[NJ Media]It's time for some accolades

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It's time for some accolades

Thursday, April 21, 2005

By STEVE ADAMEK
STAFF WRITER



So, did you have Phoenix and Seattle winning their divisions in your preseason NBA pools? Or Minnesota missing the postseason entirely? How about 10 as the coaching-change over-under? And Steve Nash as a viable MVP candidate?

Weird season, but you're really weird if you actually have a preseason NBA pool. Anyhow, now that they're about to play games that really matter, let's dispense with some of the 82-game-marathon awards that will be distributed shortly, as well as a few others that won't:


MVP: Everyone knows Shaquille O'Neal is the most dominant player in the league, a guy who's turned Penny Hardaway, Kobe Bryant and now Dwyane Wade into stars. Then there's Steve Nash who, granted, with help from an evolving Amare Stoudemire and Joe Johnson, plus the arrival of Quentin Richardson, quarterbacked the Suns to the league's best record.

Tough call, much like Jason Kidd vs. Tim Duncan three years ago. Although Nash scores points for once dating Elizabeth Hurley, Shaq's the guy (although we wish we could wait until after the playoffs). On the five-line ballot, he's followed by Nash, Tim Duncan, Tracy McGrady and Allen Iverson.

Coach of the Year: There're at least five legitimate candidates: Indiana's Rick Carlisle, Phoenix's Mike D'Antoni, Denver's George Karl, Seattle's Nate McMillan and Chicago's Scott Skiles. Even our old pal Jeff Van Gundy has molded Houston into a dark-horse championship threat.

Yet, although he coached only 40 games, Karl won 32 of them with a team all but buried under two previous coaches this season. Some think his less than half-season on the job disqualifies him and that Carlisle confronted more turmoil (perhaps), but this ballot reads Karl, Carlisle and Skiles.

Rookie of the Year: Yet another conundrum - do statistics for a losing team matter as much as those for a winner? That's the problem between Emeka Okafor (averaging a double-double for the expansion Bobcats) and Ben Gordon (the Bulls' Mr. Fourth Quarter).

But Gordon was averaging the same 15.1 points entering Wednesday's play as Okafor, and watching how cold-blooded he was Tuesday in beating the Knicks again with a late-game shot suggests his value can't be ignored. So it's Gordon, Okafor and Orlando's Dwight Howard.

Sixth Man of the Year: Gordon's the guy here, too, although we short people do have a thing for Earl Boykins. Boston's Ricky Davis rounds out the ballot.

Most Improved Player: Voters still can't quite figure this one out. Do they reward Wade or LeBron James for their ascension into superstardom? Or do they honor grunts such as the Clippers' Bobby Simmons or Portland's Joel Przybilla, who've evolved into capable players, albeit for bad teams?

He probably won't win, but how about props for Indiana's Anthony Johnson, Jason Kidd's one-time backup in New Jersey, who's helped right Indiana's ship for the injured Jamaal Tinsley? To fill out the ballot more conventionally, then go Wade and Chicago's Kirk Hinrich.

Defensive Player of the Year: Do you go with an on-the-ball (and often chippy) guy such as Bruce Bowen of the Spurs, Marcus Camby's shot-blocking for Denver or all that is Detroit's Ben Wallace? Duncan and Kevin Garnett get props here, too, but the flaw here is that some people get too stat-conscious (particularly with steals).

The ballot: Wallace, Camby, Garnett.

All-NBA first team: Shaq, Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki, Iverson, Nash.

Second team: Stoudemire, Garnett, Tracy McGrady, Ray Allen, Wade.

Third team: Wallace, Shawn Marion, James, Reggie Miller (for the memories), Gilbert Arenas.

Sorry, Kobe. Actually, not sorry.

Executive of the Year: Phoenix's Bryan Colangelo showed (attention, Knicks) that you can blow it up and rebuild in one season with proper salary-cap management. John Paxson finally got the post-Michael Jordan rebuilding right in Chicago. Danny Ainge swallowed his Antoine Walker pride to help the Celtics win a division. Ernie Grunfeld rebuilt his third team in Washington (post-Knicks and -Bucks).

Colangelo, though, mastered a system that continues to befuddle the post-Grunfeld Knicks.

They Need an Award for This Guy: Grant Hill. After sitting out the balance of three straight seasons, he returned for what he called "the privilege" of playing in the NBA.

All-"Pro" Team: Hill, Miller, Elton Brand, P.J. Brown, Kurt Thomas. Coach: Jerry Sloan.

Executive Blunder of the Year: Vince Carter may not deserve All-NBA mention for his early-season sloth in Toronto, but still, Rob Babcock couldn't get more for him than Aaron and Eric Williams, two first-round picks and an Alonzo Mourning he knew he'd have to buy out?

Honorable mention to Atlanta's Billy Knight, who after helping the Pistons win a title last season by trading them Rasheed Wallace, helped the Celtics win their division this year by returning Antoine Walker to them. New Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert, too, for firing Paul Silas. And the Lakers' Jerry Buss, for staking his claim with Kobe, not Shaq.

All-Knucklehead/Whiner team: Stephen Jackson, Ron Artest, Steve Francis, Mourning, Sam Cassell. Sixth man: Latrell Sprewell.

Quote of the Year: "If I was to answer that question honestly, I would have to lie to you" - Isiah Thomas.

E-mail: adamek@northjersey.com