3 NBA Awards The Warriors Should Win This Season
OAKLAND (CBS SF) - The National Basketball Association named its first award winner of the year Monday, naming Lou Williams the league's top reserve.
Toronto Raptors 6th man Lou Williams received 502 total votes, well ahead of Boston's Isaiah Thomas. The Warriors, the team with the league's 6th best record ever, saw two reserves land on ballots. Andre Iguodala finished fourth in the tally with 100 votes and Marreese Speights finished seventh with 20.
The rest of the awards will be doled out over the next few days. The Warriors aren't expected to be as competitive in the Most Improved Player or Rookie of the Year categories, but the other key individual awards could all go to the dubs.
Defensive Player Of The Year - Draymond Green or Andrew Bogut
For years (think both Don Nelson eras) the Warriors would shot first and D-up later, but the additions of Klay Thompson, Iguodala, Green and Bogut have changed that reputation in a big way. This season the Warriors had the lowest field goal percentage against in the league. Bogut - a center - is viewed as the anchor of the defense who routinely clogs the lanes and alters shots in the paint. Green is considered one of the most versatile defenders in the league who routinely swats away passes and can neutralize both big and small scorers. For a closer look at how these two change the game on defense, check out this breakdown of playoff game 1 from CBS Sports. Many see Green as the favorite, with Spurs small forward Kawhi Leonard and Clippers big man DeAndre Jordan seen as the biggest competition.
Coach of the Year - Steve Kerr
Giving coach of the year to the head man on the league's best team may seem overly simplistic, except for this: The Warriors weren't supposed to be the league's best team. Before the season, odds-makers thought they'd be about a four or five playoff seed in the challenging Western Conference. Instead, Kerr - in his first year - led a team that defended home court better all but one team in league history. All while scoring the most points per game and boasting the league's best defense. Not bad for a team that didn't escape the first round last year. The only thing working against Kerr is that Atlanta coach Mike Budenhoizer turned an Atlanta team that people expected much less out of into the league's second best team - by record. This vote should be close.
MVP - Stephen Curry
Steph isn't the league's leading scorer, and even some local writers have admitted that they've considered giving the award to Rocket James Harden, but Curry's top ten numbers in steals, assists and points show that he's among the league's most talented players. He broke his own record for 3-pointers made in a season this year, and is generally given credit for "making everyone around him better." He's also produced several of the NBA's most talked about highlights this year. The general buzz among sportswriters, who vote for this after all, is that Curry has the momentum here.
If the Warriors only win one award, it will probably be MVP. But you can bet all four Warriors would trade in that hardware for an NBA title.