under rocks (Boykins, Voshon Lenard, Jon Barry) gave the Nuggets enough experience to do more than just improve -- now they compete. When you factor in the Nuggets' payroll and cap space next season without losing any major players, this is a no-brainer.
