With the NBA season winding down it is about time to assess the various individual bodies of work that have been laid before us and make predictions on the most deserving for season end accolades.
The Association has three major awards that are worth discussing. All three of which are going to be contested right down to the finish. The League MVP, Rookie of the Year and Coach of the Year awards promise to provide some drama as the season draws to a close.
We have already given you our predictions for Coach of the Year as well as Rookie of the Year; now the best for last, league MVP. This award is always the most contentious of the lot as voters have different interpretations of the meaning behind the MVP award. The award itself is not entitled “League’s Best Player” rather it is meant to honour the most valuable player to his team.
To this end, I believe that the team must be successful; value is recognized in terms of wins and losses. While Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Love are having outstanding seasons neither team is poised to make the playoffs. Both the New York Knicks and the Minnesota Timberwolves would absolutely be non-playoff teams without Anthony and Love so their respective values are significantly discounted.
Starting the in the Eastern Conference we see that there are really only two candidates for the honour. Indiana’s Paul George and Miami’s LeBron James. Both players have been the catalysts for their team’s success and if the Pacers and Heat were without their respective stars for any length of time their team record would suffer immensely.
George has certainly emerged as the franchise in Indiana as he improved upon last season’s numbers. His season averages are behind LeBron’s in nearly every category except free-throw percentage. As good as George’s season has been, he still takes a back seat to Lebron when it comes to representing the Conference here.
James put together another typical season for him and if we weren’t all getting accustomed to his excellence the averages would be all that more eye-popping. As it stands; however, the numbers are in-line with every other MVP season LeBron has had and that will certainly keep him in the running for the award right down till the final buzzer on the regular season.
Over in the Western Conference we sift through a plethora of MVP potentials. Portland’s LaMarcus Aldridge has put together a solid season, so has Golden State’s Stephen Curry. Houston’s James Harden and Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul have also played well enough to garner some mention.
But like the Eastern conference there are really two deserving candidates worth delving deeper into here. Clippers forward Blake Griffin is making a late season surge for consideration and Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant has been the league’s best player all season long.
Statistically speaking this might not even be Griffin’s best season; however, from a team perspective the Clippers are certainly enjoying a fantastic season. Griffin has been the team MVP this season when many thought that Paul would have been. In Paul’s absence in January where he missed 18 games; Griffin was the man. He has shown off a much improved offensive repertoire that has forced defenses to play him for the 18 foot jumper.
Griffin continues to attack the rim and be the beast that he was when he broke into the league. Difference now is that he can finish when fouled and is more proficient at knocking down the free throws. There is no player in the league who gets fouled as much or as hard as Griffin does, yet he has played and started in every game for the Clippers this season and he has been good about keeping his head about and not retaliating.
Griffin’s and the rest of the fields main competition for the season end award is of course Kevin Durant. Durant has been all-everything this season for the Thunder as he has carried the team to yet another Northwest Division title.
Durant is well on his way to another scoring title as his 31.8 ppg average is tops in the league. He has been virtually unstoppable this season despite not having Russell Westbrook in the lineup to share the scoring load with. The absence of Westbrook for much of the season will actually benefit Durant come voting time as the team’s success is much more on his shoulders than in years past.
This is the year that Durant breaks free from that ‘runner-up’ persona as he will claim the league MVP award. There is just no denying his importance to the Thunder this season. As good as LeBron has been and as strong as Griffin’s play has been down the stretch; Durant should be the unanimous winner here.