NBA Insider with Ken Berger

My votes are in for the NBA’s 2007-08 regular season awards. At the risk of opening myself up to ridicule – hey, why else would I have a blog? – here are my selections and some of my thinking that went along with them:

Rookie of the Year
1. Al Horford, Hawks
2. Kevin Durant, Sonics
3. Luis Scola, Rockets
Why: Horford was the dominant player on a playoff team; Durant the dominant player on a lousy team. Scola had the most impact of any rookie, and I was tempted to put him ahead of Durant. Very tempted.

Coach of the Year
1. Maurice Cheeks, 76ers
2. Rick Adelman, Rockets
3. Eddie Jordan, Wizards
Why: A lot of deserving choices, not the least of whom was Doc Rivers. But Doc Gooden could have coached that team. What Cheeks did in Philadelphia – making the playoffs with a young team that most had pegged for the lottery – makes him the obvious choice. Eddie Jordan deserves mention because of what the Wizards did without Gilbert Arenas.

Defensive Player of the Year
1. Kevin Garnett, Celtics
2. Shane Battier, Rockets
3. Rajon Rondo, Celtics
Why: More deserving candidates in this category that any other. Bruce Bowen and Tim Duncan will get a lot of votes on reputation, but this should be a performance award. Garnett thoroughly upgraded the Celtics at the defensive end of the floor; Battier is the most productive wing defender in the league and can also clamp down on shooting guards; and Rondo emerged as a tenacious point defender.

All-NBA

First Team
F Kevin Garnett
F LeBron James
C Dwight Howard
G Chris Paul
G Kobe Bryant

Second Team
F Carlos Boozer
F Tim Duncan
C Amare Stoudemire
G Steve Nash
G Tracy McGady

Third Team
F Carmelo Anthony
F Antawn Jamison
C Marcus Camby
G Deron Williams
G Allen Iverson
Why: The first team is obvious. After that, it got tough. I like to have each team with a legitimate starting five; i.e., small forward/power forward, point guard/shooting guard, and as close to a true center as possible. I had to make an exception with Boozer and Duncan on the second team and D-Wil and AI on the third. I struggled to find a place for Rasheed Wallace on the third team, but went with Carmelo because I didn’t want to break my rule again. What about Dirk Nowitzki? I picked Jamison on the third team instead because he picked up the scoring and leadership slack with Arenas out.

Sixth Man
1. Manu Ginobili, Spurs
2. Jason Terry, Mavericks
3. Leandro Barbosa, Suns
Why: Excellent arguments could be made for Utah’s Kyle Korver and Atlanta’s Josh Childress. Ginobili is a given.

Most Improved
1. Hedo Turkoglu, Magic
2. Tyson Chandler, Hornets
3. LaMarcus Aldridge, Trail Blazers
Why: Turkoglu is a lock. Aldridge and Chandler were pretty much neck-and-neck, but I gave the edge to Chandler because his numbers went up more than Aldridge’s compared to his career averages and he played on a better team.

MVP
1. Kobe Bryant, Lakers
2. Chris Paul, Hornets
3. LeBron James, Cavaliers
4. Kevin Garnett, Celtics
5. Dwight Howard, Magic
Why: I bet 90 percent of the voters will have the same top four, with some putting KG ahead of LeBron and others putting Paul ahead of Bryant. As LeBron said recently, Kobe has been the best all-around player in the league for five years and deserves his first MVP trophy. I chose Howard over Tim Duncan and Carlos Boozer because Duncan’s numbers and impact were down and Utah is too flimsy on the road; not all Boozer’s fault, but certainly worthy of consideration.

What, no Knicks? The NBA doesn’t sanction awards such as First-Team All-Overpaid, Most Disappointing Player, and Least Improved.