Also Read: MVP Rankings
At the midpoint in the 2015-16 season, it's a good time to look at the lay of the land in the NBA and start comparing the efforts and production of players around the league. Which player has been the best defender through the first half of the season? Has the best rookie been Karl-Anthony Towns or Kristaps Porzingis? Who looks to be the Most Improved Player? Who leads the race for the best coach or the best executive?
We won't look at the MVP of the NBA through the halfway point in this space because it has its own post dedicated to it. But there's a lot of value in looking at who has been the leader in the various award races around the NBA. If they can keep up their production, will it secure the hardware for them when the regular season has concluded? Let's take a look at the award winners so far and why they're deserving.
Defensive Player of the Year
Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors -- I originally wrote this out explaining why I picked Kawhi Leonard to win Defensive Player of the Year for the first half of this season. I cited him helping fuel the third-best defense since the 1970s. But then I looked and couldn't ignore the Spurs giving up 94 points per 100 possessions with Kawhi off the court and 93 with him on the court. The Spurs are great at defense because of Kawhi and because of the rest of the team doing what Gregg Popovich asks them to do. I'm not sure it's fair to hold that against Leonard, but looking at the splits for the Warriors with Draymond Green, I decided to delete my words, change the selection and award it to Draymond.
The Warriors give up 95.3 per 100 possessions with Green on the floor, hounding every position he's asked to switch on to and fueling a turnover-forcing machine that turns those mistakes by the opponents into backbreaking runs by the Warriors. Without Green on the floor? The Warriors' defensive rating is 108.4. Should that be held against Kawhi? I'm not terribly certain that's fair. It may also not have been fair for Green to get the most first-place votes last season and not walk away with the hardware. Either way, these are two of the best defenders we've seen since Kevin Garnett in his prime. You can't go wrong with picking either one. I'm giving the slightest of nods to Green at the halfway point. -- Zach Harper
Sixth Man of the Year
Will Barton, Denver Nuggets -- This is the best crop at this award we've seen in years. It's not just scorers, there are legitimate multi-faceted threats. Manu Ginobili, unbelievably, has to be on this list. If Marcus Smart hadn't gotten injured, Isaiah Thomas might have ran away with the award, but he's started 39 of 42 games for Boston. Jeremy Lin needs to be on the list, Cory Joseph for the impact he's having on both ends need to be on the list, but really, when you look at it, it's Barton.
Barton has stunned everyone by making "the leap" with Denver, averaging 15.6 points per game, along with a stunning 6.2 rebounds. Barton is slender as a walking stick but goes up in the trees and comes up with big rebound after big rebound. This especially helps Denver because with Emmanuel Mudiay's inexperience, it gives the Nuggets a player that can grab the board and push the ball in transition, which Barton does excellently. His shooting has been lights out, the most surprising development. He's shooting 39 percent from 3-point range. Barton's defense can be a bit too much of a gambler at times, but he's also willing to challenge guys on the perimeter and has terrific hands. Barton hasn't wrapped up this award, but he's definitely made a big enough stamp to consider him the clear favorite at this point. -- Matt Moore
Executive of the Year
R.C. Buford, San Antonio Spurs -- This one was obvious in July, when the Spurs made the summer's biggest free-agent acquisition (LaMarcus Aldridge) and got the best bargain (David West). These two heady, jump-shooting power forwards have fit in as seamlessly as expected, and they've helped San Antonio steamroll through the first half of the season.
Aldridge and West joined the team not just because they'd have an opportunity to chase a championship, but because of the culture that Buford, head coach Gregg Popovich and the rest of the organization had built. Forget this award -- that was the real prize for running an organization better than anybody else in sports.
In order to get Aldridge, the Spurs had to let go of Tiago Splitter, Marco Belinelli, Cory Joseph and Aron Baynes. Despite that, they have one of the strongest benches in basketball. If Jonathon Simmons or Kyle Anderson -- San Antonio's 10th and 11th men -- ends up making a difference in a playoff game, you won't be shocked. You'll just laugh and shake your head because this is what the Spurs do.
Executive of the Year is never really just about a few months of work; it's about the years that set the stage for it. That has never been more true than in this case. -- James Herbert
Coach of the Year
Luke Walton, Golden State Warriors -- Talk about a tough field, once again. For a sport that everyone says doesn't require a lot from its coaches with the way that superstars make such a mark on the team, this award shows how great the coaching in the league is at this point. I'm going with Walton here, due to the incredible record-breaking start and the way that they managed to come back with such intensity after winning the title. No hangover for the Warriors. There's also such a great process to what they do, in that even in games in which Steph Curry is missing, the team doesn't fall part but instead still competes or wins, as in the case of the wins over Houston and Denver. Sure, Steve Kerr will take over the team at some point this season, but it's Walton who has led Golden State to such an amazing first-half run, so he's the guy in line for the hardware.
Gregg Popovich has to get consideration here. With massive changes to the roster, the Spurs have the best defense in the league and a better point differential than the mighty Warriors. All the parts have come together perfectly. The only reason I'm not going with Pop is because the first-half schedule was an absolute and complete cakewalk.
Other notable candidates include: Dwane Casey, Billy Donovan, Frank Vogel, and Rick Carlisle. This one's going to be a tough, tough battle down the stretch, and it could simply come down to the dominant record by Golden State. -- Matt Moore
Rookie of the Year
Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves -- Kristaps Porzingis has been impressive but Karl-Anthony Towns narrowly edges out the Knicks' rookie for this midseason award. Towns is averaging 15.6 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.7 blocks a game. He is an excellent free-throw shooter, converting 85 percent from the line and is becoming a double-double machine with 19 such games this season. Towns is extremely talented on both ends of the floor, able to make quick moves that very few big men his size can do. He is a dynamic player and at 20 years old, is already making an impact on the NBA. -- Ananth Pandian
Most Improved Player
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors -- If we're going the traditional way, it's C.J. McCollum, my preseason pick. The third-year Blazers guard has handled his new role as well as anyone could have asked, improving more than anybody as a scorer and breaking down defenses with ease. I'm sick of the traditional way, though, so I'm going to give it to another former mid-major star: the reigning Most Valuable Player.
Curry almost certainly won't win this award, but he should get serious consideration. He's raised his scoring average from 23.8 points to 30.0, and he's become more efficient without eliminating the riskier, wilder parts of his game.
In fact, Curry is playing with even more flair than he ever did. Winning an MVP award and an NBA title has given him a level of confidence I've never seen. He's completely comfortable shooting from anywhere at any time, and the results keep offering reinforcement -- he's now making 51 percent of the 19.6 field goals and 45 percent of the 10.7 3-pointers he attempts in an average game. If those numbers look fake, it's because Curry keeps stretching the definition of what can be done.
Last season, Curry's PER was 28.06. This year, it's 32.24. Beyond that, his improvement has been more meaningful than anybody else's. It has what has made the Warriors seem almost invincible, and it is what has had people talking about chasing the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls' 72-10 record since November. This, like the MVP winning MIP, is the sort of thing that just isn't supposed to happen. -- James Herbert
Also Read: MVP Rankings
