2005 NBA AWARDS PREVIEW
MVP
Obviously, the nominees are the ones that were "mvp candidates" at the end of the season.
LeBron James
LeBron stepped it up one notch this year, getting higher averages in about every stat and leading the Cavs to the playoffs. The current favorite.
Tim Duncan
Once again the best player on the San Antonio Spurs. Had another 20-10 season for the 3rd best team in the league(58-24)
Shaquille O'Neal
The Diesel had a great year, continuing to be the best center in the NBA. His acquisition is why the Miami Heat have the best record in the East (53-29)
Kevin Garnett
Once again having an MVP-type year for the T-Wolves, who tied the Grizzlies for the best record in the NBA (61-21) His consistent play will help Minnesota contend in the playoffs.
Elton Brand
A very underrated player, Brand led the league in rebounding, beating all the guys above. However, helping your team win is important for an MVP, and he could not accomplish that (32-50)
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Ben Wallace
The Beast was once again very good, averaging 2.5 blocks and over 1.5 steals for the mighty Detroit Pistons.
Bruce Bowen
Bowen is a great lock-down defender. He had 1.8 steals and was very good at limiting the points his opponent would score.
Tim Duncan
Duncan was very good at the defensive end, averaging over 2 blocks and almost 1.5 steals per game.
Kevin Garnett
Garnett was also getting the job done on D, averaging 1.8 blocks and 1.6 steals per game.
Allen Iverson
Iverson led the league with 2.63 steals per game. However, AI's chances of winning this are small. He missed 23 games, which cuts down the chances.
SIXTH MAN
Karl Malone
The Mailman had to play off the bench for the hawks, but did ok in his final season, averaging 10 points and 5.5 boards a night.
David Wesley
He played very well for Houston, averaging 11 points and shooting 39% from behind the arc this season.
Baron Davis
Had to split time with Derek Fisher (started only 39 games) but still averaged 14.5 points per game. Expect an angry B. Diddy to demand a trade in the offseason due to "lack of playing time"
Stephen Jackson
Did very well in the sixth man role, averaging 15.6 points on the beat-up Pacers, who, other than Reggie Miller, did not have a player start more than 45 games.
Wally Sczerbiak
Wally averaged 10.4 points per game, including almost 40% from behind the arc, for the T-Wolves.
Manu Ginobli
Lost the starting job, but still averaged 10 points a game for the Spurs.
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER
Chris Webber
After an injury spoiled his 03-04 season, C-Webb bounced back to score 20 points per game and grab 11 boards per game.
Damon Stoudamire
Mighty Mouse had a great year, averaging 21 points and 6.6 assists to go along with an almost 90% clip from the free throw line.
Shareef Abdur-Rahim
Reef surprised everyone by leading the league in scoring (25.5 ppg) He also had 10 rebounds a night for the woeful Trailblazers.
Matt Harpring
Had a great year for Utah, averaging 22.1 points and 9.5 rebounds a night. One of very few highs for the Jazz (16-66, worst in NBA)
Raja Bell
Bell also had a very good year, averaging 18.3 points per game. It's also his contract year, meaning some teams are going to wanna pay him big bucks, like the Suns
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Emeka Okafor
The current favorite for the award. Averaged 16.1 points and almost 12 rebounds for the Bobcats, who actually won 30 games in their first year.
Ben Gordon
Had a very good rookie year, averaging almost 20 points a night. His stellar performance has Chicago fans hoping he will be like their prized rookie from 20 years ago. (Hint, hint)
Dwight Howard
The high school phenom was a very important player to the Magic, averaging 16.1 points and 9.3 rebounds per night. Has a lot of upside.
Andre Iguodala
Iggy was a very good player for the Sixers this year, averaging 15.4 points per game and exciting fans by winning the slam dunk contest.
Alex Buckley
Buckley was awesome for the Hornets, who were playing .500 until he was injured. That cost New Orleans the playoffs, and most likely, a chance for Buckley to win rookie of the year.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Mike Fratello
Fratello was able to bring a very deep Grizzlies team into the playoffs with surprisingly the best record in the NBA. Memphis has no real superstars, but they won by playing as a team.
Kevin McHale
The former Celtic was great in most likely his only year as the T-Wolves head coach, leading them to a 61-21 record.
Gregg Popovich
Poppovich has been very good this year, leading the Spurs to the 3rd best record in the league, and hoping to win his 3rd title in 7 years.
Avery Johnson
Johnson learned a lot this year as a rookie head coach, and his fiery attitude helped Dallas become the 4th best team in the NBA.
Stan Van Gundy
Coached the best team in the East in the Miami Heat. Was able to let Shaq get the ball and play very well.
There will be polls for each of these awards. Once i collect 25 votes, I will switch to the next category. It will go like this until each poll is done. Once the winners are announced, I will announce who won the fan vote and who actually won.
Next update: The playoff preview.