Slam Dunk Central

Defensive Player

Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics

This is the easiest decision to make of any of the awards. Garnett, probably the best interior defender in the Association, made defense a team priority as soon as he came to Boston. Going into the final night of the regular season, the Celtics led the NBA in defensive efficiency (a measure of the number of points a team allows per 100 possessions) with 96.1 points, 2.9 points better than the second best team and opponents’ field goal percentage, 41.9 percent, 1.4 percent better than the next team. Garnett’s impact on the Celtics defense has been palpable.

Rookie

Kevin Durant, Seattle Supersonics

Durant’s only serious competition is Atlanta’s Al Horford, who averaged about 10 points and 10 rebounds per game. However, Durant averaged 20 points with four rebounds and nearly a steal and a block per game. Durant played great ball in March, when he shot 52 percent from the field (the only month in which he shot higher than 41 percent) and scored 21.8 points per game. Durant wasn’t as good in his rookie year as many other past recipients of this award (think LeBron James, Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson), but he has the potential to become a top-five player in the Association.

Executive

Mitch Kupchak, Los Angeles Lakers

Kupchak’s success really started with his handling of the Kobe Bryant Tirade last May. He remained a calm and poised head of an organization. His signing of Derek Fisher gave the Lakers and especially Kobe  a sense of security and leadership. Kupchak has been given a little too much credit for the development of Andrew Bynum. It was Jim Buss, owner Jerry’s son, who was the main catalyst behind the Lakers drafting Bynum out of high school and the biggest proponent of keeping Bynum last season rather than trading him to New Jersey for Jason Kidd. But Kupchak drafted Jordan Farmar, traded extra scraps Brian Cook and Maurice Evans for Trevor Ariza (who played great before getting hurt) and made a flat-out heist in acquiring Pau Gasol trading two scrubs (Kwame Brown and Javaris Crittenton), one retired player (Aaron McKie), a draft pick who is playing in Europe (Mark Gasol, Pau’s brother) and two future first-round picks, both of which will probably be at the end of the round considering the Lakers’ success). The Gasol trade was one of the most one-sided sports trades of the last 20 years.

Sixth Man

Manu Ginobili, San Antonio Spurs

It could be argued that Ginobili is the Spurs’ MVP. He is one of the best late-game scorers in the NBA and plays well enough to be an annual All-Star.

Most Improved Player

Hedo Turkoglu, Orlando Magic

Turkoglu improved his scoring (from 13.3 to 19.5), rebounding (4.0 to 5.7) and assisting (3.2 to 5.0) and really played the way the Magic thought $100-plus million free agent Rashard Lewis would. Dwight Howard played like an MVP-candidate early in the season, but Turkoglu was The Man down the stretch of many games for Orlando.

Coach

Byron Scott, New Orleans Hornets

Of all the current elite teams in the NBA, the Hornets were the most likely to be included in the mix. Teams are usually reflections of their coaches, so it makes sense that the Hornets play with the same toughness and determination that Scott exhibited when he was a player. New Orleans is led on the court by Chris Paul, but he is reflection of Scott.

All-NBA 1st Team

G  Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant

F LeBron James, Kevin Garnett

C Dwight Howard

Most Valuable Player

Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics

Like many others, I have agonized over this selection for weeks. Garnett’s numbers aren’t sexy (18.8 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.4 steals, 1.3 blocks), but his impact is obvious. If he didn’t get traded to the Celtics, they would have been led by Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, a good duo but not one that strikes fear in the hearts of title contenders. If Garnett didn’t get traded to the Celtics, valuable role players like James Posey, Eddie House, Sam Cassell and P.J. Brown probably wouldn’t have signed with Boston. If Garnett didn’t get traded to the Celtics, one of the most storied franchises in sports wouldn’t have been resuscitated. Pierce and Allen would go another season in their special careers without a realistic shot of winning a title. Doc Rivers would be on the chopping block. The NBA wouldn’t have a reason to create a slew of new Boston Celtics gear to sell to its fans. The Eastern Conference wouldn’t have a team which could be a serious competitor to the Western Conference elite. No player has been more valuable to his team than what Kevin Garnett has been to the Boston Celtics.

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