NBA awards watch at the season's midway point

On paper, Los Angeles Lakers coach Frank Vogel has the easiest job in the NBA. Insert LeBron James and Anthony Davis into the lineup, sit back, and watch the magic. Coaching King James isn’t always the most pleasant experience. Ask  David Blatt , Tyronn Lue, and  Luke Walton  about that. If the Lakers catch the Milwaukee Bucks and finish atop the overall regular season standings, Vogel will deserve more than a handful of votes for keeping everybody's egos in check through the more boring parts of what can become a grueling season. 

Weeks before Christmas, the idea of Quin Snyder receiving consideration for Coach of the Year would’ve been absurd. Then, the Utah Jazz went and  won  15 of 16 from Dec. 11 through Jan. 14 and 10 straight games over that period. Unlike Vogel and the next man spotlighted in this piece, Snyder doesn’t have a single MVP candidate in his lineup, and Rudy Gobert only began playing his best basketball during the team’s winning streak. Recently,  Eric Walden of the Salt Lake Tribune credited Snyder for Utah’s defensive improvements following a rocky start to the season. 

Try to think as voters think. Last spring, Mike Budenholzer won Coach of the Year  as Giannis Antetokounmpo earned his first MVP trophy. As of the midway point of the 2019-20 season, the Milwaukee Bucks possess the league’s best record despite Malcolm Brogdon joining the Indiana Pacers in the offseason, and the Greek Freak is back in MVP contention. If those trends continue, Budenholzer has to be a favorite to repeat.

We shouldn’t be too surprised the marriage between Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and  sometimes-cantankerous  All-Star Jimmy Butler is all sunshine and roses after half a season. Spoelstra coached LeBron James for several seasons, after all. He’s no stranger to egos. Outside of having the Heat second in the conference standings on the morning of Jan. 16, Spoelstra’s best work of the campaign has to be helping center Bam Adebayo evolve from a reserve to a potential All-Star who is second on the Heat behind only Butler in  player efficiency rating. If Miami trades for a proven star ahead of the deadline, Spoelstra could become a favorite to win COTY. 

If voting concluded after 41 games, Nick Nurse should be the runaway winner of Coach of the Year — and not just because he had the Toronto Raptors fourth in the Eastern Conference standings after Kawhi Leonard left The North for the Los Angeles Clippers last summer.  Injuries threatened to halt Toronto’s momentum during the fall and start of winter, but Nurse guided his roster through those minefields, and he now has a Raptors team that understandably could’ve sold veterans and prepped for the next two seasons thinking about buying talent ahead of the trade deadline. 

There may be no greater testament to the hype surrounding Zion Williamson than the fact he makes the list even though he isn’t set to debut for the New Orleans Pelicans until  Jan. 22 . Remember that Luka Doncic was the uncrowned Rookie of the Year at this stage last season before Trae Young went off and added intrigue to the race. If Williamson is even 80 percent as good as many believe, he may be the only player capable of giving Ja Morant any real competition for the award. 

The Washington Wizards are equal parts bad and boring for those with no attachment to the organization, so we don’t blame you if you’ve seen little, if any, of forward  Rui Hachimura. Before Hachimura suffered a groin injury that sidelined him from mid-December through Jan. 16, the 21-year-old averaged 13.9 PPG and 5.8 REB, good for fourth and second, respectively, among rookies. Unfortunately, a prolonged absence coupled with the performances produced by the favorite to win ROTY will likely remove Hachimura from contention. 

Let’s start by saying that if a Miami Heat player wins Rookie of the Year, it’s probably not going to be Tyler Herro . The 19-year-old nevertheless deserves a shoutout for averaging 13.4 PPG and shooting over 38 percent from beyond the arc mostly as a reserve. As Herro earns the trust of his coach and Jimmy Butler, Erik Spoelstra will look to get even more out of the teenager over the final three months of the season, which would provide Herro with chances to steal votes from a teammate and a competitor. 

Did we mention Erik Spoelstra is a top Coach of the Year candidate? Guard Kendrick Nunn went undrafted  in 2018 and was then discarded by the Golden State Warriors, but the Miami Heat took a flier on the 24-year-old and, eventually, rewarded him with a spot in the lineup. Nunn didn't disappoint. The 24-year-old is second among rookies in PPG (15.9), he’s second on the  Heat in scoring behind only Jimmy Butler and he was tied with Tyler Herro for the league lead in three-pointers made by rookies after 40 games. Of all the first-year pros, none (pun included) is a greater inspiration for future players who aren’t advertised as stars immediately out of college. 

Not even what first looked like a scary back injury  could stop Memphis Grizzlies guard  Ja Morant. The second pick of his draft class is not only leading all rookies in PPG (18.0) and AST (6.9) at the midway point of the season, but he’s also getting stronger and better with each appearance. In his first seven outings of the new year, the 20-year-old averaged 20.3 PPG, 8.9 AST, 4.4 REB and 0.9 STL while he shot over 44 percent from three-point range and nearly 61 percent from the field. Memphis won six in a row over that period. ROTY is Morant’s to lose. 

Detroit Pistons guard Derrick Rose becoming a Sixth Man of the Year candidate for a lifetime achievement honor is a nice tradition the league has going for it at the start of the decade. This isn’t to suggest the 31-year-old isn’t a worthy candidate. He leads the  Pistons in scoring, and he was fifth among point guards in offensive real plus-minus  on Jan. 17. With Blake Griffin out indefinitely following knee surgery, Detroit could shop Rose and also starting center Andre Drummond. A trade likely would improve his chances of earning hardware this spring. 

If you deeply believe numbers and stats don’t lie, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Dennis Schroder may be your Sixth Man of the Year of the opening half of the 2019-20 season. The 26-year-old entered the midway point of the campaign atop both  real plus-minus and RPM wins among all point guards, and he was third on the Thunder in scoring (18.3 PPG). Schroder’s 35.9 percent three-point shooting and 46.7 field-goal percentage over his first 40 appearances were both career bests. 

The two biggest things working against Montrezl Harrell winning Sixth Man of the Year is that the Los Angeles Clippers are using the regular season to prep for the playoffs and that the forward is a teammate of the guy who will probably have his name attached to the trophy soon after he retires. Through 41 games, Harrell was one of four Clippers, two of whom will contend for this award, averaging at least 19 PPG, and he was in the top seven in offensive RPM, RPM, and RPM wins among those at his position. Of the players who had been on the active roster since the start of the season, Harrell was second on the Clippers to only Kawhi Leonard in player efficiency rating.

Whether Davis Bertans gives other candidates a run for Sixth Man of the Year likely depends on if the Washington Wizards deal him before the trade deadline. The 27-year-old set to enter free agency this coming summer averaged a career-best 15.3 PPG in his first 31 appearances of the season, and he drained over 43 percent of his shots from distance over that time. How much he plays for a contender, assuming a trade is inevitable, will affect his candidacy, and that uncertainly makes predicting where he’ll finish in voting virtually impossible. 

Water being wet, grass being green and Los Angeles Clippers guard Lou Williams winning Sixth Man of the Year. You can bank on all three. Williams’ numbers through 38 regular-season appearances — 19.9 PPG, 6.2 AST, third in offensive RPM among shooting guards — are unquestionably impressive. Over the past two seasons, the three-time SMOTY who defended that title in 2018-19 earned the award with stellar play from January through April. In his first six games of this month, he averaged nearly 25 points per contest. 

Unless you ignored the 2019 NBA Playoffs, you’re probably well aware Kawhi Leonard is currently the best two-way player in the league. The reigning NBA Finals MVP was third among all players in DRPM after 41 games, and he was tied for fourth in the league in steals per game  (1.9) at that time, although those standings have changed slightly since then. Leonard won’t play every night, and for good reason. The Toronto Raptors won the title last spring largely because the club managed his workload. We envision a lack of total minutes compared to those posted by other candidates will cost him here. 

The Portland Trail Blazers were one of the most disappointing teams of the first half of the season, a club that lost 24 of 42 outings and that needed to bring league castoff Carmelo Anthony in to right the ship. Portland trading for center  Hassan Whiteside last offseason was one thing the front office got right over the past 12 months. At the midway point of the campaign, the 30-year-old led the Association in blocks per game (2.9), and he was fourth in the league in defensive rebounds. 

History tells us voters choose big men over others for Defensive Player of the Year, and there’s no reason to believe that again won’t be the case this season. That could be a disservice to Ben Simmons, who has blossomed into one of the league’s better perimeter defenders. On Jan. 16, Simmons was first in RPM wins (he has since dropped slightly) among starting point guards, and he led the NBA in steals per game (2.1). As Ky Carlin of Sixers Wire  pointed out, Philly has tasked Simmons with guarding stars such as Bradley Beal, Pascal Siakam and Jimmy Butler, and the 23-year-old has met those challenges head-on. 

Say, for the sake of argument, voters decide LeBron James deserves one more MVP to his name. They could respond by handing Defensive Player of the Year to fellow Los Angeles Laker Anthony Davis, especially if the Lakers end the regular season with the league’s best record. After 41 games, Davis was second to only Hassan Whiteside in BLK (2.6), and he averaged 1.5 STL in his first 35 appearances. 

Two-time reigning Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert seemed to be out of the running to repeat as an award winner at the start of the holiday season. Then the Utah Jazz big man turned things around. ESPN.com gave the following Gobert stat for a piece published on Jan. 10: “His plus-minus during the Jazz's 13-1 run is a league-best plus-191 — 49 points better than any player who isn't a Jazz teammate during that span.” After 39 appearances, Gobert led all centers in defensive RPM, and he was second in the league in total defensive rebounds. 

Forward Brandon Ingram had plenty to prove after the Los Angeles Lakers shipped him to the New Orleans Pelicans in the trade that awarded LA-LA Land Anthony Davis and after he dealt with a blood clot that potentially could’ve threatened his career. The 22-year-old responded by posting his best numbers and career highs in scoring, assists, rebounds, blocks and three-point shooting across 36 games. One reason Ingram’s name could go unmentioned when awards are distributed is that the Pelicans plummeted toward the basement of the Western Conference standings without Zion Williamson in the lineup. In short, Ingram’s improvement has, as of the posting of this piece, meant little to New Orleans. 

We wanted to believe Minnesota Timberwolves forward  Andrew Wiggins turned a corner after he averaged over 27 PPG and shot nearly 40 percent from beyond the arc and 48.3 percent from the field in November. The 24-year-old regressed as the season progressed, however, and observers are once again wondering if a change of scenery is needed. Perhaps Dane Moore of Zone Coverage is correct in stating an illness turned Wiggins into the lackluster player of old. Can head coach Ryan Saunders bring the Wiggins of November back before this becomes a completely lost season for his club?

There would have been plenty of years over the past decade when Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo would’ve been at least the favorite to win Most Improved Player at the midway point of a season. A first-time full-time starter, the third-year pro averaged 15.8 PPG and 10.4 REB in his first 40 games, all starts, and his play through December and the first few weeks of January leads one to conclude he’ll only improve upon those numbers before the spring. On Jan. 17, the 22-year-old was third among centers in RPM wins  behind only Rudy Gobert and Nikola Jokic. 

It’s silly that NBA sophomores, let alone those coming off Rookie of the Year seasons, don’t earn Most Improved Player votes in today’s basketball climate, but that’s the lay of the land. Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic is rewriting record books and potentially playing better than  any 20-year-old ever, and the fact that he’s a legitimate MVP candidate (more on that later) after 109 career games should put him at or near the top of this list. It was understood last summer that Doncic could eventually get to this level during the 2020s. That he’s doing it before his 21st birthday is remarkable and unprecedented. 

As a rookie, Charlotte Hornets point guard  Devonte' Graham appeared in 46 games, made three starts and averaged 4.7 PPG. The second-round pick wasn’t even an afterthought among non-Charlotte fans. This winter the 24-year-old is a mainstay in the Charlotte rotation, is leading the Hornets in scoring and is second in the NBA in three-pointers  behind only James Harden. Graham isn’t making Hornets fans forget about Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lamb, but he’s showing he could be the next cornerstone for the club’s future. 

One can’t ignore Anthony Davis in MVP conversations at the midway point of the season. After 35 appearances, the 26-year-old was fourth in the NBA in player efficiency rating, and, as mentioned earlier, he’s one of the top defensive forces in the sport. There’s one glaring issue that serves as a massive hurdle standing between Davis and the MVP Award: He’s not the best player on his team. 

James Harden is going to Moonwalk to the scoring title and possibly become the first person to do so while averaging over 37 PPG since Michael Jordan accomplished that feat during the 1986-87 season. We’re convinced voters don’t care all that much. After all, Harden scored at a similar rate last season, and Giannis Antetokounmpo easily won the award over The Beard. Unless voters regret their decision from a year ago and/or injuries drastically alter the competition, Harden faces a challenge he can't win. 

Since the summer of 2014, LeBron James has taken several different approaches to win a fifth regular-season MVP Award. He completed an emotional return to the Cleveland Cavaliers and dragged one pedestrian team seemingly kicking and screaming to an NBA Finals appearance. He moved to the Los Angeles Lakers. Now, he’s seeing if leading the league in assists by a wide margin will help his cause. The 35-year-old was also first in DRPM, RPM and RPM wins as of Jan. 17. 

All signs point to Giannis Antetokounmpo repeating as MVP. Once again, the Greek Freak is on pace to notch career highs in PPG and rebounds. After 40 games, Antetokounmpo led the Association in player efficiency rating and ORPM. Maybe most importantly, the Milwaukee Bucks held the league’s best record after 42 contests. On Jan. 14, the Sports Illustrated staff unanimously named Antetokounmpo its midseason MVP.

Are we already taking Luka Doncic for granted? It’s a serious concern, considering so many seem to already have Giannis Antetokounmpo penciled in as the league’s MVP. As Ben Rohrbach of Yahoo Sports  recently explained, only two players in history ended a full season with a 28-9-9 line: Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook. Doncic is on the cusp of adding his name to the list less than two months after he turns 21. He  is the reason the Dallas Mavericks are punching above their weight ahead of schedule. We’ll need to ask voters if he needs to average an actual triple-double in Year 2 to merely finish second behind Giannis for MVP honors.