NBA Awards Show 2017: TV Schedule, Live Stream, Odds and Predictions
During this past NBA season, there seemed to be more talk surrounding the MVP award than the actual results on the court.
All season long, fans and reporters debated whether Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard or LeBron James deserved the honor.
Now, we'll finally get to find out who wins (we know who won't, as the four-time MVP James did not make the final cut of nominees) on Monday night during the first annual NBA Awards show.
Here's a look at the information for the event (which can be live-streamed through this link), followed by predictions for the six main honors.
Location: Basketball City at Pier 36 in New York City
Date and Time: Monday, June 26 at 9 p.m. ET
TV: TNT
Host: Drake
Website: nba.com/NBAawards
Awards
Most Valuable Player
Nominees: James Harden (HOU), Kawhi Leonard (SA), Russell Westbrook (OKC)
Odds (from OddsShark): Westbrook (-1400), Harden (+700), Leonard (+2500)
While Leonard is the best two-way player in the NBA, and while Harden put up gaudy statistics for a team that reached the second round of the playoffs in the tough Western Conference, this award has to go to Westbrook, who was the first player to average a triple-double over a full NBA season since Oscar Robertson did so during the 1961-62 season.
Some might say that Westbrook committed far too many turnovers (5.4 per game) and took too many shots (24.0 a night), but he had to control the ball in order to make the Thunder offense work this year. As evidence, his teammates had a very poor collective shooting year, with OKC shooting an anemic 32.7 percent from downtown.
Westbrook's individual effort this season was phenomenal, and he should take home the MVP.
Pick: Westbrook
Rookie of the Year
Nominees: Malcolm Brogdon (MIL), Joel Embiid (PHI), Dario Saric (PHI)
Odds (author projection): Saric (EVEN), Brogdon (3/1), Embiid (3/1)
Joel Embiid would win this award hands down if he played close to a full season, but The Process only suited up 31 times last year. Next season, if he stays healthy, Embiid could be an All-Star, but until then, the Rookie of the Year award should go his teammate, Dario Saric, who broke out during the second half of the season.
From January 24 through the end of the season, Saric posted 16.5 points and 6.8 rebounds in just 28.9 minutes per game, with his best performance coming against the Chicago Bulls when he registered 32 points and 10 boards in a 76ers win.
Saric's scorching second half should be enough to catapult him to a win.
Pick: Saric
6th Man
Nominees: Eric Gordon (HOU), Andre Iguodala (GS), Lou Williams (HOU)
Odds (author projection): Gordon (EVEN), Iguodala (3/2), Williams (10/1)
This looks to be a two-man race between Gordon and Iguodala. Gordon is the more accomplished offensive player, having scored 16.2 points per game last season while hitting 37.2 percent of his three-pointers, but Iguodala is a fantastic two-way forward who starred off the bench for the NBA champion Golden State Warriors.
The slight edge goes to Gordon here. Although he was a sixth man (minus the 15 games he started), he played starter's minutes (31.0 per night). He was a crucial member of a much-improved Rockets team that dominated their opponents with the three-pointer. Don't be surprised if Iguodala takes this one, however.
Pick: Gordon
Coach of the Year
Nominees: Mike D'Antoni (HOU), Gregg Popovich (SA), Erik Spoelstra (MIA)
Odds (author projection): D'Antoni (EVEN), Spoelstra (3/1), Popovich (3/1)
D'Antoni was the only coach on this list to oversee an improvement in the win-loss column from the 2015-16 season, as the Rockets won 14 more games this year en route to a 55-27 record.
In fairness, it was hard for the Spurs to improve on their 67-15 record last year, and what Erik Spoelstra did this year with an injury-riddled Heat squad (finishing 30-11 after starting 11-30) was remarkable.
Still, the edge goes to D'Antoni, as his presence clearly helped engineer a significant turnaround in Houston. The Rockets improved to second in offensive efficiency, per ESPN.com, in part because of D'Antoni's oversight over Harden's move to the point guard position, which helped him become a strong MVP candidate.
Pick: D'Antoni
Most Improved Player
Nominees: Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL), Rudy Gobert (UTAH), Nikola Jokic (DEN)
Odds (author projection): Jokic (3/2), Antetokounmpo (3/2), Gobert (7/3)
This should be the closest race of the night, but if we're taking the word "improved" as literally as possible, then the edge needs to go to Jokic, simply because he vastly improved in-season following a move to center.
In November, Jokic averaged just 8.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Just two months later, Jokic broke out, posting 23.9 points, 11.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists. He also became one of the most fun players in basketball, simply because watching a big man pass like a point guard is incredibly entertaining.
Antetokounmpo's improvement from a very solid NBA pro to NBA All-Star would win him the award almost every season, but Jokic's in-season turnaround should give him the honor.
Pick: Jokic
Defensive Player of the Year
Nominees: Rudy Gobert (UTAH), Draymond Green (GS), Kawhi Leonard (SA)
Odds (author projection): Gobert (3/2), Green (7/3), Leonard (7/3)
The leader in Defensive Real Plus-Minus, a proprietary stat from ESPN, was Rudy Gobert, who edged out Draymond Green for the top honor.
It's no surprise why, as Gobert is a terrifying post presence for the Utah Jazz. He averaged a career-high 2.6 blocks per game last year. Gobert was also a fantastic defensive rebounder, grabbing 8.9 per night.
Green and Kawhi Leonard are fantastic on-ball defenders, and Leonard in particular should get some credit for being his team's No. 1 offensive option in addition to being a defensive stopper on the other end, but Gobert's phenomenal post play should give him the edge.
Pick: Gobert
