Everything Scary and Real

by scary i mean this photo of Mike Miller.  yikes.  i just stole this from espn.com, which i normally don't do, but i just couldn't resist.  he looks like a banshee.  frightening.

anyways, his season and that of his fellow T'Wolves was over quite some time ago.  let's hit the playoff teams and hand out some awards (for those following not so closely, this is an NBA POST as the regular season just wrapped up last nite).

the awards:

MVP - LeBron.  i could say more but why?  2nd choice, Chris Paul and Dwayne Wade in a tie.  Dwight Howard 4th and Kobe 5th.  Paul Pierce with an honorable mention.

Defensive Player of the Year - Dwight Howard the NBA leader in rebounding and blocks.  when teams play the Magic they have to devise a new way to attack the paint because of him.

Rookie of the Year - Derrick Rose.  the number one pick is leading his team into the playoffs.  honorable mention to Brook Lopez, Russell Westbrook (even though he plays for the Oklahoma Thunderpants), and OJ Mayo (ditto, the Grizzlies stunk).  other rookies of note: Kevin Love, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Eric Gordon, Mario Chalmers.

Most Improved Player - Roger Mason of the Spurs.  he shot 43% from 3 on the season.  that's good.  also getting nods are Danny Granger, Kevin Durant, and Brandon Roy but, come on, these young guys were gonna improve as they were already good to begin with.  if we're voting for a Comeback player of the year look to Denver.  both Nene Hilario and Chris Andersen have stepped up (and back) to give Denver the 2nd best record in the West.  Nene came back from being diagnosed with cancer last year and Andersen was out of the league due to a drug suspension.  

Coach of the Year - Mike Brown of Cleveland.  #1 seed in the East with the MVP.  honorable mention to Stan Van Gundy of Orlando.  also Rick Adelman in Houston and Nate McMillan 

in Portland.

Sixth Man of the Year - Jason Terry.  a nod to Manu Ginobli but he was hurt to start the year and he is hurt again now, to end the year.

next post: regular season thoughts and Playoff Predictions.