spurschick
02-04-2006, 07:18 PM
Mike Kahn / Special to FOXSports.com
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/5301640
We're closing in on the NBA All-Star break, passing the midway point of the season game-wise, and there are plenty of emotions to be had.
We can look at the Detroit Pistons with the fifth best start in NBA history, as they have laid a path toward their third consecutive trip to the NBA Finals. That's not to mention the spectacular play of Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Steve Nash and a slew of other players.
On the flip side, we have the pathetic Ron Artest saga dragging into its second season, and half the teams in the league are playing less than .500 ball heading into Thursday night's games. Both the Northwest and Southeast Divisions have just one team that has won more than half of its games, and the Atlantic Division barely has two.
There is a tale of two franchises — one heartwarming and another very sad. The New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets have overcome being dislodged from their home as a result of Hurricane Katrina and are surprisingly in the thick of the playoff race in the West.
Then there are the Seattle SuperSonics, continuing to rant about the same lease they signed when purchasing the team in 2001, and now threatening to move the team if they can't get $220 million from the state legislature. And incredibly enough, they have the audacity to be asking for $350 million if someone is interested in purchasing the team that they paid $200 million for and can no longer afford to keep. On the floor, they have reverted back to a marginal team after winning a playoff series last year for the first time since 1998.
Nevertheless, there have been some great rookie additions to the league this season and the spectacle of an All-Star game in Houston in a couple of weeks gives the league reason to be excited.
So without further adieu, here are our midseason awards.
Coach of the Year
Flip Saunders, Detroit Pistons: The perfect hire for a team that was primed on defense the past few seasons. Saunders sat there patiently while the deal to get Larry Brown out of town was completed, and the moment he was hired, the offense opened up and the Pistons exploded out of the gate. Others who will make a run at the award are Los Angeles Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy, Dallas Mavericks coach Avery Johnson and Hornets coach Byron Scott.
Worst coach
Bob Weiss, Seattle Supersonics: He hadn't been a head coach in more than a decade and essentially was a loving uncle to the players as an assistant on the Sonics through three head coaches. They walked all over him, and he was fired after a 13-17 start. The bigger folly was hiring him in the first place. Keep an eye on Golden State's Mike Montgomery as the next guy to go.
MVP
Chauncey Billups, Detroit Pistons: This was a tough call, but he is the rock on this team, running the offense, delivering the clutch shots and essentially controlling the tempo of every game. This will be the season he's finally rewarded by being selected to the All-Star team. Also under consideration are Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Elton Brand and Steve Nash.
Least valuable player
Ron Artest, Sacramento Kings: He didn't earn this award on the Kings, just the Pacers. Artest has destroyed the Pacers two during two consecutive seasons, first as the instigator of the brawl at the Palace in November of 2004 that got him suspended for the rest of the season. Then he said he didn't want to play for the Pacers anymore early into this season — rendering him inactive. It's the worst statement any professional athlete can make to his teammates, the franchise and the public. They should ship him out to the Mars Basketball League.
Rookie of the Year
Chris Paul, New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets: Paul looks like the second coming of Phil Ford, the former North Carolina and Kansas City Kings great. He's quick, strong and relentlessly effective going to the basket or delivering to his teammates. Top pick Andrew Bogut has also been superb for the Milwaukee Bucks. He has some Arvydas Sabonis in him when it comes to shooting, passing and general demeanor on the floor. The Knicks have no reason not to be ecstatic with Channing Frye either.
Rookie bust
Marvin Williams, Atlanta Hawks: Williams will eventually become a fine player in the league, but it was ludicrous considering the makeup of this team that they take him instead of Paul when they desperately needed a point guard. Maybe they believe he'll replace free agent Al Harrington, but they had an opportunity to have all the pieces — and keep Harrington with a bright future. The Portland Trail Blazers taking prep star Martell Webster, when they already have a roster filled with youngsters, was also unrealistic for their needs. It will be years before he's ready.
Most Improved Player
Boris Diaw, Phoenix Suns: This was the toughest call of all because Hornets forward David West has been a huge reason why they have raised their level of pla, and he's tripled his stats. But Diaw was the only player coming over in the controversial Joe Johnson deal, and he had done little for the Hawks. Still only 23, the 6-foot-8 Diaw has delivered 11.7 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists — consistently threatening triple-doubles — out of the high post or running the floor. West's 17.0 points and 8.0 rebounds have been vital for the Hornets, and he is only getting better. If the Hornets make the playoffs, he'll probably win the award.
Most deteriorated player
Grant Hill, Orlando Magic: With four ankle surgeries, the hernia surgery this past summer just didn't do it, either. It's a sad story for a great player and even better person. But at 33, it's obvious his body is breaking down elsewhere, and he's only played in 11 games this season. He loves the game and is still a borderline All-Star when he plays. Then again, when will that be?
Top sixth man
Mike Miller, Memphis Grizzlies: This was such a logical move for coach Mike Fratello, and it has paid huge dividends as Miller has remained healthy this season and is consistently productive scoring, running the floor and moving the ball. He's an ideal sixth man on a team that is, for the most part, locked into the fifth seed. Jerry Stackhouse will be an enormously productive sixth man all season for the Dallas Mavericks, too — as long as he stays healthy.
Worst starter
Pape Sow, Toronto Raptors: OK, all together now ... who? He's just the latest futile attempt by the Raptors to have what we may loosely refer to as a starting center. They signed him from the Arkansas RimRockers of the NBA's Developmental League. There's a joke in there somewhere, but suffice to say he's still in the developmental process.
Best defensive player
Ben Wallace, Detroit Pistons: No one changes the flow of the game more than Big Ben. He'll block a shot, spin into a full-court trap or take over the backboards with explosive rebounds that will obliterate another team's momentum. San Antonio's Bruce Bowen and Utah's Andrei Kirilenko also are dominant defensive players who alter the game by taking particular players out of their offensive rhythm.
Worst defensive player
Flip Murray, Seattle SuperSonics: He's arguably the worst defender on the worst defensive team in the league. The Sonics guards have been rolling out the red carpet down the lane all season, and Murray is the prime culprit. He's a terrific one-on-one offensive player, but if he wants to take his game to another level, he's got to become a team player on both ends of the floor.
Top executive
Joe Dumars, Detroit Pistons: He was underrated as a player, and he's in the same role as president of the Pistons. He filled the roster with under-appreciated players to construct the best starting lineup in the NBA, and continued to blend the chemistry by hiring the best coach available for his squad. Joe D continues to be functioning at a more complete level of effectiveness than any one else in that position.
Worst executive
Rob Babcock, Toronto Raptors: Things had gotten so bad, ownership fired him before February because they were just as concerned about what deals he would make as the deals he wouldn't. Even if this past draft of Charlie Villanueva, Joey Graham and Jose Calderon ends up to be as effective as it could potentially be, his trading of Vince Carter for virtually nothing was something the franchise will require many years to overcome.
Surprise team
New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets: They were uprooted from their homes for a strange city not on the NBA map, and coach Byron Scott has had them playing fast, loose and effectively all season. Led by rookie Chris Paul, young forward David West and a crew of young castoffs, they're hanging in the playoff chase. That's not to underestimate the Clippers, but they looked to be competing this season with the off-season additions of Sam Cassell and Cuttino Mobley.
Disappointing team
Indiana Pacers: Picked by many to win the Eastern Conference upon the return of Artest, he turned them upside down again, Jermaine O'Neal continues to break down and may be out for the year, and Jamaal Tinsley plays rarely as his body continues to fall apart. It's a sad state of affairs for what has been one of the marquee franchises in the NBA over the past 15 years.
Most underrated player
Elton Brand, Los Angeles Clippers: Because he plays for the Clippers, no one seems to notice that Brand is averaging 24.9 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.56 blocks per game. He is only 6-8, but he has arms like he's a 7-footer that block shots, and he can score from anywhere around the 15-foot perimeter almost at will. If he can stay healthy and the Clippers make the playoffs, he'll be an MVP candidate.
Most overrated player
Jermaine O'Neal, Indiana Pacers: He's talented, had virtually the same numbers as Brand before tearing a groin muscle and he might be out for the season. Perhaps that's not fair for someone so vital during the Pacer's run over the past half-dozen seasons, but J-O has been injured continuously. Add with the retirement of Reggie Miller and the need for some player to call out Artest, O'Neal should have done it before things got carried away. All of that screams of the simple fact that he's a very talented player but not the superstar so many claimed him to be for the past four seasons.
All-NBA
First team
F-LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers: He made a move of the century this week.
F-Kevin Garnett, Minnesota Timberwolves: Consistently great with no help at all.
C-Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs: Maybe too quietly putting up typical numbers.
G-Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers: Carrying the Lakers to the playoffs.
G-Chauncey Billups, Detroit Pistons: He seemingly gets better every game.
Second team
F-Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks: He's an extraordinary 7-foot talent.
F-Vince Carter, New Jersey Nets: He's back to superstar quality.
C-Shaquille O'Neal, Miami Heat: When he's healthy, he's still dominant.
G-Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat: He's spectacular as ever, but the team isn't.
G-Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns: The best at helping teammates in the league.
Veteran NBA writer Mike Kahn is a frequent FOXSports.com contributor.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/5301640
We're closing in on the NBA All-Star break, passing the midway point of the season game-wise, and there are plenty of emotions to be had.
We can look at the Detroit Pistons with the fifth best start in NBA history, as they have laid a path toward their third consecutive trip to the NBA Finals. That's not to mention the spectacular play of Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Steve Nash and a slew of other players.
On the flip side, we have the pathetic Ron Artest saga dragging into its second season, and half the teams in the league are playing less than .500 ball heading into Thursday night's games. Both the Northwest and Southeast Divisions have just one team that has won more than half of its games, and the Atlantic Division barely has two.
There is a tale of two franchises — one heartwarming and another very sad. The New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets have overcome being dislodged from their home as a result of Hurricane Katrina and are surprisingly in the thick of the playoff race in the West.
Then there are the Seattle SuperSonics, continuing to rant about the same lease they signed when purchasing the team in 2001, and now threatening to move the team if they can't get $220 million from the state legislature. And incredibly enough, they have the audacity to be asking for $350 million if someone is interested in purchasing the team that they paid $200 million for and can no longer afford to keep. On the floor, they have reverted back to a marginal team after winning a playoff series last year for the first time since 1998.
Nevertheless, there have been some great rookie additions to the league this season and the spectacle of an All-Star game in Houston in a couple of weeks gives the league reason to be excited.
So without further adieu, here are our midseason awards.
Coach of the Year
Flip Saunders, Detroit Pistons: The perfect hire for a team that was primed on defense the past few seasons. Saunders sat there patiently while the deal to get Larry Brown out of town was completed, and the moment he was hired, the offense opened up and the Pistons exploded out of the gate. Others who will make a run at the award are Los Angeles Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy, Dallas Mavericks coach Avery Johnson and Hornets coach Byron Scott.
Worst coach
Bob Weiss, Seattle Supersonics: He hadn't been a head coach in more than a decade and essentially was a loving uncle to the players as an assistant on the Sonics through three head coaches. They walked all over him, and he was fired after a 13-17 start. The bigger folly was hiring him in the first place. Keep an eye on Golden State's Mike Montgomery as the next guy to go.
MVP
Chauncey Billups, Detroit Pistons: This was a tough call, but he is the rock on this team, running the offense, delivering the clutch shots and essentially controlling the tempo of every game. This will be the season he's finally rewarded by being selected to the All-Star team. Also under consideration are Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Elton Brand and Steve Nash.
Least valuable player
Ron Artest, Sacramento Kings: He didn't earn this award on the Kings, just the Pacers. Artest has destroyed the Pacers two during two consecutive seasons, first as the instigator of the brawl at the Palace in November of 2004 that got him suspended for the rest of the season. Then he said he didn't want to play for the Pacers anymore early into this season — rendering him inactive. It's the worst statement any professional athlete can make to his teammates, the franchise and the public. They should ship him out to the Mars Basketball League.
Rookie of the Year
Chris Paul, New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets: Paul looks like the second coming of Phil Ford, the former North Carolina and Kansas City Kings great. He's quick, strong and relentlessly effective going to the basket or delivering to his teammates. Top pick Andrew Bogut has also been superb for the Milwaukee Bucks. He has some Arvydas Sabonis in him when it comes to shooting, passing and general demeanor on the floor. The Knicks have no reason not to be ecstatic with Channing Frye either.
Rookie bust
Marvin Williams, Atlanta Hawks: Williams will eventually become a fine player in the league, but it was ludicrous considering the makeup of this team that they take him instead of Paul when they desperately needed a point guard. Maybe they believe he'll replace free agent Al Harrington, but they had an opportunity to have all the pieces — and keep Harrington with a bright future. The Portland Trail Blazers taking prep star Martell Webster, when they already have a roster filled with youngsters, was also unrealistic for their needs. It will be years before he's ready.
Most Improved Player
Boris Diaw, Phoenix Suns: This was the toughest call of all because Hornets forward David West has been a huge reason why they have raised their level of pla, and he's tripled his stats. But Diaw was the only player coming over in the controversial Joe Johnson deal, and he had done little for the Hawks. Still only 23, the 6-foot-8 Diaw has delivered 11.7 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists — consistently threatening triple-doubles — out of the high post or running the floor. West's 17.0 points and 8.0 rebounds have been vital for the Hornets, and he is only getting better. If the Hornets make the playoffs, he'll probably win the award.
Most deteriorated player
Grant Hill, Orlando Magic: With four ankle surgeries, the hernia surgery this past summer just didn't do it, either. It's a sad story for a great player and even better person. But at 33, it's obvious his body is breaking down elsewhere, and he's only played in 11 games this season. He loves the game and is still a borderline All-Star when he plays. Then again, when will that be?
Top sixth man
Mike Miller, Memphis Grizzlies: This was such a logical move for coach Mike Fratello, and it has paid huge dividends as Miller has remained healthy this season and is consistently productive scoring, running the floor and moving the ball. He's an ideal sixth man on a team that is, for the most part, locked into the fifth seed. Jerry Stackhouse will be an enormously productive sixth man all season for the Dallas Mavericks, too — as long as he stays healthy.
Worst starter
Pape Sow, Toronto Raptors: OK, all together now ... who? He's just the latest futile attempt by the Raptors to have what we may loosely refer to as a starting center. They signed him from the Arkansas RimRockers of the NBA's Developmental League. There's a joke in there somewhere, but suffice to say he's still in the developmental process.
Best defensive player
Ben Wallace, Detroit Pistons: No one changes the flow of the game more than Big Ben. He'll block a shot, spin into a full-court trap or take over the backboards with explosive rebounds that will obliterate another team's momentum. San Antonio's Bruce Bowen and Utah's Andrei Kirilenko also are dominant defensive players who alter the game by taking particular players out of their offensive rhythm.
Worst defensive player
Flip Murray, Seattle SuperSonics: He's arguably the worst defender on the worst defensive team in the league. The Sonics guards have been rolling out the red carpet down the lane all season, and Murray is the prime culprit. He's a terrific one-on-one offensive player, but if he wants to take his game to another level, he's got to become a team player on both ends of the floor.
Top executive
Joe Dumars, Detroit Pistons: He was underrated as a player, and he's in the same role as president of the Pistons. He filled the roster with under-appreciated players to construct the best starting lineup in the NBA, and continued to blend the chemistry by hiring the best coach available for his squad. Joe D continues to be functioning at a more complete level of effectiveness than any one else in that position.
Worst executive
Rob Babcock, Toronto Raptors: Things had gotten so bad, ownership fired him before February because they were just as concerned about what deals he would make as the deals he wouldn't. Even if this past draft of Charlie Villanueva, Joey Graham and Jose Calderon ends up to be as effective as it could potentially be, his trading of Vince Carter for virtually nothing was something the franchise will require many years to overcome.
Surprise team
New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets: They were uprooted from their homes for a strange city not on the NBA map, and coach Byron Scott has had them playing fast, loose and effectively all season. Led by rookie Chris Paul, young forward David West and a crew of young castoffs, they're hanging in the playoff chase. That's not to underestimate the Clippers, but they looked to be competing this season with the off-season additions of Sam Cassell and Cuttino Mobley.
Disappointing team
Indiana Pacers: Picked by many to win the Eastern Conference upon the return of Artest, he turned them upside down again, Jermaine O'Neal continues to break down and may be out for the year, and Jamaal Tinsley plays rarely as his body continues to fall apart. It's a sad state of affairs for what has been one of the marquee franchises in the NBA over the past 15 years.
Most underrated player
Elton Brand, Los Angeles Clippers: Because he plays for the Clippers, no one seems to notice that Brand is averaging 24.9 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.56 blocks per game. He is only 6-8, but he has arms like he's a 7-footer that block shots, and he can score from anywhere around the 15-foot perimeter almost at will. If he can stay healthy and the Clippers make the playoffs, he'll be an MVP candidate.
Most overrated player
Jermaine O'Neal, Indiana Pacers: He's talented, had virtually the same numbers as Brand before tearing a groin muscle and he might be out for the season. Perhaps that's not fair for someone so vital during the Pacer's run over the past half-dozen seasons, but J-O has been injured continuously. Add with the retirement of Reggie Miller and the need for some player to call out Artest, O'Neal should have done it before things got carried away. All of that screams of the simple fact that he's a very talented player but not the superstar so many claimed him to be for the past four seasons.
All-NBA
First team
F-LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers: He made a move of the century this week.
F-Kevin Garnett, Minnesota Timberwolves: Consistently great with no help at all.
C-Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs: Maybe too quietly putting up typical numbers.
G-Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers: Carrying the Lakers to the playoffs.
G-Chauncey Billups, Detroit Pistons: He seemingly gets better every game.
Second team
F-Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks: He's an extraordinary 7-foot talent.
F-Vince Carter, New Jersey Nets: He's back to superstar quality.
C-Shaquille O'Neal, Miami Heat: When he's healthy, he's still dominant.
G-Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat: He's spectacular as ever, but the team isn't.
G-Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns: The best at helping teammates in the league.
Veteran NBA writer Mike Kahn is a frequent FOXSports.com contributor.