With the NBA’s All-Star Weekend passing last week and teams more than 50 games into their seasons, TDI is slightly overdue to present its NBA Mid-Season Awards. Based on the success of the campaign I led this fall to have the NBA League Pass package added to the Collis televisions (which ultimately resulted in the NHL Center Ice package being added because a blitz-in vote revealed Dartmouth students prefer the NHL to the NBA by more than two-to-one), I can only imagine that this column will be received with incredible fanfare. Without further ado, the winners of TDI’s 05-06 NBA Mid-Season awards:

Most Valuable Player: Steve Nash, G, Phoenix Suns. Nash, last season’s MVP, heads a Suns team that finds itself atop the Pacific Division and firmly in possession of the West’s second seed in the playoffs. Nash is most noteworthy for his ability to involve teammates in games and to open scoring opportunities for them. Currently leading the league with 10.9 assists per game, he creates scoring opportunities for his teammates so well that three of the Suns’ four other starters (Shawn Marion, Raja Bell, and Boris Diaw) are posting career highs this year in points per game. Nash himself is also scoring at a career-high 19.2 points per game, up from his 15.5 in last year’s MVP season. And he’s doing it with incredible efficiency, too, shooting 48.9 percent from the field and leading the league with a 92.5 free-throw percentage. Most impressively, though, the Suns’ and Nash’s success this season has come without the services of three of Phoenix’s top five scorers from last season: Amare Stoudemire, Joe Johnson, and Quentin Richardson. Stoudemire, who last season was named to the All-NBA Second Team and was the NBA’s fifth-leading scorer (26.0 PPG), has been sidelined all year with a knee injury. This summer, the Suns lost Johnson in free agency to the Hawks and Richardson in a trade to the Knicks. In what is expected to be one of the closest MVP votings in years, Nash’s supreme leadership and elevated play over last season’s MVP performance at the present juncture make him the most worthy candidate.

Honorable Mentions (alphabetically): Elton Brand, F, Los Angeles Clippers; Kobe Bryant, G, Los Angeles Lakers; Lebron James, F, Cleveland Cavaliers; Dirk Nowitzki, F, Dallas Mavericks
Dishonorable Mention: Kevin Garnett, F, Minnesota Timberwolves

Coach of the Year: Byron Scott, New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets. With the exceptions of the off-season addition of Chris Paul and subtraction of All-Star Jamaal Magloire, Scott coaches virtually the same anemic roster that registered the NBA’s second-worst record last season. This season, though, Scott has remarkably positioned his Hornets squad well within the Western Conference playoff race (currently the seventh seed). After a slow start to the season, the Hornets have been one of the NBA’s hottest teams for the past two months, posting a 17-8 record since the start of the new calendar year. This success comes without the Hornets having a single player ranked in the top 30 in the NBA in rebounds per game or in the top 45 in points per game. The main reason for the success of this Hornets team has been the surprisingly spectacular play of rookie point guard Chris Paul and third-year forward David West, who had previously floundered as a reserve behind Magloire. Scott, a former Coach of the Year winner with the Nets and an All-Star point guard during his playing years, deserves endless credit for easing Paul’s transition into the NBA and for unearthing West from the Hornets’ logjam of offensively-inept forwards. What’s more, the Hornets’ success this season has come despite playing the NBA’s orphan franchise: the team splits home games between New Orleans and Oklahoma City, much like their NFL counterpart New Orleans Saints had to last season, the hardships of which were well documented.

Honorable Mention: Mike Dunleavy, Los Angeles Clippers
Dishonorable Mention: Larry Brown, New York Knicks

Defensive Player of the Year: Ben Wallace, F-C, Detroit Pistons. There isn’t a single player in the NBA who plays defense as completely as Wallace. Already a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, Wallace’s style of play is almost completely devoid of any offense, yet his defensive prowess is so outstanding that it has earned him selection for four All-Star teams. This season, he is second in the NBA in rebounding with 12.2 per game and fifth in total blocks, and he ranks first among all power forwards and centers with 1.64 steals per game.

Honorable Mentions: Andrei Kirilenko, F, Utah Jazz; Brevin Knight, G, Charlotte Bobcats; Shawn Marion, F, Phoenix Suns
Dishonorable Mention: The New York Knicks

Rookie of the Year: Chris Paul, G, New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets. Without question, Paul is the Hornets’ best player. He ranks first on the team in assists with 7.7 per game, second in points with 16.1 per game, and, despite standing at 6 feet even, he is the team’s third-leading rebounder with 5.4 rebounds per game. Paul tops all rookies in points, assists, and steals per game, and ranks fourth in rebounds per game. His 2.3 steals-per-game average is not only first among Hornets and rookies, it’s also a close second in the NBA, trailing only Brevin Knight’s 2.4. It’s safe to say that without the addition of Paul, the Hornets would be more pathetic than they were last year and even worse–dare I say–than the Knicks. Instead, he has the team and its fans forgetting the recently-departed Baron Davis and thinking about the playoffs. There have even been whispers that Paul should get consideration for MVP.

Honorable Mentions: Channing Frye, C, New York Knicks; Charlie Villanueva, F, Toronto Raptors
Dishonorable Mention: Marvin Williams, F, Atlanta Hawks

Most-Improved Player: David West, F, New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets. Despite enormous collegiate success at Xavier University as an All-American honoree and a Naismith Player of the Year finalist his senior year, West found himself on the bench behind a glut of forwards his first two years with the Hornets. After All-Star forward Jamaal Magloire left via free agency to the Milwaukee Bucks, Coach Byron Scott penned West into the front court vacancy, and he’s responded by outdoing Magloire’s All-Star campaign last year. This year, West leads the team in points (16.8) and rebounds (7.8) per game and is second only to Chris Paul in minutes per game. He and Paul have combined to lead the NBA’s surprise team of the year.

Honorable Mentions: Elton Brand, F, Los Angeles Clippers; Boris Diaw, G, Phoenix Suns
Dishonorable Mention: Zach Randolph, F, Portland Trailblazers

Least Deserving of All-Star Recognition: Rasheed Wallace, F, Detroit Pistons. His selection to the Eastern Conference squad was based purely on name recognition and on his status as the Pistons’ starting power forward, not on any outstanding performance this season. To be certain, Wallace is an incredible talent. He is as good offensively as anyone in the post, can shoot from deep as well as any big man, and can be extremely effective defensively. The problem with Wallace is that this year he has resigned himself to being a three-point shooter and doesn’t play the versatile offensive game he’s capable of. After 53 games, Wallace has taken fifty-seven more three-point attempts (293) than he did all last season. His single-faceted offensive game and statistics (15.7 PPG and 6.8 RPG) make him above-average at best. On three occasions with the Portland Trailblazers, Wallace posted far better numbers without getting any All-Star consideration. But now that he’s on the celebrated Pistons, he’s apparently worthy of the distinction.

Dishonorable Mention: Tracy McGrady, F, Houston Rockets
More Deserving of All-Star Recognition: Carmelo Anthony, F, Denver Nuggets; Dwight Howard, C, Orlando Magic; Michael Redd, G, Milwaukee Bucks; Baron Davis, G, Golden State

Executive of the Year: Otis Smith, Orlando Magic. As Knicks GM Isiah Thomas steamrolls on—one gaudy, future-mortgaging contract at a time—towards realizing his dream of compiling the NBA’s first all-combo guard team, Orlando GM Otis Smith also finds himself several steps closer to his long-term vision for the Magic. He has built a terrific youthful foundation centered on second-year center Dwight Howard, who leads the league in rebounding, and second-year point guard Jameer Nelson. Trading Steve Francis to the Knicks relieved the Magic of a $48 million dollar malcontent and will afford more playing time to allow Nelson and newcomer Carlos Arroyo to develop. Smith may have gambled bringing in Darko Milicic at the expense of a first-round draft pick, but from Smith’s perspective, the healthy, youthful Milicic still has the untapped potential that prompted Joe Dumars to select him second overall in 2003 (directly in front of Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, and Dwayne Wade). Smith has assembled a solid core on which to build for the future, while maintaining one of the healthiest salary caps in the league. Expect the Magic to make a splash this off-season in free agency, but not without preserving their cap health to prepare for the highly-anticipated 2007 free agent class. Notable players with contracts expiring in 2007 include Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Chauncey Billups, Dirk Nowitzki, Vince Carter, and Rashard Lewis, among a number of other All-Stars.

Honorable Mention: (gasp!!) Elgin Baylor, Los Angeles Clippers
Dishonorable Mention: Isiah Thomas, New York Knicks

All-NBA First Team:
G Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns
G Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
F Lebron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
F Elton Brand, Los Angeles Clippers
C Jermaine O’Neal, Indiana Pacers

All-NBA Second Team:
G Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat
G Gilbert Arenas, Washington Wizards
F Carmelo Anthony, Denver Nuggets
F Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks
C Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic