With the Celtics and Cavaliers tipping off the NBA regular
season tonight, after an unprecedentedly chaotic offseason that featured 15
All-Stars changing teams, it is time to break down predictions for the NBA’s
end-of-season awards.
AP Photo/Darren Hauck |
Most Improved Player: Aaron Gordon
In his fourth year in the league, the 22-year-old Gordon is a prime breakout
candidate. After playing three positions including center during the
preseason, Gordon appears poised to lead the Magic in both points and rebounds this season. His preseason
averages of 18.4 points and 7.4 rebounds in 23.9 minutes were considerably
better than his 12.7 points and 5.1 rebounds over 28.7 minutes per game last
season.
Gordon is demonstrating newfound confidence, improved physicality,
and consistent aggression in the paint. He also appears to have improved his three-point
shot, which he converted at a .429 rate this preseason compared to .288 last
season.
Gordon accredits much of his development to mental training and
meditation and he is exhibiting the potential and athleticism necessary to
develop into a dynamic high-volume scorer. The Magic
traded away Victor Oladipo to rebuild in the offseason and Gordon has a great opportunity to
seize a big-time scoring role in Orlando.
MIP Runner-ups: Myles
Turner, Marcus Smart
NBAE/Brian Babineau via Getty Images |
Sixth Man of the Year: Marcus Smart
Plenty of talented scorers have sixth man roles around the NBA, but very few of them can shut down the league's best players on defense.
Smart wears down opponents and inspires his teammates with relentless physical intensity, diving for loose balls and always doing the little things right.
Smart wears down opponents and inspires his teammates with relentless physical intensity, diving for loose balls and always doing the little things right.
Embracing his role as the sixth man, Smart takes pride in leading
the second unit. He also lost 20 pounds in the offseason and has demonstrated tremendous improvement in his jump shot during the preseason.
With a vital role and heavy minutes off the bench in relief of youngsters Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, Smart will play up to four different positions for the Celtics while facilitating energy as their "sixth starter."
With a vital role and heavy minutes off the bench in relief of youngsters Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, Smart will play up to four different positions for the Celtics while facilitating energy as their "sixth starter."
6MOY Runner-ups: Andre
Iguodala, Eric Gordon
San Antonio Express-News |
Defensive Player of the Year: Kawhi Leonard
Watching the lengthy 6’7’’ Leonard lock down opponents can
be mesmerizing. As the best all-around player on the second-best team in the
West, Leonard has become a perennial contender for both DPOY and MVP by causing nightmares for opposing scorers and coaches with elite toughness and defensive
awareness.
Despite being expected to miss the Spurs’ regular-season opener
because of a quad injury, Leonard should quickly return to wreaking havoc on
defense.
DPOY Runner-ups: Draymond
Green, Rudy Gobert
Rookie of the Year: Ben Simmons
Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports |
The #1 overall pick in the 2016 draft would have played his
way into ROY consideration last year, but he suffered a season-ending foot injury prior to the start of the season.
Now healthy, the 6’10’’ Australian forward is expected to play a
variety of positions for the 76ers, including the unique point forward role seen for stars like LeBron James, Draymond Green, Kevin Garnett, and Larry
Bird. Simmons has astounding court vision and dribbling skills. If he stays
healthy, he will develop into an elite magician in the interior amidst a league
dominated by three-point shooting.
ROY Runner-ups: Milos
Teodosic, Dennis Smith Jr
AP Photo/Kathy Willens |
Most Valuable Player: Anthony Davis
Coming off a career year in which the 6’10’’ forward averaged
28.0 points and 11.8 rebounds, the 24-year-old Davis has looked unstoppable in
the preseason. Playing alongside DeMarcus Cousins in the bruising New Orleans
frontcourt, Davis racked up 37 points and 15 rebounds during their third
preseason game.
As a young superstar establishing individual dominance
during the age of super-teams, Davis needs to stay healthy and continue
building on the monumental production he exhibited last season when he produced
the fourth-highest Player Efficiency Rating in the NBA (27.59) and the second-most
points per game of those four players.
Russell Westbrook now shares the
ball with Paul George and Carmelo Anthony and will no longer attempt 24 shots per game, while James and Kevin Durant sacrifice MVP votes to the
teams and talent they choose to play with. As one of the most dynamic big men in the sport, Davis could shock the
basketball world by leading the Pelicans to a playoff berth while putting up career-highs
across the board.
MVP Runner-ups: James
Harden, Kawhi Leonard
Stuart Cahill-Boston Herald |
Coach of the Year: Brad Stevens
Last year, the Celtics finished atop the East for the first
time in nine years and now Brad Stevens has two new All-Stars to
help lead his team. Gordon Hayward helped Stevens lead Butler to a NCAA
Championship game in 2010, while Kyrie Irving propelled LeBron and the Cavaliers
to three consecutive NBA Finals appearances.
Stevens will not have any
difficulty in getting this motivated group of guys to buy in, as the Celtics
will rally around their new talent. Look for them to win around 58 games while
finishing atop the conference.
COY Runner-ups: Gregg Popovich, Quin Snyder
COY Runner-ups: Gregg Popovich, Quin Snyder
Jim Beckel-The Oklahoman |
Executive of the Year: Sam Presti
After losing Durant, the Thunder were supposed to finish
near the bottom of the tough Western Conference. Instead, Westbrook led them to the playoffs and captured his first MVP award.
Presti rewarded his devoted point guard with a $205 million contract and a new pair of All-Star
teammates. George and Anthony, like Westbrook, are high-volume scorers who won Olympic gold medals representing the USA.
If OKC’s offense meshes,
George and Anthony will punish defenses by peppering them with drives and jump shots whenever defenders scramble to
converge on the lightning-quick Westbrook.
On paper the Thunder feature one of best
new starting lineups, but coach Billy Donovan is tasked with managing an array
of eccentric individual personalities. He will need them all to work together to
foster a healthy team culture, but at their best the Thunder could become viciously unforgiving on offense.
EOY Runner-ups: Scott Layden, Danny Ainge
EOY Runner-ups: Scott Layden, Danny Ainge