Midseason Leaders for Every NBA Award

(Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP)

The NBA has officially moved on to the second half of its shortened 2020-2021 season. With about 40 of the 72 games in the books, let’s take a look at the players and coaches that have excelled throughout the beginning of the marathon.

Coach of the Year - Quin Snyder - Utah Jazz

(Rick Bowmer/AP)

Head Coach Quin Snyder is currently in the lead for Coach of the Year. His Utah Jazz have consistently been the best team in basketball since the jump. Utah has been the #1 seed in the West since January and have no plans of relinquishing it. Utah is 14-7 this year against teams over .500. The Jazz have at least one win against the other 4 teams in the Top 5 of the West and have shown themselves to be an improved Title Contender. Coach Snyder has this team shooting and making threes at an extremely high rate. They have the most players shooting higher than 35% from 3 on one team in the NBA. Synder is having his best coaching year in year 7 with Utah. Other candidates on his heels are Doc Rivers, Steve Nash, and Monty Williams.

Most Improved Player - Jerami Grant - Detroit Pistons

(Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Jerami Grant has been balling for Detroit this year. Since securing a 60 million dollar bag with the Pistons this summer, he has quickly become their best and most important player. Doubters may say it’s easy to become Most Improved Player on a terrible team because you get more opportunities. I say fair, but then why aren’t there any candidates from the Cavs, Magic, TimberWolves, or any other lowly franchise. Grant’s numbers are up across the board since leaving the Nuggets. He is up to 23.4 PPG after scoring only 12 per game last year. His rebounds are up to 5.1 from 3.5 last year and his assists are even up to 2.9 from 1.2 last season. This is all while Grant is also taking the most shots for Detroit every game. Usually when looking for a Most Improved Player, you look for someone who has broken into a new status in the NBA. Grant has done just that. Last year, he was an athletic 3 and D guy. This year, Jerami is an established scoring slasher and defensive stopper. There have been rumors of getting Grant to a contender, but lets let him ball out in Detroit for a little longer.

Defensive Player of the Year - Ben Simmons- Philadelphia 76ers

(Bill Streicher/USA Today Sports)

Defensive Player of the Year is a two man race this season. Your vote will either go to Ben Simmons or Rudy Gobert. The case for Gobert is that he is probably the biggest defensive force in basketball. He is a former 2-time Defensive Player of the Year and the best shot blocker in basketball. With all that being said, I lean Ben Simmons this year. Simmons has shown himself to be the most defensively switchable player in the league. A lot of players say they can guard 1-5, but Simmons is one of the only ones that can actually do it. Simmons is one of the only players who is strong enough to be able to guard centers in the post and quick and long enough to cover guards on the perimeter. Lastly, he is by far the best defender on the #1 defense in basketball. I wouldn’t be shocked if Gobert got his 3rd, but me and 76ers coach Doc Rivers believe Simmons is DPOY.

6 Man of the Year - Jordan Clarkson - Utah Jazz

(Trent Nelson/Salt Lake Tribune)

Jordan Clarkson won 6 Man of the Year in the first month of the season. The Utah Jazz gave Clarkson a 4 year extension after liking what he brought to their bench unit last season. Clarkson has brought even more this year. He is averaging a career high 17.7 PPG off the bench for the Jazz. He's shooting 37% from 3 on 9 attempts per game. He gets in the game and shoots. Usually that’s a bad thing, but Clarkson is knocking them down. Clarkson’s 17.7 PPG is #1 in the NBA for bench players. Jordan got some buzz to be an All-Star this year and has turned into one of the best heat check shooter in the league. There isn’t really anyone close to Clarkson for the award at this point, but hopefully he can keep it up into the Playoffs for Utah.

Rookie of the Year - LaMelo Ball - Charlotte Hornets

(si.com)

The rookie with the most expectations heading into the year is handling every bit of hype in stride. LaMelo Ball has been playing like an All-Star for the Charlotte Hornets this year. Ball entered the league as a superstar celebrity due to the fame of his family, the Balls. Wait, that’s hilarious when you say it like that. Anyways, Ball has been magical with the rock all season. He is averaging 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists while starting 20 of Charlotte’s 40 games this year. LaMelo has shown up when it matter this year and is coming off a 26 point performance against LeBron James and the Lakers earlier this week. Ball has the best offensive feel of any rookie I have seen in a long time and has racked up assists highlights throughout the first half of the year. He is also a tremendous rebounder for his position and an improving defender. The way LaMelo plays, he seems like another player who could average a triple-double for a season. He has gotten comparisons to Jason Kidd and Steve Nash early in his career as well. The only player close to Ball right now is #1 overall pick Anthony Edwards. Edwards has shown himself to be an uber athletic scorer and proved it by dropping a 40 point career high performance in a win against the streaking Phoenix Suns earlier this week. Edwards has stamped himself as Minnesota’s 2nd best player, but for now, he is also the 2nd best rookie in the league.

Most Valuable Player - Joel Embiid - Philadelphia 76ers

(theathletic.com)

Incredibly, MVP is the most “up in the air” award of the bunch. There are about 4 or 5 guys you could convince me deserve to be MVP right now. Common names are Nikola Jokic, James Harden, Damian Lillard, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Jokic, Harden, and Embiid are probably the Top 3, and I lean towards Embiid. Joel is having the best and most efficient year of his career. He is averaging a whopping 30 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 assists per game. That 30 point mark is his career high and not the only career high on his stat line. Embiid is also shooting a career year from 3 and from the field. He is being more selective from deep and only shooting three 3s a game instead of 4 from last year. This has allowed Joel to shoot 42% from behind the arc this year. His previous career high was 36% in his rookie year. The only thing stopping Embiid this year is injuries. He has been out recently with a knee injury and should miss about 2 weeks. With how close the race is this year, he will likely fall behind. With that being said, if the season ended now, the big man would be bringing home his first MVP trophy.