Dishing out the NBA midseason awards

NBA All-Star Weekend taught us a couple of things.

For one, the final score of next year's All-Star Game should be well into the 200s, since everyone generally refuses to play any kind of defense.

Adjust the Time Warner Cable Arena scoreboard for next year's game now, Michael Jordan.

Also, it appears no one has any hope of beating the Golden State Warriors this season. Two guys dominated the 3-point contest, and they play on the same team.

So before launching into the actual midseason awards, let's examine the question on everyone's minds: Will the Warriors break the Bulls' NBA record of 72 wins?

Golden State is slightly ahead of the pace set by the 1995-96 Bulls. The Warriors are 48-4 at the break. The Bulls were 47-5 through 52 games and lost Game 54 to slide to 48-6.

The next 12 days could be telling. Undefeated at home for more than a year, Golden State starts the second half with a six-game road trip against Portland, the L.A. Clippers, Atlanta, Miami, Orlando and Oklahoma City.

It's tough to predict losses based on opponents, though, because the Warriors' 4 losses were to Milwaukee, Detroit, Denver and Dallas - all nonelite teams.

Golden State has risen to the occasion extremely well against good opponents. The unexpected losses are bound to pop up. The Bulls lost a couple of home games to Charlotte and Indiana late in the 1995-96 season.

Will the Warriors do it? The guess here is yes. Injuries always could change perspective, but Golden State seem to be head and shoulders above everyone else and has the desire to make history.

Now on to the other midseason categories:

MVP: Steph Curry would literally have to fall off the edge of the Earth to not win again. Voters should probably just leave the No. 2 through 5 spots blank on their ballots. If there has to be a second-place finisher, it's probably Russell Westbrook.

Coach of the year: Since Luke Walton didn't finish the season with the Warriors, he's out of the running. If Boston stays in the top four in the East, Brad Stevens probably is the winner, with Toronto's Dwane Casey and the Clippers' Doc Rivers among the contenders.

Rookie of the year: Kristaps Porzingis gets more attention playing in New York, but Minnesota's Karl Anthony Towns is the best rookie. He's at 17.1 points and 10.1 rebounds as this is written.

Defensive player of the year: This is shaping up as another two-man race between San Antonio's Kawhi Leonard and Golden State's Draymond Green. Since Leonard won last year, look for Green to take his turn.

Sixth Man award: No clear answer for this trophy. The leader appears to be New Orleans' Ryan Anderson, who has been an underrated player for several years. Denver's Will Barton has a chance if voters don't hold his dunk contest intro against him.

Most Improved Player: Based on numbers, it's tough to beat Portland guard C.J. McCollum, who pushed his scoring average from 6.8 to 20.7 points in his third season. Denver's Danilo Gallinari is worth consideration.

All-NBA first team: Steph Curry, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Andre Drummond.

All-NBA second team: James Harden, Damien Lillard, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, DeMarcus Cousins.

All-NBA third team: Klay Thompson, DeMar DeRozan, Draymond Green, Gordon Hayward, Anthony Davis.

Most disappointing team: The Bulls are a strong contender, but since they're still in playoff position, the winners are the Washington Wizards, who are 23-28 after having top-four expectations at the start of the season.

Injuries to Bradley Beal have hurt, but the Wizards also have been treading water hoping to land Kevin Durant as a free agent this summer and are missing guys such as Trevor Ariza, Paul Pierce and Trevor Booker.

Hardest-working player: It has to be Bulls guard Jimmy Butler. He leads the NBA in minutes played at 37.9 per game and, according to nba.com player tracking, he also leads the league in miles run this season. No wonder he's out with a knee injury.

Most disappointing player: Plenty of candidates, but considering how Milwaukee hasn't delivered on last season's playoff promise, let's give it to Michael Carter-Williams, averaging 11.5 points, 5.5 assists and shooting 29 percent from 3-point range.

All-rookie team: Minnesota's Karl Anthony Towns, Philadelphia's Jahlil Okafor, New York's Kristaps Porzingis, Phoenix's Devin Booker, Indiana's Myles Turner.

All-sophomore team: Minnesota's Andrew Wiggins, L.A. Lakers' Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle, Utah's Rodney Hood, Orlando's Elfrid Payton.

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