NBA at break: Can Bulls’ White win Most Improved?
There are other local questions for the remainder of the NBA season besides, “Can the Bulls make the play-in tournament for the second year in a row?”
They probably will, in part due to lack of competition. But another late-season issue is whether Coby White can win the NBA's Most Improved Player Award. Let's take a closer look at that and the other awards.
Philadelphia's Tyrese Maxey has been the betting favorite for Most Improved for much of the year. He averaged 20.3 points last year, raised it to 25.7 this season. Assists are also way up, from 3.5 to 6.4 per game. One argument is he was already good last season, which is true, but he has definitely improved.
White has gone from 9.7 to 19.6 ppg. His assists have nearly doubled and his 3-point percentage is a career-high .397. That's a big jump, but White averaged 15.1 points in his second season, when he was also starting point guard. So while he's improved, the role change kept his numbers down the past two years.
A late-riser is Golden State's Jonathan Kuminga, who averaged 20.6 points in January. Imagine if the Bulls had traded Zach LaVine for him in 2022.
Houston center Alperen Sengun has gone from 14.8 to 21.3 ppg in his third season. Atlanta's Jalen Johnson went from 5.6 to 15.7. So there are more strong candidates for this award than in most years.
Pick: 1. Maxey; 2. White; 3. Sengun.
MVP
Joel Embiid has officially been eliminated from contention because he'll miss too many games. Based on stats, Dallas' Luka Doncic would be the clear leader, since he's averaging 34.2 points, 9.5 assists and 8.8 rebounds.
The Mavericks are currently seventh in the West, so that could be an issue, but they do have a decent record at 32-23. Boston's Jayson Tatum is the best player on the best team, but doesn't really have the numbers to justify MVP.
Former winners Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokoumpo are having slightly better team success this season than Doncic. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has led Oklahoma City to more wins than most people expected, so he's a viable candidate.
Pick: 1. Doncic; 2. Jokic, 3. Gilgeous-Alexander, 4. Antetokounmpo, 5. Tatum.
Coach of the year
Most people didn't think a twin centers pairing of Karl Anthony-Towns and Rudy Gobert would work. Maybe Minnesota being first in the West speaks more to Anthony Edwards' emergence as a star, but the success makes Chris Finch a strong favorite for this award.
Pick: 1. Finch, 2. Mark Daigneault, Thunder; 3. J.B. Bickerstaff, Cavs
Rookie of the year
Some wondered about Victor Wembanyama's durability, but he's played in 49 of 55 games, while averaging 20.5 points and 10 rebounds.
Pick: 1. Wembanyama; 2. Chet Holmgren, Thunder; 3. Brandon Miller, Hornets
Defensive player of the year
Minnesota has the best defense in the league, so Rudy Gobert is an accurate choice. No one thinks of Cleveland's Donovan Mitchell as a great defender, but of all players who average at least 30 minutes per game, Mitchell is second in defensive rating behind Gobert. And the Cavs have the second-best team defense.
Pick: 1. Gobert, 2. Mitchell, 3. Derrick White, Celtics
Sixth Man Award
Utah's Jordan Clarkson and the Lakers' Austin Reaves have less than 30 games played as a sub. That makes Atlanta's Bogdan Bogdanovich the leading bench scorer. He's a decent choice, but Sacramento's Malik Monk isn't far behind and has arguably made a greater impact.
Pick: 1. Monk, 2. Bogdanovich, 3. Caris Levert, Cavs.
All-NBA
Are we allowed to put Joel Embiid on here? Not sure.
First team: Luka Doncic, Mavs; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder; Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks; Nikola Jokic, Nuggets; Domantas Sabonis, Kings.
Second team: Donovan Mitchell, Cavs; Jalen Brunson, Knicks; Kevin Durant, Suns; Jayson Tatum, Celtics; Joel Embiid, 76ers.
Third team: Tyrese Haliburton, Pacers; Devin Booker, Suns; Anthony Edwards, T-wolves; LeBron James, Lakers; Anthony Davis, Lakers.
Teams to beat
Well, it's definitely Boston in the East. The Cavs and Knicks are surging, while the Bucks and 76ers have been fading. Lurking at No. 7, could there be another appearance of Playoff Jimmy Butler?
The West seems wide open. If the season ended today, Warriors vs. Lakers would be the 9-10 play-in game. Denver has the winning experience, but a healthy Kawhi Leonard has carried two teams to a title already. Does he have another run left with the Clippers?
Twitter: @McGrawDHSports