NBA: Who will win the awards?

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By Blake Oestriecher

The NBA is barely a week old, but it's never too early to make some predictions. So, I took a look into my crystal ball to see what would happen by season's end and here's what I saw:

Rookie of the Year: Tyreke Evans (Sacramento Kings)
The injury to Blake Griffin got me thinking. Who's going to win ROY? All it took was one look at the Kings' roster to make this choice a little easier. Sacramento isn't a good basketball team and although Evans may be a little raw, he's a good basketball player who should see a decent amount of time on the court. I wouldn't be surprised if he wound up as the team's second-leading scorer behind Kevin Martin.

Apologies to: Johnny Flynn, Stephen Curry, DeJuan Blair

Most Improved Player: Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder)
Westbrook led the NBA in turnovers as a rookie last season, but seemed to turn that around this preseason. He also averaged more than 15 points, five assists and one steal last season. A year in the league will give him a better grasp on the game and likely, a better stat line at season's end. If he keeps his turnovers down and dishes out eight or nine assists per game to Kevin Durant and Co., I like Westbrook to take home this award.

Apologies to: Anthony Randolph, Andrew Bynum, Aaron Brooks

Sixth Man: Paul Millsap (Utah Jazz)
Millsap is one of the more underrated players in the league. He averaged 16 points and 10 rebounds per game last year when starting for the injured Carlos Boozer. While he likely won't match that production, Millsap should still see plenty of minutes. When he does see the court, Millsap lives on the glass. Watch the Jazz this season. I'm telling you this guy can play.

Apologies to: Rasheed Wallace, J.R. Smith, Ben Gordon, Nate Robinson

Coach of the Year: Scott Brooks (Oklahoma City Thunder)
Can I really even predict this award? It seems like half the league's coaches could wind up winning it. So, on a whim, I'm going with Oklahoma City Thunder coach Scott Brooks. His team is very inexperienced, but loaded with talent. If Brooks sneaks them into the playoffs in a loaded Western Conference, he deserves the award.

Apologies to: at least 10 other coaches

Defensive Player of the Year: LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers)
I'm honestly not convinced Dwight Howard won't win the award again, but I wanted to go with a dark horse like Rajon Rondo. Then, I watched the opening night game when the Cavs played the Boston Celtics and I couldn't pick against James. By the end of the season, I'm guessing LeBron will make Sportscenter's Top 10 plays at least 50 times with those ridiculous blocks of his.

Apologies to: Rondo, Howard

Most Valuable Player: LeBron James (Yep, he'll win both)
As good as Kobe Bryant is, his team is so talented that I'm not sure he can win the award again unless he has a monstrous season. I also thought about giving it to Dwyane Wade, but he'll likely run into the same problem as last year- his team's record. Realistically, there aren't many choices. Maybe Chris Paul, but his numbers were pretty insane last year and he still finished fourth in the voting. This year's award will likely come down to the same candidates as last season, but I think "King James" stays on the throne.

Apologies to: Paul, Bryant, Wade, Howard

Originally Published: Issue 822 - November 4, 2009

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