The NBA: Award Winners

The 66-game condensed season has come to an end and the playoffs are starting on Saturday. Before we dive and breakdown the match-ups, let's take a look at the players and coaches who excelled during the short season. Who are the award winners?

MVP, LeBron James (Miami Heat). He led the league in PER (player efficiency rating) and has posted numbers of 27 ppg, 8 rpg, 6 apg and 2 spg while shooting a career-high 53%. His post game has improved this season and his defensive versatility of guarding all positions truly highlights his importance to the Heat.

Runners-up: Kevin Durant, Chris Paul

DPOY, Serge Ibaka (OKC Thunder). This was an award that Dwight Howard had to lose while playing without emotion and intensity in Orlando plus missing games to a back injury. Ibaka led the
league in blocks at 3.7 a game while the closest competition was at 2.2 (JaVale McGee). The Thunder are number 2 in the West mainly in part to Ibaka's presence on the defensive side. Too bad we dont have a stat for shots altered or intimidated because Serge provides that for OKC.

Runners-up: Tyson Chandler, LeBron James

ROY, Kyrie Irving (Cleveland Cavaliers). He lost his only rival for the award when Ricky Rubio was lost for the season with an ACL injury. Irving led all rookies with 18.5 ppg and 5.4 apg. The Cavs were a decent team when he played but injuries limited his impact. Still, he was the best of the bunch and could be a potential all-star down the road.

Runners-up: Ricky Rubio, Brandon Knight

Sixth Man, James Harden (OKC Thunder). In truth, Harden should be a starter. He is just that good. He gets 17 ppg and can defend wing players. He is the best play-maker on OKC and his perimeter and slashing attacks give OKC the best chance of winning. Without him, Durant and Westbrook will not advance in the playoffs.

Runners-up: Jason Terry, Lou Williams

MIP, Ryan Anderson (Orlando Magic). He is a poor man's version of Kevin Love. Anderson can shoot treys (led the league in makes with 39% shooting) and he gets16 ppg and 8 rpg. Last year, he averaged 10 and 5. He got tough competition from Jeremy Lin if Lin did not miss so many games due to injuries.

Runners-up: Jeremy Lin, Ersan Ilyasova

Coach of the Year, Gregg Popovich (SA Spurs). The Spurs are the number 1 team in the West and possibly in the NBA. They had injuries to Manu Ginobili and half their roster were new players and inexperienced guys (Green, Splitter, Leonard, Neal, Blair). Still, Coach Pop was getting wins and lots of them. He even benched and rested players frequently (Duncan -DNP-old) but the wins still kept coming. The Spurs are scary good and they could be in the Finals.

Runners-up: Tom Thibodeau, Scott Brooks