The 2010-11 NBA Season is over and awards season is ready to begin. While most analysts and experts have already prematurely had their say and now let’s see who should win the league most prestigious awards.
NBA Coach of the Year
The nominees are:
- Tom Thibodeau of the Chicago Bulls. Best record in the league. Exceeded expectations. Rookie head coach.
- Erik Spoelstra of the Miami Heat. Second best record in the East. Overcame intense media scrutiny. Meshed all three all-stars together despite sustaining many injuries to the supporting cast.
- Doug Collins of the Philadelphia 76ers. Far exceeded expectations of everyone except me. Collins simply gets less talented rosters to play hard.
Honorable mentions go to: Portland’s Nate McMillian, Denver’s George Karl, and Memphis’ Lionel Hollins.
Winner: Tom Thibodeau – Chicago Bulls
Why? In his first season as a head coach anywhere Thibodeau was able to create a defensive mindset in a roster that includes Carlos Boozer and Kyle Korver among others. He was able to get his young superstar to buy into his (championship proven) system and the rest of the players could not help but fall in line. Chicago also dealt with injuries to both its front line starts and still seemed to get stronger as the year went on eventually overtaking San Antonio for the best record in the league.
NBA Rookie of the Year
The nominees are:
- Forward Blake Griffin (LAC). Griffin had a whirlwind season. Highlights were in no short supply and the triple double was way more impressive than jumping a car (Google Marko Milic is you want to see a guy jump a car!)
- Center Greg Monroe (DET). Monroe is who we thought he was. As a Pistons fan, this is the guy I wanted us to get at seventh overall and I haven’t been disappointed. Solid.
- Center DeMarcus Cousins (SAC). Cousins showed everything we thought he’d show coming out of Kentucky. He has can dominant in the paint, own the boards, and be a pain in the back-side. Maybe he’s misunderstood, doesn’t matter – I’d take him on my team.
Winner: Blake Griffin – Los Angeles Clippers
Why? He simply does it all and all jokes aside, his game appears to have no ceiling. He has the attitude and the ability to continue to improve and someday he’ll make a heck of a free-agent signing for someone when he leaves the Clippers as all their best players inevitably do.
NBA Defensive Player of the Year
The nominees are:
- Dwight Howard
- Joakim Noah
- Kevin Garnett
Winner: Dwight Howard – Orlando Magic
Why? Quite simply he is the only player in the league that can change a game on the defensive end of the floor. This is a runaway vote. Noah and Garnett are the anchors of the two best defensive teams in the league but neither are at the level of Howard. Dwight was second in the league in rebounding and is a shot blocking machine and a tower of intimidation and destruction.
NBA Sixth Man of the Year
The nominees are:
- Jamal Crawford – Atlanta Hawks
- Jason Terry – Dallas Mavericks
- Lou Williams – Philadelphia 76ers
Winner: Jamal Crawford – Atlanta Hawks
Why? Partly because Lamar Odom was a starter for a large percentage of the season (the suns comes up in the east, Andrew Bynum goes down in the west), but like Odom, Crawford is a starter talent coming off the bench. His stats are even more impressive when you consider that he plays behind a guy in Joe Johnson who logs a ton of minutes. Last years’ winner as well, Crawford is a free agent after the playoffs end and I figure he won’t win this again next year.
NBA MVP
The nominees are:
- LaBron James – Cleveland Cavaliers
- Kobe Bryant – Los Angels Lakers
- Derrick Rose – Chicago Bulls
- Dwight Howard – Orlando Magic
- Kevin Durant – Oklahoma City Thunder
Winner: Kobe Bryant – Los Angeles Lakers
Why? Listen. I am a blue-blooded Pistons fan. This has to be an unbiased award. The Los Angeles Lakers are driven by Kobe. Phil Jackson is not a coach; he’s a mediator and a counselor. Their focus and drive after the all-star game was all Kobe. Bryant is the second most motivated player I have ever watched and that other guy carried his rosters of overrated talent to six titles just as Kobe has since Shaq left. This is not the usual west-coast bias, and I am not a fan of Kobe Bryant at all, but he is the best player of this generation and no player was more instrumental to their teams’ success than he was this year. (For the record I would have Howard second, and Rose third)