NBA awards watch at the season's midway point

Let’s start on the sidelines with Coach of the Year. While they don’t get on the court, great coaches are always unvalued weapons for a team. Usually, this award goes to a new coach who takes a team to a new level or a coach who seems to have helped a team overcome turmoil.

Early in the year, D’Antoni and the Rockets were struggling. They didn’t seem like the second-best team in the West and in fact seemed like a risk to miss the playoffs. Then Chris Paul got hurt. However, D’Antoni remained unflappable. Sure, James Harden gets a lot of the credit, and rightfully so, but D’Antoni is doing a stellar job too.

Did anybody think the Nuggets would be in the running for the best record in the Western Conference? Well, here they are. Malone doesn’t have the star-level talent of some teams, although he does have the underrated Nikola Jokic. Plus, Denver has done this without Isaiah Thomas and Michael Porter, making it even more impressive.

It’s a run on Mikes! Spoiler alert: Coach Bud is going to win this award. He jumped to the Bucks, and now they seem primed to make a run for the NBA Finals. He’s unlocked the potential of this team with his technical acumen, which is exactly what this award should recognize.

Sometimes a player takes his game to a new level to such a degree that it deserves rewarding. This is an award you likely win only once, but some notable players have taken home Most Improved Player in their careers, such as Tracy McGrady, Paul George and Victor Oladipo.

Frankly, giving this award to a second-year player is a bit silly. After all, most players improve from their rookie seasons. It’s expected. Still, Fox’s improvement deserves recognition of some kind. He was all right as a rookie, but this year he’s leading a Kings team that is a pleasant surprise. Now he’s looking like the best player in his draft class.

Could Sabonis be the second Pacer in as many years to win Most Improved Player? Victor Oladipo, who was also part of the Paul George trade, took home the hardware last season. Arvydas’ son is playing the same amount of minutes as last year, but he’s improved his shooting, his scoring and his rebounding. Sabonis is threatening to average 15 and 10 this year off the bench, which would be quite impressive.

Harrell was buried on the bench in Houston before being dealt to the Clippers. He’s still on the bench, but now he’s a guy who could win both Sixth Man of the Year and Most Improved Player. The former Louisville Cardinal has averaged 15.5 points per game, plus 1.5 blocks and a steal per contest to boot. Harrell is a great energy boost off the bench for an L.A. team that has no stars but a lot of depth.

Starting is nice, but you don't get an award for being the best “fourth man” in the NBA. We don’t even know what a “fourth man” is! If you come off the bench, though, you could win Sixth Man of the Year. Shout out to the guys who don’t start but make an impact anyway.

Sweet Lou is the quintessential sixth man. His penchant for getting buckets off the bench has led to him winning two Sixth Man of the Year Awards already. He’s in the running for a third, as he’s averaged 18.3 points per game off the bench. Plus, he’s leading the Clippers in assists per game to boot!

Schroder has been a starter for the Hawks the last couple of seasons, but now he’s coming off the bench for the Thunder. He seems to be taking to the role, as he’s provided the Thunder with much-needed depth behind Russell Westbrook. The German has defensive chops, but he can also get points and drop the occasional dime when called upon.

Due to the presence of D’Angelo Russell, there’s not room for Dinwiddie to start at point guard. However, he seems to be just fine with coming off the bench, and he’s been just as good as Russell. Dinwiddie has averaged 17.2 points and 5.2 assists per game, and he’s letting loose from behind the three-point line. His efficient scoring earned him a contract extension and could earn him an award as well.

Everybody loves the hot new thing. Fortunately for NBA fans, this has been a good year for rookies. Although, the eventual winner of Rookie of the Year seems all but locked up at this point.

Jackson was drafted fourth overall by the Grizzlies because of the potential that his length provides and his youth. (He was 18 when he was drafted.) While he’s not rebounded much for his size, Jackson has averaged 13.5 points per game, and he’s shown shot-blocking skills as well. The fact that he’s already this good is a great sign for Memphis going forward.

Ayton was the first-overall pick, and he’s lived up to it — though it hasn’t been a perfect year. The Suns have struggled, and Ayton hasn’t always shown high effort, especially on defense. On the other hand, the big center has averaged 17 points and 11 boards per game and made over 60 percent of his shots. With a little more defensive effort, he could be a beast.

They might as well etch Doncic’s name on the trophy already. The guy they call Wonder Boy came over from Europe with a ton of expectations. Somehow, he’s exceeded them all. Doncic has made the Mavericks a playoff contender almost singlehandedly. He’s averaged over 19 points, six boards, five assists and one block. Rookies don’t do that. Doncic does. He’ll be an MVP candidate soon enough.

The NBA is getting faster, guys are getting better at shooting and offense is exploding. Then again, defense wins championships. If you can dominate on that end of the court, you can change a game — or perhaps even a season.

Gobert has already won Defensive Player of the Year once, and while he hasn’t been at the top of his game, he’s still a force. Once again, the big Frenchman has averaged over two blocks per game, and he’s a huge deterrent at the rim. It won’t be surprising to see him win this award again, but it’s far from a given.

Speaking of blocks, Turner has been swatting shots with gusto this season. He’s averaged 2.8 blocks per game, which is tops in the NBA. The Pacer is also in the top five in both defensive rating and defensive box plus/minus. Turner has been in the top three in blocks per game the last three seasons, so he can definitely keep this up.

Westbrook is threatening to average a triple-double for the third straight season, but it’s his defense that has been his true strength. He’s leading the league in steals, but that tells only a small fraction of the story. Russ has the top defensive rating in the league and also leads the league in defensive box plus/minus. The Thunder have the best defense in the NBA, and Westbrook is a big reason why.

In the end, this is the award we care about most of all. Who is the Most Valuable Player? With all due respect to Steph Curry and LeBron James, who have missed too much time at this point to get the nod, here are the three favorites.

Davis carried the Pelicans into the playoffs, and then into the second round, last season, but he’s been even better this year. The Brow is averaging personal bests in points (28.5), assists (4.4) and rebounds (13.3) per game, and he’s also averaged 2.6 blocks per contest, which technically isn’t a personal best but is still impressive. One small issue? New Orleans isn’t likely to finish with a great record. Davis will have to keep up these insane numbers to win the MVP.

The Beard won last year, which will make it hard to repeat. However, have you watched him play recently? Since Chris Paul went down, Harden has been tearing it up. He’s racking up 40-point games like they are nothing, and he's averaging nearly 34 points per game for the season. That’s amazing. How can you say no to numbers like that?

If Harden keeps this up, he’ll take the award, but for now the Greek Freak is the pre-emptive favorite. The guy basically just dunks, but nobody can stop him from doing it. He’s averaging 26.5 points on 59 percent shooting with 12.6 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game as well. Beyond that, Giannis is great on defense as well. He’s in the top eight in both offensive and defensive win shares and third in VORP. Voters tend to care about record though, and the Bucks could finish with the best record in the East. That should help tip the scales in Giannis’ favor.