#NBA2015: Awards Watch: 1st Edition

The NBA has reached the quarter mark of the 2014-2015 season with all of the teams playing at least 21 games as of December 11. 

This gives us the opportunity to take our first look at the players who have excelled (some expected, some unexpected) in each of the five individual categories. 

Steph Curry is doing more than just nailing threes all-night long
(Image from: seadubscentral.com)

Most Valuable Player
1. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors  
2. Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies
3. James Harden, Houston Rockets
4. Blake Griffin/Chris Paul, LA Clippers
5. LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers

Steph Curry is leading the Dubs towards the top of the standings and he is doing more than just make threes of the dribble (tied for 1st in threes made). Curry is making plays left and right (6th in assists) and most importantly, the Dubs are thriving without David Lee and with rookie head coach Steve Kerr at the helm. Meanwhile, the Grizzlies are also near the top with Marc Gasol playing the best ball of his career. Gasol leads them in points and player efficiency. This slimmed down version of Gasol has worked wonders for the Griz and his numbers. Another contender in the West, the Rockets are doing great even with Dwight Howard missing games because James Harden is constantly showing us that he is the best offensive SG out there. His defense still leaves a lot to be desired but he appears to be trying more this season. Now the duo in Lob City consisting of Blake Griffin and Chris Paul have steered the Clippers to 9 straight wins and within the top 4 of the West. Finally, LeBron James and his Cavaliers have found their rhythm (for now) and the 8 straight wins have catapulted them into the top 4 in the weak East.

#NBA2015: Power Rankings: Week 4

While LeBron and the Cavs are struggling in Cleveland and the Bulls are encountering early injury woes, the Raptors and Wizards have taken full advantage to sit atop the Eastern Conference standings. Both Toronto and Washington were projected to be playoff teams but not a lot (including me) thought they would be #1 and #2 this early. Of course, there's still a lot of games to be played so the Cavs and Bulls can easily overtake them during the course of the season.  

Meanwhile in the West, the Grizzlies and Warriors are tied in the loss column but the slight edge goes to Memphis due to having more wins. The Blazers and Rockets are also in the thick of things in the ultra-competitive West.    

The standings are current up to November 26, 2014 (Manila time).

The rankings from Last Week refer to Week 3.

Please hit the comments and follow me on Twitter @rolly_hoopnut

Kyle Lowry and the Toronto Raptors are the best team in the East
(Image from: USA Today Sports)

1. Memphis Grizzlies | 12-2 | Last Week: 1 | Same
The Grizzlies manhandled the Clippers with Marc Gasol leading the way with 30 points and 12 boards. Gasol looks lighter and faster. He is averaging a career-high 20 ppg and is one of the early candidates for MVP. 

#NBA2015: Power Rankings: Week 3

Three weeks done and 3 different teams have reached the #1 ranking in the Power Rankings. The games have been exciting and competitive. Buzzer-beaters that are game-winners have occurred at least once a week, maybe more.  

The standings are current up to November 20, 2014 (Manila time).

The rankings from Last Week refer to Week 2.

Please hit the comments and follow me on Twitter @rollzter

The Big Bad Grizzlies are off to a hot start
(Image from: isportsweb.com)

1. Memphis Grizzlies | 10-2 | Last Week: 3 | +2
Notwithstanding their latest loss to the Raptors, the Grizzlies are perfect at home (6-0) and they are 2nd in least points allowed. They are unbeaten in the West, however, both losses have come from the East.

2. Golden State Warriors | 8-2 | Last Week: 1 | -1
Klay Thompson's stint with Team USA has certainly improved his performance. Klay is already the early candidate for Most Improved Player. Lost in GSW's early success has been the injury to David Lee. They will need him eventually.

3. Toronto Raptors | 9-2 | Last Week:4 | +1
The Raps gave a video tribute to Vince Carter and that was sweet of them. Next, they went on to beat the West-leading Grizzlies. They've played the most games at home (8) and the true test will begin once they hit the road. 

4. Chicago Bulls | 8-3 | Last Week: 6 | +2
Impressive wins by the Bulls over the Clippers and Raps but the ongoing injuries to Derrick Rose and Pau Gasol have to be major concerns. They cannot reach their full potential with nagging injuries to their primary players. 

5. Dallas Mavericks | 9-3 | Last Week: 10 | +5

The Mavs are leading the league in points scored and have won 5 straight. Dirk is averaging only 28 minutes which is by design. That is his lowest output if you ignore his rookie season. The Mavs are also sharing the ball well even without a dominant PG.

6. Portland Trailblazers | 8-3 | Last Week: 11 | +5

The Blazers have won 5 straight including a solid win over the Pelicans. Damian Lillard has found his shooting stroke over the past 5 games. He shot 53% during that span and averaged 24 ppg to go with 8 apg and 5 rpg.

7. Houston Rockets | 9-3 | Last Week: 2 | -5
The Rockets have lost 2 straight and the injury to Dwight Howard hurts. Howard has been in the center of trash talk topics since Kevin Durant called him a wuss during a Thunder-Rockets game. Do you remember that Kobe also called him soft?

8. San Antonio Spurs | 7-4 | Last Week: 7 | -1

The Spurs continue to beat LeBron James regardless of which team he plays for. The champs had enough to beat the Cavs on the road. The Spurs are not yet at their efficient pace when it comes to offense but their defense is already in peak form (3rd-best).

9. Washington Wizards | 7-3 | Last Week: 8 | -1
Bradley Beal is back and his wrist looks fine. He immediately scored 21 points in a close loss vs Dallas. Meanwhile, John Wall is playing excellent basketball. He is 3rd in assists while also tops in steals. 

10. Los Angeles Clippers | 6-4 | Last Week: 12 | +2

The Clippers have been alternating wins and losses over the past week. They are playing inconsistently and their effort on the glass is lacking. Even with DeAndre Jordan grabbing 12 boards per game, they are 29th as a team.

11. New Orleans Pelicans | 6-4 | Last Week: 15 | +4

The early season MVP has to be Anthony Davis. He is a 25-11 guy plus #1 in blocks and #2 in steals. Davis has a PER of 36.12! More importantly, the Pelicans are winning more games than losing them. 

12. Phoenix Suns | 7-5 | Last Week: 14 | +2

Isaiah Thomas will surely win the Sixth Man award unless he gets hurt or gets elevated as a starter. The Suns have great scoring balance and depth with 6 players averaging double figures. However, who gets the ball with the game on the line?

13. Miami Heat | 6-5 | Last Week: 5 | -8
Chris Bosh struggled shooting and scoring in their last 5 games. Miami promptly dropped 3 of their past 4 especially with D-Wade already ailing this early. They're pretty thin at backup SG with Chalmers becoming the starter when Wade is out.

14. Sacramento Kings | 6-5 | Last Week: 9 | -5

Their hot start has lost some steam but they still have a solid record in the West. They battled tough vs Memphis and managed to beat the Spurs but a bad loss to OKC hurts. DMC is the other guy to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds.

15. Cleveland Cavaliers | 5-5 | Last Week: 13 | -2

The Cavs are only 5-5 but LBJ is already advocating to play less minutes for himself, Irving and Love. Their Big 3 is within the top 8 in minutes played. LBJ is starting to get more engaged but Love is having difficulty being relegated as the 3rd option.  

16. Milwaukee Bucks | 7-5 | Last Week: 20 | +4

The Bucks are surprising a lot of teams with early wins over the Heat and Knicks. The most important game so far was the thrilling and fulfilling win over the Nets in triple OT. Giannis has been impressive offensively with 5 straight games in double digits.

17. Atlanta Hawks | 5-5 | Last Week: 18 | +1

The multiple injuries to Horford made him a less impressive player than before. This has allowed Paul Millsap to shine and establish himself as their best player. DeMarre Carroll missed their last 4 games but he is expected back soon.

18. Charlotte Hornets | 4-8 | Last Week: 17 | -1

The Hornets faced 4 tough West teams and promptly dropped 3 of those games. Then, they suffered a goose egg vs the Pacers. Al Jefferson is not operating with his usual double-double prowess while Stephenson has struggled offensively.

19. Utah Jazz | 5-7 | Last Week: 21 | +2

Utah didn't get their 5th win last year until game 24 around mid December. It helps that they won thrilling games that could have gone either way. Kudos to Hayward for sinking the Cavs 2 weeks ago while Trey Burke hit a game-winner vs the Knicks.

20. Indiana Pacers | 5-7 | Last Week: 27 | +7

The Pacers are winning more games than expected thanks to Donald Sloan and Solomon Hill. Who knew they had bench players capable of winning games? In reality, the Pacers will still not make the playoffs.

21. Orlando Magic | 2-5 | Last Week: 25 | +4

Orlando is experiencing some injury woes with Aaron Gordon being out indefinitely and Evan Fournier is DTD. Fournier has been a great addition with his 17 ppg. Harris and Vucevic are playing extremely well. 

22. Brooklyn Nets | 4-7 | Last Week: 16 | -6

The soft schedule is over and the Nets now have a 5-game losing streak including a 3OT loss to the Bucks. Bojan Bogdanovic is starting to heat up. He made 8 threes over his last 2 games. Brook Lopez is rebounding like a SG, at only 5 rpg.

23. Boston Celtics | 4-6 | Last Week: 22 | -1

Boston almost beat the Cavs but a poor decision to have Rondo isolate against LBJ cost them the game. In any case, Rondo is threatening to average a triple-double for the year. He's getting 10 points, 12 assists and 8 rebounds.

24. Denver Nuggets | 4-7 | Last Week: 26 | +2 

The Nuggets are showing some life with wins over the Cavs and OKC. Ty Lawson has picked up his play over the last 5 games. He is getting 20 points and 10 assists during that span. They can score but these guys need to play defense.

25. Minnesota Timberwolves | 3-7 | Last Week: 19 | -6

Andrew Wiggins is starting to score more points but his passing and assists need major improvement. Wiggins is still susceptible to "wasted minutes" wherein you would forget that Wiggins is on the court due to his lackluster effort. 

26. Los Angeles Lakers | 3-9 | Last Week: 28 | +2

Kobe passed 32K points earlier in the week. He is doing it all for the Lakers with some help from the healthy NIck Young. Still, the Lakers have a miserable record and how long will Kobe wait before asking for a trade?

27. Detroit Pistons | 3-9 | Last Week: 24 | -3

Andre Drummond is off to a slow start. He played for Team USA and the expectation was a breakout season. So far, he has been okay with 9 ppg and 11 rpg but last year he averaged 13 and 13 so this season has been a down year. 

28. New York Knicks | 3-10 | Last Week: 23 | -5

The Knicks are 1-9 in their past 10 games but with games against the Sixers and OKC coming up, their fortunes might change. The 3rd most paid player on the Knicks after Melo and Amare, Andrea Bargnani might play over the weekend.

29. Oklahoma City Thunder | 3-10 | Last Week: 26 | -3

They are bravely trying to stay competitive even without Russ and KD. So far, it hasn't been working. Westbrook is still about 2 weeks away from playing while Durant still has no timetable. Reggie Jackson (20 ppg) is trying his best to win games.

30. Philadelphia 76ers | 0-11 | Last Week: 30 | Same

They are last in points scored and last in point differential which is a whopping -16.4 points. At this rate, they will finish 0-82. A bit of good news, Michael Carter-Williams is back and playing well but Nerlens Noel is struggling. 

Biggest Jump of the Week: Pacers +7

Biggest Drop of the Week: Heat -8

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#NBA2015: Power Rankings: Week 2

Two weeks finished and every team has at least one loss while only the Sixers have yet to notch a single win (they could end up win-less again this week). 

Anyway, the Cavs and Spurs are sporting 3-3 records and off to slow starts. The slow starts were somewhat expected at this juncture but count on that not lasting too long. 

Meanwhile, the top of the standings are populated by teams from the West (anyone surprised?) and the best team in the East isn't even in America. 

The standings are current up to November 12, 2014 (Manila time).

The rankings from Last Week refer to Week 1.

Please hit the comments and follow me on Twitter @rollzter

The best shooting duo has the best team in the NBA as of Nov. 11, 2014
(Image taken from: geeksandcleats.com)

#NBA2015: Power Rankings: Week 1

One week in and we still have four teams that remain unbeaten. That number will be less than 1 after the tilt between the Miami Heat and Houston Rockets on Tuesday night (Wednesday morning Manila time).

Meanwhile, the Cavs and Bulls are off to slower starts than expected but I don't believe that it will stay that way for long. Over in the West, early injuries to key players are messing up the standings and the rankings.

The standings are current up to November 4, 2014.

The rankings from Last Week refer to the Pre-Season Edition.

Please hit the comments and follow me on Twitter @rollzter

Chris Bosh is the top dog in Miami and so far, it has been working.
(Image from: slamonline.com)

1. San Antonio Spurs | 1-1 | Last Week: 1 | Same
One loss to a good Suns team cannot knock down the Spurs from the top. Everyone seems healthy too especially Kawhi Leonard who came back from an eye infection. Tim Duncan is already in vintage form, averaging 15 and 11.

The NBA: 2014 Player Awards Predictions

The Return of the King could result to the return of the MVP trophy on his paws
(Image from: elitedaily.com)

Most Valuable Player
1. LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
2. Blake Griffin, LA Clippers
3. Chris Paul, LA Clippers
4. Russell Westbrook, OKC Thunder
5. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors

LeBron James is slimmer (and hungrier for another MVP trophy) on his second tour of duty with his hometown, Cleveland Cavaliers. This current edition of the Cavs might be his strongest and most complete team. However, assurances of a ring are not guaranteed for the Cavs, so the MVP trophy (for the 5th time) might be an easier task for LBJ. Meanwhile, the dynamic duo of Lob City could see Blake Griffin or Chris Paul alternate places as the #2 and #3 candidates for MVP. They will split votes because both need each other to dominate daily. As for OKC, the injury to Kevin Durant should allow Russell Westbrook to garner some considerations for MVP as long as he posts godly numbers and the Thunder stays in the Top 4 of the West. The best floor spacer and shooter in the league, Steph Curry has become a better playmaker and leader. Curry can create and dazzle among the best and this season (if healthy) should catapult him into MVP status.

You can always guarantee that Joakim Noah will defend with passion and energy
(Image from: Bleacher Report)

Defensive Player of the Year
1. Joakim Noah, Chicago Bulls
2. Dwight Howard, Houston Rockets
3. LeBron James, Miami Heat
4. Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies
5. Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans

The Bulls are an elite defensive team and a major part of that credit belongs to Joakim Noah. He always defends with intensity, hustle and passion. Expect Noah to focus more on defense since Pau Gasol brings an added dimension on offense. However, Gasol is a much better defender than Carlos Boozer so that might minimize Noah's impact on defense or it could elevate Noah into another level if he manages to increase his rebounds and blocks. Meanwhile, the Rockets are a weaker team from last season and it is up to Dwight Howard to be a force defensively. He needs to protect the paint and rotate well on pick and rolls because James Harden CANNOT defend on a nightly basis. As for LeBron James, he is an all-around defender and quite frankly, the best defender on a championship contender. Finally, Marc Gasol and Anthony Davis will be on this list as long as their teams consistently win and defend. Davis is a wildcard and him winning this award depends on how beastly his numbers are during the season.

Jabari Parker (Bucks #12) is expected to lead Milwaukee in scoring and minutes

Rookie of the Year
1. Jabari Parker, Milwaukee Bucks
2. Andrew Wiggins, Minnesota Timberwolves
3. Nerlens Noel, Philadelphia 76ers
4. Dante Exum, Utah Jazz
5. Julius Randle, LA Lakers 

The youth movement in Milwaukee should allow Jabari Parker to play a ton of minutes and accumulate the best numbers. Parker is also the most complete and most polished scorer among this batch of rookies. He should lead all rookies in points scored and minutes played. Over in Minny, the #1 pick Andrew Wiggins is expected to deliver highlight reels but not so much wins and better numbers than Parker. However in the long run, Wiggins is projected to be a better overall player. As for the Sixers, Nerlens Noel had a solid Summer League and if Joel Embiid misses a ton of games, expect Noel to log major minutes and be a solid player on a team lacking decent players. Meanwhile, Dante Exum and Julius Randle are projected to be major players on teams expected to miss the post-season.

Isaiah Thomas (center) is the new addition to the loaded Suns' backcourt
(Image from: USA Today Sports) 

Sixth Man of the Year
1. Isaiah Thomas, Phoenix Suns
2. Jamal Crawford, LA Clippers
3. Taj Gibson, Chicago Bulls
4. Lou Williams, Toronto Raptors
5. Tristan Thompson, Cleveland Cavaliers 

The Suns already had a loaded backcourt even before Isaiah Thomas joined them this summer. His arrival immediately gave the Suns a dreaded 3-guard combo. Thomas will initially come off the bench and it that continues, he should pile up stats similar to a starter, or even better. Next, Jamal Crawford can start for any team but with his age and defensive deficiencies, he is much better coming off the bench and scoring in bunches. Over in Chicago, Taj Gibson thought he might become a starter when Boozer was released but the arrival of Pau Gasol relegated Taj back to the bench. Gibson might receive fewer minutes this year because Gasol could end up playing minutes in the 4th quarter (unlike Boozer). Finally, Lou Williams and Tristan Thompson were former starters who now come off the bench. Thompson is a special case because he lost his starting job due to Kevin Love but Andy Varejao and Love are not exactly durable players so Thompson might get some odd starts here and there.

Kenneth Faried's experiences with Team USA this past summer should help him elevate his game.
(Image from: Bleacher Report)

Most Improved Player
1. Kenneth Faried, Denver Nuggets
2. Terrence Ross, Toronto Raptors
3. Khris Middleton, Milwaukee Bucks
4. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Charlotte Hornets
5. Mason Plumlee, Brooklyn Nets

Kenneth Faried had a very productive stint with Team USA over the summer. Faried played well despite having no plays called for him. His endless energy and knack for loose balls served him well. Expect him to improve his numbers and possibly lead the Nuggets in scoring. Meanwhile, Terrence Ross had a 51-point game last season so he can definitely score. The question is his consistency so if he can stay on the court, his numbers should increase. Over with the Bucks, Khris Middleton, is slotted as the starting PF so his minutes and spot on the rotation should be constant. More minutes should ideally translate to better numbers. Next, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had one of the ugliest looking strokes in the league. He had his shooting form refined this season so maybe he becomes more efffective offensively. Lastly, another Team USA guy, Mason Plumlee, should see his production improve as long as he gets the opportunity to play. Kevin Garnett is probably on his last year so Plumlee should get minutes since the Nets see him as their starting center of the future.

Coach of the Year
1. David Blatt, Cleveland Cavaliers
2. Steve Kerr, Golden State Warriors
3. Gregg Poppovich, San Antonio Spurs
4. Tom Thibodeau, Chicago Bulls
5. Jeff Hornacek, Phoenix Suns

David Blatt is a rookie coach in the NBA but having LBJ, Love and Kyrie will probably result to at least 55 wins in the East. Another rookie coach is Steve Kerr who will pilot a contender in the GSW. Of course Pop will lead the Spurs to the playoffs and possibly another ring. Coach Thibbs will always have the Bulls ready and competing while Coach Hornacek might get this award if he navigates the Suns into the playoffs.

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