Los Angeles Lakers' Midseason Awards!

In the 2008-'09 Lakers Season, we have seen many thrilling victories, heart-breaking defeats and plenty of highlights from the talented team.

Coming off a devastating Finals loss to the Celtics last year, the Lakers have marked themselves as a force to be reckoned with this year both in the (once again) tough West, and the (tougher than we thought) East.

The Lakers, although many roster moves didn't change since last year, are a different team altogether. Here are some awards that I dole out some of the players...

MVP: Kobe Bryant

Who else could take home this award? The Lakers live and die by Kobe, whether he is sinking a three, alley-ooping to Pau, or playing defense on the teams greatest threat. The whole reason LA is contending is because Kobe brings the team up to his level of unparalleled excellence.

Averaging 27 points, 5 rebounds, almost 5 assists, a steal, and shooting a career-best 48 percent from the field this year, Kobe is and always has been LA's MVP.

Sixth Man: Trevor Ariza

Even though Lamar Odom may be the “captain” of the bench squad, it is Ariza's constant hustle (leads the team with 1.7 steals per game), or slashing drives that get this team excited, and often pulls teams away in the second quarter.

Ariza has been nothing but a stud off the bench for LA this year, and besides a couple of mistakes and some flawed shooting occasionally, Ariza will continue to be valuable as he is a major asset defensively, and sometimes, to our surprise, offensively.

Biggest Surprise: Pau Gasol

This was a tough choice between Ariza and Gasol, because Ariza was only to be used for defensive assignments as fans were told in the beginning of the season, but Gasol has flourished despite sharing time with who he was supposed to “fill-in” for, Andrew Bynum.

Although Gasol has declined in FG% and points, and seen increases in turnovers, he is averaging more rebounds, and become much more aggressive on the offensive end for LA, making him a threat almost as big as KB24.

Many experts predicted Gasol's efficiency with LA to decline because of Bynum's presence in the paint alone, but Gasol has established himself as LA's second option, and at times, even first option.

With Gasol as Kobe's sidekick, we can expect a deep playoff run, if not even a finals run for LA.

Biggest Disappointment: Lamar Odom

Odom has always been one of my personal favorite Lakers, but he has not done well embracing, or not embracing, his “sixth man” role. His points, rebounds, and assists (as well as minutes) have all declined significantly, and although he will always be a great option off the bench, it is sad to see him not doing well in what could be LA's championship season.

Worst Game: LA @ Sacramento, Tuesday, December 9

Kobe was a brick, and despite a stellar effort from Pau, no one else really helped as LA saw itself lose to Sacramento by 12 in a humiliating 101-113 defeat. This defeat was not only bad because LA lost to a lowly team who had lost eight straight prior to the victory, they also lost to California, and division rivals Sacramento.

Best Game: Boston @ LA, Christmas day

A true battle to the end, LA took sweet revenge on the Celtics this Christmas, proving themselves and people alike that they will be the Western Conference power to deal with come playoff time.

The game was a back-and-forth, defense and offense, swagger and style game, and ended with an exclamation when Gasol blocked Allen's last ditch three-point bomb, and Kobe tipped it to Ariza for a magnificent slam. Emotions ran high in this game, and blood boiled, but LA came out on top.

With half a season still left ahead, expect a really exciting stretch. The Lakers will always be in contention for the West title, and without the injury bug, or any outside-the-court issues, expect LA to take a shot at the 2009 title!