End of season awards (and such)

MVP: Kevin Durant.  (2^nd place: everyone else)

Dude, Durant is just sick.  Sick.  Lebron is still a great player but in the weak East he didn't have to be great as the Heat just sorta slagged along all year long.  Who’s next on the list?  Chris Paul missed too many games, the Spurs are too balanced to pick out any one player, Kevin Love is great but has yet to elevate a squad based solely on his own performance (I’ve got a theory on that…), James Harden can score with the best of ‘em but, man, his defense is awful.  Durant is the MVP, there’s really no competition. 

Defensive POY: Joakim Noah

The Bulls were left for dead by their own front office but Coach Thibodeau and Joakim Noah refused to play for a draft pick.  So here they are planning on a deep playoff run even though the depth just isn’t there.  They just might do it too.  Wouldn’t be too shocking at all if they nailed the Pacers in the second round and made the Heat work for every penny in the conference finals.  All because of Noah.  Can’t give him the MVP because his offensive efficiency isn’t explicable by the stats (which are all about offense and not defense) but how do you not acknowledge the driving force of the over-achieving-est team in the league? 

ROY: Michael Carter-Williams

This rookie class was disappointing but remember: Nerlens Noel didn’t play a single game, Anthony Bennett started the season injured and by the time he was healthy the team around him had already imploded, Alex Len was surrounded by guys all competing for Most Improved Player of the Year, Ben McLemore didn’t set the world on fire but he was a contributor on a so-so squad, Georgie Djieng languished on the bench for a team that didn’t bother to notice that he was actually pretty good, and Trey Burke and Victor Oladipo played for teams that weren’t even trying to win ball games.  This season wasn’t about developing young players, it was about tanking and making room for new young players.  This class was disappointing but I think the league around this class was disappointing.  The kids are alright.  Carter-Williams had the most opportunity and did the most with it. 

Coach of the Year: Greg Popovich

Jeff Hornacek, Doc Rivers, Tom Thibodeau, Eric Spoelstra, and Dwayne Casey all had fine years but (to paraphrase Bill Simmons) Pop has mastered the regular season.  #1 seed in a brutal Western Conference and you can’t even tell who the star of the team is.  They get contributions from all over the floor, up and down the bench, despite constant tweaking of the rotation.  Pop knows how to make it interesting, educational and still win games while preparing for the post-season.  As much as people are bored of the Spurs, I love ‘em, I love watching them, I love seeing them win games.  Spurs-Thunder has classic written all over it this year.  

Hornacek got career years out a collection of cast-offs.  Doc Rivers helped his two of his best players to take a step up and has made that Clippers team more dangerous in the playoffs than they’ve ever been.  Thibodeau refused to lose and rode his team to the 3rd seed when his own front office was begging him to tank.  Spoelstra took a lethargic Heat squad to within one game of the #1 seed in the East and is just generally the most underappreciated coach around.  Dwayne Casey won where no one has won before when no one expected him to.