NBA awards watch at the All-Star break

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, 39-18 at the All-Star break. Malone doesn’t have the star-level talent of some teams, although he does have the underrated Nikola Jokic. Plus, Denver has done this almost entirely 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, and 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 averaging a hair over 14 points and nine boards this year off the bench, which is 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 15.9 points per game, plus 1.4 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.

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 5.0 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. Unfortunately, he's since suffered an injury that may take him out of the running.

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.

Sweet Lou is he 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 19.9 points per game off the bench. Plus, he’s leading the Clippers in assists per game to boot!

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 as well as his youth. (He was 18 when he was drafted.) While he’s not rebounded much for his size, Jackson has averaged 13.8 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 16.5 points and 10.5 boards per game and made almost 59 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 single-handedly. He’s averaged over 20 points, seven boards, five assists and one steal. 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.

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 second in the league in steals, but that tells only a small fraction of the story. Russ is in the top six in defensive win shares, defensive rating and defensive plus/minus. The Thunder have the best defense in the NBA, and Westbrook is a big reason why.

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 2.74 blocks per game, which is tops in the NBA. The Pacer is also in the top three 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.

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.

This spot used to belong to Anthony Davis, but the, you know, trade deadline happened. Meanwhile, George has seen his performance soar. Honestly, he's in the running for both Defensive Player of the Year and MVP. Believe it or not, it's George who is second in the league in points per game with 28.7.

Early on, the Greek Freak was the pre-emptive favorite. The guy basically just dunks, but nobody can stop him from doing it. He’s averaging 27.2 points on 58 percent shooting with 12.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game as well. Beyond that, Giannis is great on defense as well. He’s in the top four in both offensive and defensive win shares and second 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.

It seemed like it would be hard for The Beard to repeat. Some knock his game, and the Rockets were struggling. Then Chris Paul got hurt, and Harden went absolutely insane. The guy has scored at least 30 points in 31 straight contests. Nobody can stop him. He's averaged 36.6 points per game. You know how many people have averaged more than 36 points in a game? Two: Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain. If Harden can do that, he has to be the MVP.