NBA Year-End Awards: My Picks for Each Award

Today, the hectic 66-game regular season ends. This is the week sportswriters, broadcasters and coaches mail in their votes for the end of the year awards.  In that spirit, here's my take on who should win six of the major awards (MVP, Coach, Rookie, DPOY, Sixth Man and Most Improved), as well the choices for the seven end-of-year "teams."

All-NBA Third Team

F LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland

F Josh Smith, Atlanta

C Tyson Chandler, New York

G Steve Nash, Phoenix

G Derrick Rose, Chicago

Aldridge stays on the All-NBA Third Team rather than advancing to the Second mostly due to his season-ending injury.  Injuries also drop Derrick Rose from First Team All-NBA last year to third.  They are joined by defensive guru Josh Smith, field goal percentage leader Tyson Chandler, and total assists leader Steve Nash.

All Defensive Teams

First Team

F Josh Smith, Atlanta

F LeBron James, Miami

C Dwight Howard, Orlando

G Andre Iguodala, Philadelphia

G Chris Paul, L.A. Clippers

Second Team

F Kevin Garnett, Boston

F Carlos Boozer, Chicago

C Marc Gasol, Memphis

G Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers

G Mike Conley, Memphis

These teams represent a number of different factors, including players that are at, or near the top, in steals (Paul, Conley, James, Iguodala), blocks (Howard, Gasol, Smith), defensive boards (Howard, Gasol, Boozer, Garnett), defensive rating (Boozer, Garnett, Howard, Smith) and defensive win shares (Smith, James, Howard, Iguodala, Boozer, Garnett)

All Rookie Teams

First

Kyrie Irving, Cleveland

Kenneth Faried, Denver

Isaiah Thomas, Sacramento

Kemba Walker, Charlotte

Brandon Knight, Detroit

Second

Ricky Rubio, Minnesota

Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio

Gustavo Ayon, New Orleans

MarShon Brooks, New Jersey

Klay Thompson, Golden State

With only a few standouts in what is widely considered a weak draft class, this list contains the rookies at or near the top in points, boards, assists, and wins added.

Sixth Man of the Year: James Harden, Oklahoma City

No doubt about this one.  Harden is sixth in win shares for the season despite coming off the bench in all but two games.  He's averaging 16.8 points and 3.7 dishes a game while adding over a hundred threes on .390 from behind the arc and .846 from the charity stripe.

All-NBA Second Team

F Kevin Love, Minnesota

F Blake Griffin, L.A. Clippers

C Andrew Bynum, L.A. Lakers

G Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City

G Rajon Rondo, Boston

Kevin Love has the misfortune of being the third-best player in the league, and the third-best forward.  Andrew Bynum sneaks on due to his solid performance among an anemic group of centers this year.  Griffin makes his first All-NBA appearance after finishing in the top-ten in points, rebounds, and win shares.  The backcourt is comprised of Second Team All-NBA holdover Russell Westbrook and Boston Celtics floor leader Rajon Rondo, who is leading the league in assists and is one of the league's better defenders.

Most Improved Player: Andrew Bynum, Lakers

I'm a Lakers fan, and I don't particularly care for the dude, but the fact is that this was Andrew Bynum's first season as an elite center in the league.  

He's improved in almost every category, including averaging 18 points (seven more than last season) and 11 boards (a board and a half more than last season).  

Defensive Player of the Years: Josh Smith, Atlanta

Sorry, but this is NOT the year that Dwight Howard wins another DPOY.  Josh Smith now has more defensive win shares than Howard does, or for that matter more than anyone else in the league.  He's also sixth in defensive rating, sixth in defensive rebounds, eighth in blocks, 17th in steals, and has led his Atlanta team to one of the top five seeds in the East.

For those who've been saying Tyson Chandler, it's worth noting that J-Smoove has more blocks and defensive boards than Chandler, despite being several inches shorter.

All-NBA First Team

F Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City

F LeBron James, Miami

C Dwight Howard, Orlando

G Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers

G Chris Paul, L.A. Clippers

Durant and James are pretty clearly the two best players in the league this season.  Kobe Bryant, one good game away from a scoring championship, is the best at guard.  Chris Paul, third in assists per game, first in steals, and 13th in points per game, is the best at the point. Despite not having anywhere near his best season, Dwight Howard is still the best center in the league.

Rookie of the Year: Kyrie Irving, Cleveland

Despite playing in only 51 games this season, Irving deserves the Rookie of the Year Award. He is far-and-away the leader among rookies in points per game. He's second in dishes, and is the best in terms of wins added.

Coach of the Year: Frank Vogel, Pacers

I cannot fathom why Vogel hasn't been getting any attention for this award.  The Pacers don't have any superstars, yet have the fifth-best record in the NBA; third in the East.  The Pacers were 121-167 with no playoff appearances under Jim O'Brien; they're 62-42 with two playoff appearances under Vogel.

Why not Thibodeau again, or Gregg Popovich?  Well, no coach has won two Coach of the Year awards in a row, and only Don Nelson and Gene Shue have won multiple Coach of the Year awards with the same franchise, so that would disqualify the two of them in my mind.

MVP: Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City

Again, the momentum seems to have shifted back to LeBron, but I will again vouch for Kevin Durant. Durant has more points per game than James and his team has more wins.  Plus, it's about time Durant won one.