2012-2013 NBA Awards

[NEM]

Post your award winners and give reasons as to why.

MVP - LeBron James (MIA)

This one was easy. He is far and away the best player, on far and away the best team in the league. The numbers he is putting up are insane, and this has probably been his best season ever which is scary. Runner up, Kevin Durant.

Coach of the Year - George Karl (DEN)

He guided the Nuggets to one of the best records in the west, without having a true star on the team. The Nuggets success is truly coach Karl's work. He got the most out of all of his players. Job well done! Runner up, Mike Woodson.

Rookie of the Year - Damian Lillard (POR)

Lillard put up19.1 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 6.5 APG on 43% FG, 37% #'s, and 85% FT. He has made an impact in Portland from day one, and together with Aldridge kept the Blazers competitive and in the hunt for a playoff spot for 80% of the season. Kudos rook! Runner up, Anthony Davis.

6th Man of the Year - J.R. Smith (NYK)

A scoring machine off the bench his entire career, Smith has had the best year of his career this season, and is a big reason why New York has made the ascend to the top of the Atlantic division, and the Eastern conference. Smith could start on any team in the league and average 20+ easily, but he understands his role and does it to perfection. Runner up, Nate Robinson.

Defensive Player of the Year - Joakim Noah (CHI)

This award is wide open this season as there are plenty of bigs on great defensive teams who impact the game that much on defense. Noah wins it because of his rebounding and shot blocking. He also does not have another defensive big playing down low with him at all times because let's face it, Carlos Boozer isn't exactly a defensive stalwart. Runner up, Larry Sanders.

Most Improved Player of the Year - James Harden (HOU)

Another wide open race, James Harden takes it because he has had to shoulder a large load of the offense and has lead the Rockets to the playoffs, when they were not expect to even compete for a spot. This award has become more of a "More Opportunity" award than "Most Improved." Runner up, Paul George.

Executive of the Year - Daryl Morey (HOU)

After striking out on Dwight Howard (for now), Morey did not rest. He quickly acquired James Harden to build around. The complementary pieces surrounding Harden (Lin, Parsons, Asik) fit perfectly, and the Rockets have a strong core that is only bound to get better. Runner up, Rob Hennigan.

1st Team All NBA
G-Tony Parker
G-Chris Paul
F-Kevin Durant
F-Lebron James
C-Tim Duncan

2nd Team All NBA
G-Russell Westbrook
G-Kobe Bryant
G-James Harden
F-Carmelo Anthony
C-Dwight Howard

3rd Team All NBA
G-Dwyane Wade
G-Stephen Curry
F-Paul George
F-Blake Griffin
C-Brook Lopez

1st Team All Defense
G-Chris Paul
G-Tony Allen
F-Lebron James
F-Josh Smith
C-Joakim Noah

2nd Team All Defense
G-Avery Bradley
G-Kobe Bryant
F-Andre Iguodala
F-Kevin Garnett
C-Tim Duncan

1st Team All Rookie
G-Damian Lillard
G-Bradley Beal
S-Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
P-Anthony Davis
C-Andre Drummond

2nd Team All Rookie
G-Dion Waiters
G-Terrence Ross
F-Harrison Barnes
F-Maurice Harkless
F-John Henson

[BadMofoPimp]

I agree with everything NEM said except:

Defensive player of the Year: Tony Allen (Memphis rocks on D and Tony is the Lead by example guy)

MIP: Either Harden or Vucci. But, Vucci went from less than 10mpg to 33mpg and 2nd in league in Rebounds. They prolly give to Harden tho.

[BadMofoPimp]

I agree with everything NEM said except:

Defensive player of the Year: Tony Allen (Memphis rocks on D and Tony is the Lead by example guy)

MIP: Either Harden or Vucci. But, Vucci went from less than 10mpg to 33mpg and 2nd in league in Rebounds. They prolly give to Harden tho.

[UCFJayBird]

I don't think Harden should get MIP. He was already considered a star player just not in the right situation to truly shine. He went from 17 ppg to 26ppg, and while that's a lot it's mostly due to going from the 3rd option to 1st option. His shooting is down, though I will say his assists are higher than I thought they would be.

[KingRobb02]

If we're going who I think should win as opposed to who I think will win...

MVP - LeBron James (MIA)

Duh. When the most athletic, most dominant, most efficient player in the league suddenly becomes the best spot up shooter in the league the choice is easy. Were it not for the decision he would be on his 5th straight MVP right now. Durant kept it interesting until that game right before the all-star break. It's been a wrap since then.

Coach of the Year - Erik Spoelstra (MIA)

He took last year's champs and kept everyone focused on being even better this year. His team had clinched the East by mid March. Won 27 straight games even with his 2nd best player resting most of the time. Plays Chris Bosh at center and just says screw rebounds, we are going to out execute everyone. To put it in perspective, the Heat are going to win 66 games and they didn't even care for the first 2 months. We could easily be talking about a 70 win team if a couple of bounces go the other way.

Rookie of the Year - Anthony Davis (NOR)

Yes, Lillard put up 19.1 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 6.5 APG on 43% FG, 37% 3's, and 85% FT. But he is also leading the league in minutes. Once you take the air out of it a bit I think Davis's 14pts 8rebs with 2 blocks is just as impressive considering Damian Lillard could not guard a traffic cone at this point. Lillard is also hurt because I was at the 1-16 game against Orlando. I'm sure he'll win, but I'm not really impressed with a guy who shoots as much as him only shooting 43%. I thought Davis had missed a lot more time but 65 games is a good year and he leads all rookies in PER. When you're a rookie who plays the same position as the team's other best player, I think this is impressive.

6th Man of the Year - Kevin Martin (OKC)

Was close to picking Jimmy Butler but went with the 6th man who had the most pressure coming into the year. Everyone thought the Thunder were giving up on this year by trading away their stud 6th man, but Martin has been able to seamlessly replace his efficient scoring while not dominating the ball as much as Harden. For what he was facing, a TS% over 60 is pretty hard to do when you're learning a new offense on the fly and you share the court with Thabo and Perkins. Not a fan of JR because he is a gunner who shot 40% for 4 months. Getting hot in the last 3 weeks of the year shouldn't be a recipe for winning an award.

Defensive Player of the Year - Marc Gasol (MEM)

There is only one team holding teams to less than 90 points per game and this is what his coach said about him:

“He anchors the defense, he talks in the back, he recognizes what’s going on that the other team is doing to us. He’s also pretty decent in pick-and-roll, going to help, and knowing when to double, when to stay home. He just has good basketball instincts and that carries over offensively and defensively as well. Probably a lot of guys are deserving, probably guys that are quicker than him, more athletic than him, but what he does for us, it works.”

Most Improved Player of the Year - Kevin Durant (OKC)

I know this is cheap, but Durant went from All-NBA to All-Galaxy this season. Went from just being a scoring machine who plays good defense with a bunch of turnovers to being an all around player who would be the MVP easily if Lebron ever went back to his home planet. He upped his playmaking skills, while shooting a lot better and even improved his defense. As an example of his improved efficiency, the guy he is fighting with for the scoring title has played in 14 fewer games but has taken 55 more shots. His improvement has been understated this year.

Executive of the Year - Daryl Morey (HOU)

Missed out on Dwight so he goes out and gets the next best available player when no one is looking. On top of this he signs Asik and Lin to the super tradeable 3 year deals that dred their original teams to match. Now he is in position to bring in Dwight and Josh Smith this summer if he really wants to. I still don't think Dwight cares enough about winning to consider it, but it won;t be Morey's fault.

1st Team All NBA
G-James Harden
G-Chris Paul
F-Kevin Durant
F-Lebron James
C-Marc Gasol

2nd Team All NBA
G-Russell Westbrook
G-Kobe Bryant
G-Blake Griffin
F-Carmelo Anthony
C-Tyson Chandler

3rd Team All NBA
G-Deron Williams
G-Stephen Curry
F-Paul George
F-Al Horford
C-Chris Bosh

1st Team All Defense
G-Tony Allen
G-Avery Bradley
F-Lebron James
F-Andre Igoudala
C-Marc Gasol

2nd Team All Defense (Someone really put Kobe here? He plays no defense and that's most of the Lakers issue this season.)
G-Avery Bradley
G-Mike Conley
F-Paul George
F-Kevin Garnett
C-Roy Hibbert

1st Team All Rookie (These ignore positions in real life)
Andre Drummond
Anthony Davis
Jonas Valanciunas
Damian Lillard
Pablo Prigioni

2nd Team All Rookie
Harrison Barnes
Maurice Harkless
Bradley Beal
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
Meyers Leonard

[MagicHolland]

Post your award winners and give reasons as to why.

MVP - LeBron James (MIA)

This one was easy. He is far and away the best player, on far and away the best team in the league. The numbers he is putting up are insane, and this has probably been his best season ever which is scary. Runner up, Kevin Durant.

Coach of the Year - George Karl (DEN)

He guided the Nuggets to one of the best records in the west, without having a true star on the team. The Nuggets success is truly coach Karl's work. He got the most out of all of his players. Job well done! Runner up, Mike Woodson.

Rookie of the Year - Damian Lillard (POR)

Lillard put up19.1 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 6.5 APG on 43% FG, 37% #'s, and 85% FT. He has made an impact in Portland from day one, and together with Aldridge kept the Blazers competitive and in the hunt for a playoff spot for 80% of the season. Kudos rook! Runner up, Anthony Davis.

6th Man of the Year - J.R. Smith (NYK)

A scoring machine off the bench his entire career, Smith has had the best year of his career this season, and is a big reason why New York has made the ascend to the top of the Atlantic division, and the Eastern conference. Smith could start on any team in the league and average 20+ easily, but he understands his role and does it to perfection. Runner up, Nate Robinson.

Defensive Player of the Year - Joakim Noah (CHI)

This award is wide open this season as there are plenty of bigs on great defensive teams who impact the game that much on defense. Noah wins it because of his rebounding and shot blocking. He also does not have another defensive big playing down low with him at all times because let's face it, Carlos Boozer isn't exactly a defensive stalwart. Runner up, Larry Sanders.

Most Improved Player of the Year - James Harden (HOU)

Another wide open race, James Harden takes it because he has had to shoulder a large load of the offense and has lead the Rockets to the playoffs, when they were not expect to even compete for a spot. This award has become more of a "More Opportunity" award than "Most Improved." Runner up, Paul George.

Executive of the Year - Daryl Morey (HOU)

After striking out on Dwight Howard (for now), Morey did not rest. He quickly acquired James Harden to build around. The complementary pieces surrounding Harden (Lin, Parsons, Asik) fit perfectly, and the Rockets have a strong core that is only bound to get better. Runner up, Rob Hennigan.

1st Team All NBA
G-Tony Parker
G-Chris Paul
F-Kevin Durant
F-Lebron James
C-Tim Duncan

2nd Team All NBA
G-Russell Westbrook
G-Kobe Bryant
G-James Harden
F-Carmelo Anthony
C-Dwight Howard

3rd Team All NBA
G-Dwyane Wade
G-Stephen Curry
F-Paul George
F-Blake Griffin
C-Brook Lopez

1st Team All Defense
G-Chris Paul
G-Tony Allen
F-Lebron James
F-Josh Smith
C-Joakim Noah

2nd Team All Defense
G-Avery Bradley
G-Kobe Bryant
F-Andre Iguodala
F-Kevin Garnett
C-Tim Duncan

1st Team All Rookie
G-Damian Lillard
G-Bradley Beal
S-Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
P-Anthony Davis
C-Andre Drummond

2nd Team All Rookie
G-Dion Waiters
G-Terrence Ross
F-Harrison Barnes
F-Maurice Harkless
F-John Henson

Pretty solid list, I agree with most. One thing though, you have Sanders as the runner up for DPOY yet he doesn't show up on your all defense team..