NBA Mid Season Awards

The NFL season is over. It will be back, but not soon enough. Thankfully for us sports fans however, the NBA, NHL, MLB, PGA, NASCAR, ATP, PBA, and the MLL will all attempt to fill the void for us. I'm here to catch you up to speed on whats going on in my favorite of these leagues, the NBA. I'll be sure to use too many hyperbole's and rash predictions so you can come back and have a hearty chuckle at the end of the year.

Without further ado, I present to you my NBA Mid-Season Awards: 

MVP

An award that is up for debate, although not to the J.J. Watt Aaron Rodgers level we saw in the NFL, (which someone at the blog had a problem with) there are three candidates for the award that you might consider favorites. Steph Curry of the Warriors, James Harden of the Rockets, and Anthony Davis of the Hornets  Pelicans. I'm with team Harden on this one, although you will find plenty of supporters in all three camps. Lets compare the stat lines of three mystery players:

Player A:  27 PPG on 45/38/88% splits, 5.6 REB, 6.8 AST, 2.0 STL
Player B: 30.2 PPG on 49/31/77% splits, 5.0 REB, 7.5 AST, 2.2 STL
Player C: 35.0 PPG on 53/13/84% splits, 5.5 REB, 5.9 AST, 3.2 STL

Player one is James Harden this year, Player two is Dwyane Wade in 2009, and Player C is Jordan in 1988. I threw Jordan in there as a nod to his greatness, but compare James Harden to Wades 2009 campaign and they look surprisingly similar. We are seeing the best season out of a shooting guard in the NBA since that 2009 D-Wade campaign. On a somewhat related note, we may be seeing a renaissance of the shooting guard in the NBA. Jimmy Butler, Klay Thompson, and James Harden are all having career years this year. I believe in the MVP coming from a solid team, and while Anthony Davis is having an absolutely preposterously gargatously Stephen-A-SmithsVocabulary like season, the Pelicans aren't that good. Steph Curry has his own case, but I believe that the beard should get the nod on this award. He's putting up NBA2K numbers and being incredibly efficient, doing it at 60% true shooting.

Most Improved Player

Maybe the most obvious award to give out this year (sorry Golden State fans). Jimmy Butler's jump in stats has been outstanding this year. 7 more points a game, one more assist, one more rebound, while going from 40/28/77 to 46/33/83. Maybe you could make an argument for Draymond Green, Anthony Davis, Hassan Whiteside, even Rudy Gorbert. But none of those guys are doing what Jimmy Butler is doing. If Derrick Rose gets it through his head he isn't in 2011 anymore and starts to let others get in on the action (Derrick Rose recently took 30 shots in a game while Jimmy Butler put up a career high 19 shots in the same game, and Rose only scored 2 more points), Jimmy's numbers could possibly go up. Again, a renaissance at the shooting guard position? 

Most Surprising Team

The Hawks 

Do I actually have to write more about it? Fine. After projection by most to be a middling team in the east this year, The hawks are currently on a nineteen game win streak and don't really show signs of stopping. An absurd fact from the streak, the Hawks didn't trail in the fourth quarter during the first eighteen games of their win streak. Eqsquise me? Baking Soda? That is just awesome. Almost four all stars on the roster, not a single player averaging over twenty points a game, Kyle Korver chasing the 60/50/90 club, the list goes on. This team is blowing past everyone's expectations, and I'm all aboard the Hawks Bandwagon. 

Honorable mention to the Bucks, somehow hovering around .500 this year after losing Jabari Parker. 

Rookie of The Year

Take a look at this infographic made by Reddit user sidekicknicholas. 

He is coming into his own. Just yesterday he put up 32 points on one Lebron James. Crazy. As a Wolves fan it is hard not to be very excited for him. Plus, every other rookie is underwhelming us this year, so this is another obvious choice. 

Less Fun to Talk About Therefore I Won't Awards

Coach of the Year - Mike Budenholzer of the Atlanta Hawks

6th Man of the Year - Isiah Thomas of the Phoenix Suns

Best White Shooter - Kyle Korver

Least Talked About Future Hall of Famer Who Is Still Putting Up All Star Numbers - Chris Paul

Defensive Player of the Year - Tim Duncan (father time forgot about this man) 

Most Puzzling Team - Oklahoma City Thunder

Worst Coach - Scott Brooks of the Oklahoma City Thunder (coincidence?)

My Favorite Player Who Everyone Else Hates - Kendrick Perkins