James Harden
The move to point guard will boost Harden's assist numbers while not hurting his scoring numbers. If you don't remember, Harden averaged 29, 7.5 assists, and 6 rpg. last season... Probably the best numbers but still didn't win MVP. I think this is his year with Curry and KD on the same team their numbers will go down a bit and I believe Lebron could also dip a little in his numbers. Westbrook and PG13 are the other challengers but I think the Rockets have a better record than the Thunder and PG won't get his numbers up to that of Harden's.
Runner up: Russell Westbrook
Rookie of the Year
Joel Embiid
If he can stay healthy, he looks like he could be a dominant center similar to Dwight Howard in his prime with a better jumper. The other rookies in this class should be limited ex: Simmons will miss first 20 games, Ingram is behind Deng, Dunn behind Rubio/Lavine, and the other rookies look like they will start this season as role players.
Runner up: Brandon Ingram
Defensive MVP
Hassan Whiteside
He averaged an insane 3.7 blocks per game and has the most impact on teams scoring in the paint. If the Heat make the playoffs and are one of the top in the league of points allowed in the paint, it is hard to not vote for Whiteside. Jordan was a far second in blocks per game at 2.3 which Whiteside could have doubled if he played the same mpg as Jordan.
Runner up: Kawhi Leonard
6 Man of the Year
Allen Crabbe
He just signed a 4 year 75 million dollar contract to be a sixth man... They expect him to play 30 minutes a game and will definitely not start at 2 guard over Mccollum. Averaging just 10 points last season I expect that to go up to 15-16 and to get a couple threes a game.
Runner up: Jamal Crawford
Most Improved Player
Dennis Schroder
He definitely will have a great shot at this award as the Hawks let Teague go to make room for him to be the starting point guard. He averaged 11 points and 4 assists off the bench last year in just 20 mpg. I expect him to get up to 34 mpg and see his assist numbers go up to 7 while his ppg rise to 16 making him a prime candidate for this award. Harrison Barnes is also in a great situation to improve his numbers.
Runner up: Harrision Barnes
Coach of the Year
Gregg Poppovich
Because GOAT
Runner up: Dave Joeger, because I'm a Kings fan
