The NBA All-Star break is always strange because it feels like the season has just started, but we’re actually well past the midpoint. Most teams in the league will have played at least 50 of their 82-game schedule by the
The NBA All-Star break is always strange because it feels like the season has just started, but we’re actually well past the midpoint. Most teams in the league will have played at least 50 of their 82-game schedule by the time Friday rolls around to start the players’ four-day vacation.
With a sample size that large, we’re beginning to get some idea as to where the regular season awards may wind up. Here’s a list of where my votes would go, as of the All-Star break.
MVP: Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
I didn’t think it would actually reach this point, but Durant has nosed ahead of LeBron James for MVP. Showing greater maturity to his game, Durant has been on one of the hottest stretches in recent history. In 16 January games, he averaged 35.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 6.1 assists a night. For the season, he’s putting up 31 points, 7.6 rebounds and 5.5 assists, while shooting 51 percent from the floor, 42 percent from beyond the three-point line and 88 percent from the foul line.
Durant has done most of this without the services of point guard Russell Westbrook, who is also one of the league’s 10 best players. Westbrook has missed 27 of the team’s 52 games, but Oklahoma City still sits with the best record in the NBA at 40-12. It’s hard to imagine what more LeBron could be doing, but it seems Durant has wrestled the prestigious honor away for the time being.
Coach of the Year: Jeff Hornacek, Phoenix Suns
There are a number of good candidates this season, but Hornacek has gotten far more from this young Phoenix squad than anyone outside the Suns’ locker room could have anticipated. Phoenix was thought to be one of the worst teams in the league and only interested in acquiring a high spot in the upcoming draft. But at 29-20, they’ve exceeded expectations.
As a first-year coach, Hornacek was an unknown commodity coming into the 2013-14 season. With barely more than half a season under his belt, Hornacek seems to have already joined the short list of the league’s best coaches.
Other candidates include Terry Stotts (Portland Trail Blazers), Frank Vogel (Indiana Pacers), Scott Brooks (Oklahoma City Thunder), Gregg Popovich (San Antonio Spurs) and Rick Carlisle (Dallas Mavericks).
Rookie of the Year: Michael Carter-Williams, Philadelphia 76ers
For the first few weeks of the season, this looked like a landslide. But injuries have held Carter-Williams out of 12 games and he may have slid back closer to the pack, though I still consider him to be the favorite. The point guard out of Syracuse had three games of at least 20 points and 10 assists within his first seven NBA games. For the season, he’s put up 17 points, 5.4 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 2.2 steals a night. His shooting percentages are sub-par – 39 percent from the field, 30 percent from three, 70 percent from the foul line – but he’s so active and was clearly a steal for the Sixers with the 11th pick in the draft.
The only other true candidate is the Orlando Magic’s Victor Oladipo (13.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1.6 steals), but he hasn’t been as consistently productive as Carter-Williams, though he has been on the court more. Utah Jazz point guard Trey Burke has been very good, putting up 12.7 points and 5.6 assists per game.
All-NBA First Team
Guards – Chris Paul, L.A. Clippers; Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors; Forwards – LeBron James, Miami Heat; Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder; Center – Dwight Howard, Houston Rockets
All-NBA Second Team
Guards – James Harden, Houston Rockets; Goran Dragic, Phoenix Suns; Forwards – Paul George, Indiana Pacers; LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland Trail Blazers; Center – Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
All-NBA Third Team
Guards – Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs; Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors; Forwards – Blake Griffin, L.A. Clippers; Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks; Center – Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
