 Posted By: Dan Slaubaugh
With the NBA season now over, it is time for the On The Prowl staff (minus Tim who is going full-adult and is too busy) to make their predictions on the various end-of-season awards for the NBA. Rookie of the Year Dan Slaubaugh: This should be the easiest rookie-of-the-year pick imaginable. Joel Embiid was by far the best and most productive rookie this season, but he only played 31 games. Therefore, I'm going with Malcom Brogdon. He was the most consistent player out of all the candidates and provided steady defense, shooting, and playmaking for a playoff team. Zach More: Dario Saric - As much as I want to pick Embiid I just can’t pick a guy whole played half the games for his team. I instead am picking his teammate who had great stretches during the year, especially on the offensive end. He led all rookies scoring and played 81 games, that’s good enough for me this year. Jonah Sprinkel: Joel Embiid. He was the best rookie by a mile. When Embiid was on the floor the opposing team’s offense played like the worst offense in the league (102.1 Offensive rating). When he sat, his opponents played like a top 10 offense. Most Improved Player DS: Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek Freek made massive strides in his fourth NBA season averaging 22.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.9 blocks and 1.6 steals per game. Giannis also became the first player in NBA history to post such a stat line - all while shooting 52.1 percent from the field and doubling as the team's most versatile defender and reim protector. Nikola Jokic is a close second. ZM: Nikola Jokic. He had a great all around year. He went from big potential to a big time player. He is the real deal. JS: Giannis Antetokounmpo. Usually MIP goes to a guy who received a greatly increased role. That’s just not the case here. Giannis’ Usage Percentage rose by only 6% and he is the true franchise player making MVP caliber plays. 6th Man of the Year DS: Andre Iguodola. His numbers probably don't define "sixth man of the year", but his on-court impact (playmaking, defense, IQ) was undeniably great. He shot a career-high 52.8 percent from the field and also made 36.2 percent of his threes. With Kevin Durant out, Iguodala was sensational for the Warriors, who managed to win 14 games staright without their best player. Overall, Igyy's on-court impact on both sides of the court wins my (hypothetical) vote. ZM: Eric Gordon. He has been awesome for Houston. He is perfect as the 6th man on that team. Without Gordon that team is not as high in the standings as they are. JS: Eric Gordon. Only three players this year have connected on more threes than Gordon. Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and James Harden. Defensive Player of the Year DS: Rudy Gobert. Finished first in DRPM, DWS, BLK%, and DRtg. His defensive presence and shot blocking ability don't make for a very fun night for opposing bigs. He's also been pretty good switching on pick-and-rolls this season, which is vital against the Chris Pauls and James Hardens of the world. Bottom line: YOU CAN'T AVOID THE STILE TOWER. ZM: Rudy Gobert. He impacts the game so much on the defensive end of the court. He impacts the opponent’s gameplan on a nightly basis and makes big and guards second think about going up for shots in the lane. JS: Kawhi Leonard. This year Leonard blossomed into a true go to scoring threat and a MVP candidate. He did all this while continually matching up with and shutting down the oppositions best scoring threat. It has gotten to the point with Kawhi that coaches at times will simply have their best scorer stand in the corner, away from the play, in order to negate Kawhi. Coach of the Year DS: Mike D' Antoni. Implemented an offense that had the tenth-best regular-season of all-time. Unleashed James Harden as a full-time point guard which quickly morphed into the best James Harden we've ever seen, hiking his assist rate on his teammates' buckets from last season's 35 percent to better than 50 percent this season. Also unleashed Eric Gordon's three-point shot like never before, culprit for Gordon's breakout season and sixth man of the year consideration. Coached a fringe-playoff team into a real contender with only one true superstar. Brad Stevens, Gregg Popovich, and Erik Spoelstra all deserving candidates as well. ZM: Mike D’Antoni – D’Antoni took the Houston Rockets, a team many believed that would compete for a bottom playoff spot in the West and made them a force. His concepts work great with the shooters he has and Harden bought in. JS: Gregg Popovich. 61 wins with one All Star and a beautifully designed system. The award should be renamed after Pop. MVP DS: Man this was tough. And I really don't think there is a wrong answer here. But after long consideration, I went with James Harden, who was the most productive playmaker for his teammates in the league + engineered one of the most effective and forward-thinking offenses (the tenth best regular-season offense of all-time) in the 21st century. Additionally, his team - which he lead - was easily the NBA's biggest overachiever and boasted one of the league's best record. Harden legit made a fringe-playoff team into a contender that has a punchers shot at a title. Again, there's no wrong answer here and many great cases for all the four main candidates (Harden, Westbrook, Leonard, James). ZM: Russell Westbrook. There is a case to be made for Harden here but I think Westbrook deserves this award. The numbers he put up were just absurd whether his team helped inflate them or not. Another big reason I think Westbrook is deserving is OKC is a bottom 10 team in the league without him and he has them 6th in the West. JS: Russell Westbrook. Get in to all the advanced stats and measurements that you like. All four candidates, Russ, Harden, Kawhi and Lebron, are extremely close to each other. But this was the year of Russ. As soon as Durant just Golden State everyone knew that it was Russ’ time. And he delivered night and night again. He led the league in scoring, averaged a triple double, and literally forced his team to win games. All-NBA 1st team DS: Westbrook, Harden, LeBron, Leonard, Gobert ZM: Westbrook, Harden, LeBron, Leonard, Gobert JS: Westbrook, Harden, LeBron, Leonard, Davis All-NBA 2nd team DS: Curry, Thomas, Butler, Antetokounmpo, Davis ZM: Curry, Thomas, Durant, Antetokounmpo, Davis JS: Curry, Wall, Durant, Antetokounmpo, Gobert All-NBA 3rd team DS: Wall, Lilliard, Durant, Green, Gasol ZM: Wall, Lilliard, George, Green, Towns JS: Thomas, Paul, Butler, Green, Gasol All-Defense 1st team DS: Paul, Green, Leonard, Green, Gobert ZM: Paul, Leonard, Antekokounmpo, Green, Gobert JS: Paul, Allen, Leonard, Green, Gobert All-Defense 2nd team DS: Beverley, Allen, Roberson, Millsap, Davis ZM: Paul, Caldwell-Pope, George, Millsap, Whiteside JS: Beverley, Allen, Roberson, Millsap, Davis All-Rookie 1st team DS: Brogdon, Hernangomez, Hield, Saric, Embiid ZM: Murray, Hield,Brogdon, Saric, Embiid JS: Brogdon, Hernangomez, Hield, Saric, Embiid All-Rookie 2nd team DS: Murray, Brown, McGruder, Ingram, LeVert ZM: Whitehead, Chriss, Brown, Ingram, Hernangomez JS: Murray, Brown, McGruder, Ingram, LeVert NBA Playoffs Predictions DS: Warriors over Blazers in 5 Clippers over Jazz in 7 Rockets over Thunder in 5 Spurs over Grizzlies in 4 Celtics over Bulls in 5 Wizards over Hawks in 6 Raptors over Bucks in 6 Cavs over Pacers in 4 Warriors over Clippers in 6 Spurs over Rockets in 7 Celtics over Wizards in 7 Cavs over Raptors in 7 Warriors over Spurs in 6 Cavs over Celtics in 6 Warriors over Cavs in 6 Finals MVP - Curry ZM: Warriors over Blazers in 6 Clippers over Jazz in 6 Rockets over Thunder in 5 Spurs over Grizzlies in 5 Celtics over Bulls in 6 Wizards over Hawks in 6 Raptors over Bucks in 7 Cavs over Pacers in 5 Warriors over Clippers in 5 Spurs over Rockets in 7 Celtics over Wizards in 7 Cavs over Raptors in 7 Warriors over Spurs in 6 Cavs over Celtics in 6 Warriors over Cavs in 6 Finals MVP - Durant JS: Warriors over Blazers in 5 Spurs over Grizzlies in 5 Rockets over Thunder in 6 Jazz over Clippers in 5 Celtics over Bulls in 5 Cavs over Pacers in 4 Raptors over Bucks in 6 Wizards over Hawks in 6 Warriors over Jazz in 4 Rockets over Spurs in 6 Wizards over Celtics in 7 Cavs over Raptors in 5 Warriors over Rockets in 5 Cavs over Wizards in 5 Cavs over Warriors in 7 Finals MVP - James
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