An early look at NBA awards leaders
Already this NBA season has been the most unpredictable since Michael Jordan's baseball break in 1994-95.
The conference leaders at the all-star break are Golden State, which hasn't been to the Finals since 1975, and Atlanta, which hasn't been to the Finals since leaving St. Louis in 1968.
The current No. 2 seeds are Toronto and Memphis, the two 1995 expansion teams that have won a combined four playoff series.
At the start of the season, there was no solid favorite, considering Miami's Power Trio broke up and San Antonio's defending champs are getting older. The final two months of the regular season should be interesting.
That said, here's a look at the leaders for the major awards coming out of the break:
MVP
1. James Harden, Rockets: Go ahead and mock his defense all you want, but Harden has turned himself into a complete offensive player. His 27.4 points per game lead the league, while his assists (6.9), rebounds (5.7) and steals (2.0) all are career highs.
Houston is tied for third in the West even with Dwight Howard missing 21 games (and counting), and after losing Chandler Parsons, Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin in the off-season.
Count me (and Thunder management) among the doubters that Harden would ever be this good. At this point in the season, The Beard has been the NBA's best player.
2. Steph Curry, Warriors: He's the best player on the best team, but the one thing holding him back in the MVP race is he has more help. Curry and Klay Thompson could easily share a Dynamic Duo Award, but for MVP Curry is a couple of dribbles behind Harden.
3. LeBron James, Cavaliers: Forget the stats, just look at the standings. Without James, Miami has gone from four-time Finalist to the East's No. 8 seed. Cleveland never sniffed the playoffs while LeBron was on his South Florida sabbatical.
Coach of the year
Jeff Budenholzer, Hawks: Is this the toughest race ever for coach of the year? Budenholzer has to be the runaway favorite. Few predicted Atlanta to finish in the top four, let alone dominate the East.
At the same time, Milwaukee's Jason Kidd is leading one of the all-time turnaround seasons.
The Bucks won 15 games last year and now sport a 30-23 record. And that's after their biggest off-season addition, rookie Jabari Parker, was lost for the season in December.
That means Kidd has turned Milwaukee around with Jared Dudley and Jerryd Bayless as the only significant newcomers. Oh, and Steve Kerr has done a nice job at Golden State, for a first-timer.
Rookie of the year
Andrew Wiggins, Timberwolves: With Jabari Parker injured, there's really no competition left for Wiggins. Orlando's Elfrid Payton and Philadelphia's K.J. McDaniels might get second and third.
Sixth man award
Lou Williams, Raptors: The leading bench scorer this season is the Clippers' Jamal Crawford, but voters won't give him this award for a third time, would they? With the Bulls' Taj Gibson going through something of a down season, the only other strong candidate right now is Phoenix guard Isaiah Thomas.
Top defender
Anthony Davis, Pelicans: Not sure if he's actually the league's best defensive player, but his blocked shot numbers make a pretty good case as defensive player of the year. At this point, it's tough to imagine anyone beating Davis this year.
Exec of the year
Danny Ferry, Hawks: How could it not be? He built the best team in the East with bargain-bin players such as Kyle Korver and Paul Millsap. So maybe he read a poorly written scouting report about Luol Deng. Ferry made the right call by not signing him. That's not a knock on Deng, just pointing out the Hawks don't need him.
Most improved
Jimmy Butler, Bulls: Butler jumped out in front of this award so quickly, people already are starting to pull out replacement candidates. But there's no topping Butler going from a 10-point career average to an all-star appearance. To me, No. 2 should be Milwaukee point guard Brandon Knight. His numbers haven't changed much, but the results sure have.
Most disappointing
The injuries: We've seen worse years for major injuries, but the NBA has lost Kobe Bryant and Jabari Parker, while Carmelo Anthony may be done soon. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook both missed time for Oklahoma City. Another tough loss was Detroit's Brandon Jennings. The Pistons' amazing turnaround has pumped the breaks since Jennings tore his Achilles tendon.
Most dangerous team
Bulls and Cavaliers: This is a tie vote. Any team with LeBron James is a major title contender, but when the Bulls are at full strength and Derrick Rose is attacking the basket - well, everyone saw those results last Thursday.
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