| Russell Westbrook has become worthy of as big a star as Kevin Durant in Oklahoma City. (Getty Images) |
The Baseline Awards look back at the week that was in the NBA and recounts what was notable, what was grand, and what was, well... not. This week we recognize Josh Smith, bask in the aggressiveness of Russell Westbrook, and wonder about the Magic.
Eastern Conference Player of the Week: Anthony Davis
Whoops, getting ahead of myself. My bad.
Eastern Conference Player of the Week: Josh Smith
Josh Smith is not screwing around this year, and especially not of late. 27 points and 10 rebounds, with 4 assists (4 turnovers) and a block and a steal just for kicks over the past four games. Smith has been a beast carrying the Hawks, and as always, if he'd just stop with the mid-range jumpers (10-24 over the past four games) he'd be even more efficient. Smith has been performing at this level for years now, he's just peaking a bit higher. He's never included on MVP lists, and the reason isn't entirely clear, given his defensive prowess and offensive stat stuffing.
Smith's dominance may not be perfect, but it is highly effective.
Western Conference Player of the Week: Russell Westbrook
It is not absurd to indicate that Russell Westbrook is an MVP candidate, nor that he is playing the best ball of any point guard in the league at the moment. That does no disservice to Chris Paul or Derrick Rose. He's just been brilliant.
Westbrook isn't a creator. He's a producer. Much like Derrick Rose, his style of play, aggressive, abrasive, confrontational, fearless, is not built from the idea of running an offense but driving it through walls. Westbrook plays next to the single greatest offensive player in the league at the moment and has still averaged 27 points and six assists over the past four games. He has been a revelation.
It's time to put away this mindless criticism of Westbrook, this assumption that he is a poor fit or limitation for the Thunder. He makes them better, he makes them lethal, he is the stone to Durant's earth.
Dominator Award: DeMarcus Cousins
The phrase "DeMarcus Cousins is a handful" has so many connotations at this point. But Keith Smart seems to be unlocking the secret mystery of the volatile youngster, as Cousins is averaging 29 points and 13 rebounds per 36 minutes over the past four games. The wins aren't there, but the Kings are showing genuine signs of progress, no one more so than Cousins, who is hustling like he's motivated for the first time in his career.
Cousins has such an easy way of getting to loose balls for rebounds, and such an effortless ability to toss the ball back in on putbacks, he can take over a game without ever really seeming like he's pressing himself. Exciting times for Sacramento and it's building project.
The Horde Award for team you should fear: Boston Celtics
It was always just a matter of time. This team has too much talent, too much experience to go quietly into the night. And instead of fading into distance, they've returned with a vengeance. They're defending like the championship-caliber team they've been, Rajon Rondo is holding the offense up, and Kevin Garnett is producing at an absurd level. He's not even playing like he's younger, he's just playing like someone who's put the work in to be this good at his age.
The Celtics are turning into that team you don't want to run into in the first round. Or the second round, for that matter.
Cub Scout Troope Award for team you should not fear: Orlando Magic
The Magic are very much like Atlanta, only Atlanta is consistent. The Hawks never get too up or too down, the Magic go on big winning streaks followed by cratering as they've done of late. They're not bad, they're still a good team, but they're very beatable if you do the right things. They're solvable, that might be the best way to put it.
You close out on the shooters, you live with Dwight Howard killing you inside, you don't let anyone else get easy looks The defensive inconsistency is their biggest problem. If they're exploitable defensively, they just don't measure up with Magic teams of the recent past.
Titanic award for tanking of the week: Cleveland Cavaliers
Debating whether tanking is "right" or not is all the rage right now, as the argument continues between rewarding failure and setting up a system which would almost certainly destroy three to five franchises within ten years completely. Personally, I think tanking's amazing. Fans have to watch bad games. That happens whether teams tank or not. Stopping tanking isn't going to mean no bad teams. It just means more mediocre teams, who are often times just bad teams whithout the hilariousness.
Cleveland this week, had a stroke of bad good luck, or good bad luck, as Kyrie Irving injured his shoulder. Without Irving and Anderson Varejao, they had no trouble stretching their losing streak to seven. They're just a half-game out of the four spot in the lottery. If the Cavaliers manage to get a top three pick in this draft, to go with Irving and Thompson, they're going to be a force to reckon with sooner rather than later.
The "Life is Pain" award for Disappointment: Miami Heat
A great win over Dallas sandwiched between losses to OKC, Indiana, and Boston, all in embarrassing fashion. The Heat have started ramping down to rest for the playoffs, even as they remain in a fight for homecout advantage. This team's effort continues to confound and rattle any faith anyone can have in their longterm prospects in the playofs.
Award Rankings:
1. Kevin Durant: Welcome to the top, young fella. Durant's shooting over 50% from mid-range, the most difficult place to hit shots from. He is a master coming off the screen. Durant is defending at an elite level, and has rebounds and assists to help production. This isn't about "the decision" or anything else. Kevin Durant has just been that good over the past month.
2. LeBron James: Does James deserve to drop to No.2 after being the prohibitive favorite for two months? Yes. Because A. It's not like Durant was slacking those first two months. And B. we said James would have to take a major drop. And he has. Defensively, offensively, he's still been great. But he has higher standards. And so he falls here to No.2, and as the Heat are likely to get more rest for James and that elbow still appears to be bothering him. Durant has to be considered not only the current winner but the favorite going into the last month.
3. Kevin Love: As Ben Golliver describes him, the Most Valiant Player.
4. Russell Westbrook: I challenge you to find a player playing better than Westbrook over the past week. He's put in these scoring marks despite playing next to Kevin Durant, the league's best scorer. He has stunning aggressivness and when that mid-range jumper is falling, your defense has a knife to its throat. Westbrook is changing the narrative on his dysfunctional liability to the Thunder, one game at a time.
5. Dwight Howard: Same ol', same ol' for Dwight. If he had been engaged this year, he'd be much higher. The defensive slip is slight, but noticeable, and it may cost him another consecutive Defensive Player of the Year Award.
Rookie of the Year
1. Kyrie Irving: Sprained shoulder, no sprained shoulder, Irving won this award months ago.
2. Ricky Rubio: Still missing Rubio. NBA isn't the same without him.
3. Isaiah Thomas: Mr. Irrelevant is the rookie point Kings fans wanted Jimmer to be.
4. Kawhi Leonard: There are so many little plays Leonard makes during a game, it makes ou wonder how good he's going to be in three years.
5. Klay Thompson: Very under the radar, Thompson is showing to be a building block for the Warriors. And tanking means he gets more playing time. Isn't that nice? Tanking is the best for everyone!
Coach of the Year
1. Tom Thibodeau: If Tom Thibodeau were your boss, you'd hate coming to work. But as a coach? There's none better, two years running.
2. Doug Collins: It's a shame the Sixers collapsed. Doug Collins' story this year has been a good one.
3. Gregg Popovich: Winning. It's what Pop does.
4. Lionel Hollins: There are times when Hollings throws out lineups in which I'm not even entirely sure he's aware of how weird they are. And they usually work.
5. Rick Adelman: Deserves credit despite the late season slid. The team comes prepared to play nine of ten nights, and he's made Kevin Love into a top three player in the league. Michael Beasley is even useful from time to time.