Holiday Awards

Holiday Awards

By Marty Gitlin
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

The holiday season is over and so is one-third of the NBA season. Most in the media hand out midseason awards, but what the heck? Early returns are in.

Here are a few honors earned as 2007 approaches:

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Cleveland forward LeBron James deserved it last season, but Phoenix point guard Steve Nash won it for the second year in a row. Nash, however, has indeed been the NBA Most Valuable Player so far.

The Suns catalyst is blowing away the field at 11.6 assists a game and is among the leaders in 3-point shooting (49 percent) and free-throw percentage (89 percent). He is also averaging 20.3 points a game and hitting 52 percent from the field, both exceptional for a point guard.

Runner up: Tim Duncan, San Antonio

COACH OF THE YEAR: No contest. Utah's Jerry Sloan has raised his team to the level of the NBA elite, which is another term for the best of the Western Conference.

The Jazz feature no superstars, though resurgent Carlos Boozer has established himself as one of the league's premier players. Sloan has his team playing efficient team basketball offensively and defensively with far inferior talent to that of Phoenix, Dallas and San Antonio.

Runner-up: Nate McMillan, Portland

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Adam Morrison is the top rookie scorer, but not the top rookie performer. That distinction belongs to Toronto forward Jorge Garbajosa, who has proven the most consistent. He is averaging 9.1 points and 5.7 rebounds a game and has improved in both those departments as the season has progressed.

Garbajosa is also contributing more to his team. The Raptors rest atop the Atlantic Division despite playing 18 of their first 28 games on the road. He and top all-around pick Andrea Bargnani have played integral roles in their recent surge.

Runner-up: Morrison