Yahoo Sports 
Four Corners: Your 2014-15 NBA award-winners, so far
The NBA is set to return in earnest on Friday night with a massive slate of games, it’s first night of double-digit contests in nine days due to the extended All-Star break. This doesn’t mark the midpoint of the NBA’s season, most clubs still have 30 or so games left to play, but it is as good a time as we can think of to discuss just who has worked a cut above so far in the season.
Next up: Who are your award-winners, thus far?
***
MVP: James Harden, Houston Rockets
On-court/off-court numbers suggest slotting Harden (whose Rockets have been 11.2 points per 100 possessions better in his minutes than when he sits) behind LeBron James (the Cavaliers are +16.7-per-100), Stephen Curry (+15.6 for the Warriors) and Anthony Davis (+13.7 for the Pelicans). But the degree to which the Rockets' offense implodes when Harden sits and how he's borne the burden of carrying Houston every night earns the Beard my nod.
[Follow Dunks Don't Lie on Tumblr: The best slams from all of basketball]
He leads the league in scoring and ranks second among non-point guards, behind only LeBron, in points created by assist per game, per NBA.com's SportVU player tracking data. These are valuable dimes; 319 of Harden's 360 helpers have led to makes at the rim or from 3-point land. Nobody in the NBA directly produces more points per game for his team than Harden's 44.2. (The rest of your top five: LeBron, 43.4; Russell Westbrook, 43.3; Curry, 42; John Wall, 40.9.)
LeBron, Curry and Davis all have someone else to whom their teams can turn to run things and get buckets in a pinch – Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson and, to a lesser extent, the Tyreke Evans-Eric Gordon combo – but Harden is Houston's lone shot creator. The Rockets' offense goes from awesome (107.7 points-per-100, just above Atlanta's No. 5 full-season mark) to awful (91.7 points-per-100, slightly ahead of league-worst-by-a-mile Philadelphia) whenever Harden sits. As a result, he rarely sat before the break, logging 1,940 minutes, second-highest in the league behind Irving, which is about 250 more than Curry and 300 more than James and Davis.
He's not a lockdown defender and can't change the game on that end to the degree that Davis or a dialed-in James can, but his conditioning, activity level and attentiveness have clearly all improved. The Rockets have defended at a near-top-10 level with him on the floor; his D might not be a strength, but it's not nearly the glaring weakness it has been. Without anyone else to reliably generate offense and with Dwight Howard missing 40 percent of the season, the Rockets still stand level with Portland for the West's No. 3 spot and just three games back of second-place Memphis. That's all Harden.
Second: Curry.
Third (tie): Anthony Davis, LeBron.
Coach of the Year: Mike Budenholzer, Atlanta Hawks
What a difference a year makes. After going 38-44 last season, the Hawks entered the All-Star break a staggering 43-11, on pace to top the franchise record for wins – 57, set in 1986-87 and matched in '93-'94 – by a whopping nine victories.
The return of center Al Horford to health and All-Star-caliber play has certainly helped. But it's been Budenholzer's ability to build a fast-moving and multifaceted offense, balance it with a stingy defense that ranks fourth in opponents' field-goal percentage and sixth in points allowed per possession, coax career-best play out of a number of players and keep his whole locker room ready to contribute at a moment's notice that has propelled Atlanta to the top of the East.
Second: Jason Kidd, Milwaukee Bucks.
Third: Steve Kerr, Golden State Warriors.
Most Improved Player: Hassan Whiteside, Miami Heat
You can make arguments for those players who took leaps from "good" to "All-Star," like the Warriors' Thompson and Jimmy Butler of the Chicago Bulls, or for those who went from "All-Star" to "imbued with the Power Cosmic, like the Pelicans' Davis, who exits the break hanging out with Wilt and looking down at M.J.
In this case, though, it's probably best not to overthink it. Whiteside slid into the Heat's center spot and filled it with his 7-foot-7 wingspan by gobbling up rebounds and blocking shots at near-historic rates, dunking just about everything he gets his hands on, terrifying opponents at the rim, improving Miami on both ends of the floor and looking like perhaps the most valuable commodity in basketball – a young, legitimate 7-footer who can move, clear the glass, protect the paint and finish. He went from unemployed to untouchable in three months. It's hard to improve much more than that.
Second: Draymond Green, Warriors.
Third: Butler.
Executive of the Year: David Griffin, Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Hawks are great in large part because of moves they made before this year. The same's true of the Warriors, although I suppose you could argue that the Bay Area braintrust's decision not to move Thompson to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Kevin Love helped send Golden State into the stratosphere.
But the Cavs are 33-22, matching their highest win total in the last four years, because Griffin locked down Kyrie before making the trade that made the room to bring back LeBron, which led to importing Love, and when things didn't work out quite right off the bat, he course-corrected by adding Timofey Mozgov, J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert to balance the roster, sparking an immediate surge. He's made moves that haven't seemed to work out, either – Shawn Marion, Mike Miller and James Jones aren't exactly setting the world on fire – but Griffin's work over the last seven months has turned Cleveland from an also-ran into a club that has a legitimate shot of representing the East in this June's Finals.
Second: Bob Myers, et al, Warriors.
Third: Masai Ujiri, Toronto Raptors.
Defensive Player of the Year: Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors.
I wrote about this a bit last month – the Michigan State product's ability to play all sorts of different defensive roles for Kerr, from switching onto point guards and wings to holding up in the post against burly fours and fives, helped Golden State remain the league's top defense even with paint-patrolling behemoth Andrew Bogut missing 14 games due to injury. He's a smart and studied defender whose knowledge of tendencies, timing and triage, along with his nimble feet and long arms, allow him to take just about any assignment. The Warriors allow just 95.4 points per 100 possessions when he's on the court and 101.3 per-100 when he sits.
"Draymond, to me, is the key to our defense," Kerr recently told NBA.com's John Schuhmann. "He's the key figure, because as the power forward, he's frequently involved in screen-and-rolls. And because he's quick enough and active enough to switch out onto a point guard, we're able to stifle a lot of the first options out of the opponent's attacks. And when that happens and the shot clock starts to wind down, we're able to stay in front of people and force a tough shot."
Golden State does that better than anyone, and while doing so is more a product of team effort than individual brilliance, it's Green's individual brilliance that helps allow this particular team to be so damn productive on the defensive end.
Second: Tony Allen, Memphis Grizzlies.
Third: Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs.
Rookie of the Year: Andrew Wiggins, Minnesota Timberwolves.
Injuries to Jabari Parker, Joel Embiid, Aaron Gordon and Julius Randle sapped quite a bit of star power from the rookie class, but Wiggins is plenty worthy on his own merits, leading all rookies in scoring (15.2 points per game) and 3-point shooting percentage (35.8 percent) while showing promise as both a perimeter stopper and a potential offensive focal point, both out of the post and when driving to the basket.
Second: Nikola Mirotic, Bulls.
Third: K.J. McDaniels, Philadelphia 76ers.
Sixth Man: Marreese Speights, Golden State Warriors. Yeah, I can't believe it either, but here we are. Speights has been sensational, averaging a career-high 12 points on 50.3 percent shooting to go with 5.1 rebounds in 18.1 minutes per game. His ability to combine pick-and-pop shooting with interior bruising and rebounding has proven pivotal for the Warriors' fantastic second unit.
While his defense has left something to be desired at times in previous stops, Speights has fit well into Golden State's team scheme thus far, holding opponents to a 48.4 percent mark on attempts at the rim, a tick above the likes of Omer Asik, DeMarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis and Marc Gasol. You can argue that his career year's primarily a function of the system and the talent around him, but Speights has become a legitimate weapon for the team favored to win the NBA title.
Second: Lou Williams, Raptors.
Third: Tristan Thompson, Cleveland Cavaliers.
***
MVP: James Harden, Houston Rockets.
In the end, it truly did come down to some unfortunate bumps and bruises. A bum toe and a sprained shoulder have forced Anthony Davis to play seven fewer games than James Harden this season, and while Davis appears to have made more of an individual contribution this season (this is an individual award, after all, kindly throw those team records out the window), Harden has done it more often. James may not possess the prettiest game out there, but he is ruthlessly efficient on offense and his improvement on defense not only passes the eye test, but his advanced metrics on that end have now shot through the roof.
Second: Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
Third: Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
(And don’t sleep on that guy in Cleveland, he’s got 27 games left …)
Coach: Mike Budenholzer, Atlanta Hawks.
Technically the second-year Hawks coach shouldn’t get extra points for this, but it is important to remember that he is now also technically the Hawks’ general manager. Most of the offseason’s heavy lifting had been done by the time Danny Ferry stepped aside after some ridiculous and quite-fireable anecdote re-tellings, but Budenholzer has managed his double-duty with aplomb. The Hawks weathered an iffy start and initial lacking contributions from Al Horford to cobble together a massive turnaround. He’ll take the nod by a nose over Steve Kerr, who has made just as many brilliant moves concerning rotation changes and on-his-feet playcalling.
Second: Steve Kerr, Golden State Warriors
Third: Dave Joerger, Memphis Grizzlies
Executive of the Year: David Griffin, Cleveland Cavaliers.
This is always the silliest award. There are 30 NBA teams, most of them made up of front offices working on disparate goals and through wildly-differing value systems. Varying lengths are involved, which makes the yearly placement of this award so odd. Spurs GM R.C. Buford is the reigning champion in this category based mainly on his trade for Austin Daye and work he did around the fin de siècle. David Griffin should win this year solely because he nabbed LeBron James. I don’t care that good timing and Dwyane Wade’s knee played a role, and I’d hand it to him even if the Cavs were just above .500 with Kevin Love shooting 32 percent. You get LeBron James, you win.
Second: Donn Nelson, Dallas Mavericks
Third: The fantastic Bob Myers and his crew (who didn’t really do all that much last summer; which is why this award is so silly), Golden State Warriors
Sixth Man of the Year: Marreese Speights, Golden State Warriors.
Jamal Crawford has been felled by the rules he created. Speights has started nine games this season, producing terrific play on both sides of the court, something Crawford hasn’t had the luxury of doing in his four games in the starting lineup. As it sort of was last season when Jamal was in the opening five 24 times, that’s enough to push Speights over the edge. Marreese isn’t exactly chopped liver coming off the bench, either, he seems to have recovered from his longstanding left knee woes and he’s finally in shape.
Second: Jamal Crawford, Los Angeles Clippers
Third: Tristan Thompson, Cleveland Cavaliers
Rookie of the Year: Andrew Wiggins, Minnesota Timberwolves.
For the second consecutive year, it has been a frightening first year for a struggling batch of rookies. Season-ending injuries took Jabari Parker and Julius Randle from us, Aaron Gordon’s year was cut short by a frightening foot injury, and the usual cast of “Can’t Buy Beer Yets” are slowly easing into professional life. His advanced stats aren’t great, but Wiggins gets the nod here for acting as a capable 20-year old starter for a miserable Timberwolves team that is currently working with half as many wins as Wiggins has years to his name.
Second: Nikola Mirotic, Chicago Bulls
Third: Elfrid Payton, Orlando Magic
Defensive Player of the Year: Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors.
We’re not sure if the Warriors are just buttering the future restricted free agent up, if they’re attempting to turn his frown upside-down (seems like an easy thing to do with the effervescent Green), or if they generally feel as if their stretch for really is their defensive buttress. Whatever the reason, the Warriors can’t stop singling him out for credit. I’m inclined to flip a coin between Green and Andrew Bogut, but because Bogut has played nearly half as many minutes for the top-ranked Golden State defense as this Warrior forward, it seems like such a flip would be unncessary.
Second: Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies
Third: Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
Most Improved Player: Hassan Whiteside, Miami Heat.
Making the jump from role player to star is incredibly tough, and what Jimmy Butler has done this year has been far tougher than what the surprising Heat big man has put together in 2014-15. Being asked to field a massive uptick in usage rate every night, being leaned on for those 20 points per game as an expectation rather than a pleasant surprise – that ain’t easy. With that in place, Whiteside is truly the NBA’s most improved player by definition. This is also definitely a “keep at it, kid”-nod, as Hassan has only been playing hefty minutes for the last seven weeks. If he falls off between now and the end of the season, the award should be Butler’s.
Second: Jimmy Butler, Chicago Bulls
Third: Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors.
***
MVP: Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors.
It’s Stephen Curry’s year. While the Warriors have fallen off a bit from their early-season peak, they continue to win games and look primed for the top seed in the West. The best player on the best team is usually a pretty good choice for the award, and it doesn’t hurt that Curry is extremely popular and now in national TV ads. Simply put, he’s coming into his own as a superstar both on and off the court. The ascension makes for a pretty good story. Oh, and he’s playing pretty darn well, too.
Coach of the Year: Mike Budenholzer, Atlanta Hawks.
This award is often criticized for going to the coach who defies media expectations rather than the one who actually did the best job with his team. Sometimes, though, the two criteria happen to coincide, which makes Mike Budenholzer the clear choice. Nobody expected the Atlanta Hawks to challenge for the best record in the NBA this season — I admit to having thought they’d miss out on the playoffs due to last season’s uninspiring win total and the added pressure of offseason distractions. Yet they’ve been one of the most impressive teams in the league to this point and strike everyone as an extraordinarily well-coached team. Players know their roles and work together to amplify each other, turning a group that would seem to top out as a mid-tier playoff team into a decidedly dangerous group. Yes, the return of Al Horford has helped, but there’s no way that the Hawks get to this level without a sterling job from Budenholzer.
Most Improved Player: Hassan Whiteside, Miami Heat.
Can a player win this award if he missed the previous two NBA seasons? Hassan Whiteside has played in China, Lebanon, and the D-League, only signed with the Miami Heat in November after being waived by the Memphis Grizzlies twice, and didn’t even become a part of the Miami rotation until the last week of December. All he’s done since then is become one of the most productive big men in the NBA, currently ranking fourth in the NBA in PER at 28.46 (ahead of everyone but Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, and Russell Westbrook). He has recorded a triple-double with 12 blocks, made his way into the starting lineup, and created a career for himself where none existed. Whiteside was on no one’s radar entering this season, and now he’s widely identified as a quality rim defender and finisher in a league that hands such players massive contracts. Previous award winners haven’t improved half as much in a single year.
Executive of the Year: David Griffin, Cleveland Cavaliers.
It’s entirely possible, maybe likely, that Danny Ferry will lose out on this award simply because no one wants to give it to him. The Hawks GM covered himself in shame this summer with the revelation that he had referred to Luol Deng in shockingly racist fashion, earning an indefinite leave of absence from the franchise that now looks set to earn the top seed in the East. Despite all this, Ferry was instrumental in adding several pieces of this roster, including All-Star Paul Millsap on a very cost-effective contract, and hiring Mike Budenholzer, which looks like a coup. On the other hand, part of being an effective executive is not bringing considerable negative attention on the organization via saying a well-respected player has “a little African in him.” That seems just as important as hiring a coach.
So, yeah, David Griffin of the Cleveland Cavaliers is the choice. That guy got LeBron James, Kevin Love, Shawn Marion, J.R. Smith, and Timofey Mozgov over the course of six months!
Defensive Player of the Year: Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies
There’s a longstanding trend in Major League Baseball of players winning Gold Glove Awards in part because they hit very well. The idea is that the voting managers and coaches more easily notice the fielding of players who draw attention to themselves with their bats. It goes against the entire concept of the award, but the behavior makes some sense.
I mention this because I do not know if Marc Gasol is actually the best defensive player in the NBA. The Grizzlies are not statistically the best defense in the league — that honor goes to the Golden State Warriors, who are now a full two points ahead of everyone else in terms of points per 100 possessions, or roughly as far as the second-place Milwaukee Bucks are from the Indiana Pacers in 11th. Draymond Green would be a very deserving choice as the avatar of the Warriors’ versatile, guard-anyone defensive ethos that has led to excellent performances even without the presence of ostensible defensive leader Andrew Bogut. Nevertheless, Gasol’s status as the linchpin of the Memphis Grizzlies at both ends makes him a leading candidate for this award. In some ways, Defensive Player of the Year could serve as a consolation prize for Gasol not winning MVP. He will deserve it even if his offense factors into the decision-making process.
Rookie of the Year: Andrew Wiggins, Minnesota Timberwolves.
It is Wiggins in a walk. Nikola Mirotic plays a major role for a team trying to win a championship, but it’s arguably more difficult for a 19-year-old to be forced into considerable responsibility on a bad team in need of scoring. Wiggins has shown maturity, scored enough to grab the attention of any voter, and suggested that he has plenty of room to grow into a star. This is the easiest choice of any award.
Sixth Man: Lou Williams, Toronto Raptors.
Toronto Raptors scorer Lou Williams has not been the model of a modern scorer — his 39.6 percent shooting mark is actually worse than what he accomplished in a poor season for the Hawks in 2013-14 — but this award often goes to those who do the most in the least amount of time no matter how efficiently they do it. Williams supplies a necessary scoring option for a team that was in serious need of a bench playmaker. His 15.2 ppg are tops for all reserves who aren’t Jamal Crawford and Isaiah Thomas (both of whom have been mentioned in trade rumors), and he’s likely to continue to play a big role for Toronto through the end of the season.
***
MVP: James Harden, Houston Rockets.
I realize Stephen Curry’s Golden State Warriors own the league’s best record at the All-Star break and LeBron James might make this pick look silly by season’s end, but Harden’s virtuoso performance currently has the Houston Rockets hosting a playoff series in the loaded West — all while three members of their opening-night starting lineup have missed a combined 76 games. Curry has All-Star backcourt mate Klay Thompson, Defensive Player of the Year candidate Draymond Green, Sixth Man of the Year contender Marreese Speights and a cast of characters. James has Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and the benefit of playing in the East. Harden has half a season of Dwight Howard, half a year of Josh Smith and the full Donatas Motiejunas.
As the sole focus of opposing defenses, Harden leads the league in scoring (27.1 points per game) — getting to the rim at will (his NBA-best 493 free throw attempts top James in second by 125) and shooting 38.3 percent on the league’s fifth-most 3-point attempts. Throw in 6.8 assists and 5.7 boards a game as well as an improved effort on the defensive end, and it’s hard to argue he hasn’t meant more to his team than everybody else.
Second: Curry.
Third: James.
Coach of the Year: Mike Budenholzer, Atlanta Hawks.
Atlanta’s two biggest offseason acquisitions were a 30-year-old Thabo Sefolosha and L.A. Lakers castoff Kent Bazemore, and somehow the Hawks have five more wins at the All-Star break than they did all of last year. Coach Bud’s San Antonio Spurs-inspired pace-and-space system turned a middling offense into a top-five unit, and his defensive schemes have the Hawks making similar strides on the other end. As a result, a quartet of his players played in the All-Star Game, and Atlanta has transformed from a perennial also-ran into a legit title contender. Done and done.
Second: Steve Kerr, Golden State Warriors.
Third: Jason Kidd, Milwaukee Bucks.
Most Improved Player: Jimmy Butler, Chicago Bulls.
When I suggested Butler belonged in the conversation for the game’s top two-way, two-guard along with Klay Thompson, who also deserves mention on this list, a commenter wrote: “What the hell? Did you just name Jimmy Butler as someone battling for [Kobe] Bryant’s shooting guard torch in the 25-and-under crowd?” Granted, I also included Lance Stephenson on that list, but that’s beside the point. Already an All-Defensive talent, Butler struggled mightily with his shot on the other end last season. This season, though, he’s among 14 players currently averaging 20 points, lifting his true shooting from 52.2 to 58.1 percent. In the process, he established himself as a surefire All-Star and quite possibly the best player on a team with a former MVP, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year and a three-time All-NBA big man.
Second: Hassan Whiteside, Miami Heat.
Third: Brandon Knight, Milwaukee Bucks.
Executive of the Year: Donnie Nelson, Dallas Mavericks.
For starters, I’m not giving Cavaliers general manager David Griffin too much credit for luring LeBron James back to Cleveland, when the former lucked into three of the past four No. 1 overall picks and the latter pulled all the strings to find his way home. Elsewhere, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban may claim — and even deserve — most of the credit in Dallas, but Nelson’s name is on the GM placard, so here we are. The Mavs entered the offseason with Jose Calderon, Jae Crowder and Samuel Dalembert eyeing key roles in 2014-15 and somehow emerged from the All-Star break with Rajon Rondo, Chandler Parsons and Tyson Chandler starting alongside Monta Ellis and Dirk Nowitzki. That’s an Optimus Prime-level transformation.
Second: John Hammond, Milwaukee Bucks.
Third: Bob Myers, Golden State Warriors.
Defensive Player of the Year: Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors.
When perennial NBA All-Defensive talents LeBron James, Serge Ibaka and Kevin Garnett started jawing with him, Green must’ve known he was doing something right. A pest of the highest order, capable of disrupting multiple positions, Green’s the only NBA regular who ranks among the top five in ESPN’s defensive real plus/minus, NBA.com’s defensive rating and Basketball Reference’s defensive win shares and defensive box plus/minus. And did we mention his team owns the league’s best record while allowing the fewest points per 100 possessions (97.3)?
Second: Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs.
Third: Khris Middleton, Milwaukee Bucks.
Rookie of the Year: Andrew Wiggins, Minnesota Timberwolves.
The crowd won’t wow anyone, but once Jabari Parker suffered a season-ending knee injury, this award was Wiggins’ to lose, and he’s only gotten better. He has scored nearly twice as many points (806) as the next-most productive rookie (476) while ranking third in rebounds and steals, fifth in blocks and seventh in assists among first-year players. His production rose steadily for the first three months, culminating in January, when he averaged 19.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. He could stand to be more efficient, but no rookie has approached his level, especially considering most of the top contenders have been nursing injuries.
Second: Elfrid Payton, Orlando Magic.
Third: Nikola Mirotic of the Chicago Bulls, with respect to the oncoming Nerlens Noel.
Sixth Man: Isaiah Thomas, Boston Celtics.
Of course, he may not be a Sixth Man for long after being dealt to the Boston Celtics at the deadline, but through the first 50 games Thomas is as deserving a candidate as any in a down year for reserves. He’s kept his 36-minute averages consistent with his previous two seasons — producing 21.4 points, 5.2 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals per 36 — except this time around he did so for a playoff-contending Phoenix Suns squad and not on an NBA island in Sacramento. Any one of the usual crop of productive bench guards — Jamal Crawford, Manu Ginobili and Lou Williams — could also be slotted here, but Thomas has the best numbers of that bunch.
Second. Marreese Speights, Golden State Warriors.
Third. Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz.
