2016-17 NBA Preview - Part 3: The Hardware

Now that I've crowed on about why your team's not going to beat the Warriors/Cavs for several thousand words, it's time to get to the real fun of Banter's NBA Season Previw - The Hardware.

(Premature) Envelopes Please!

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - JOEL EMBIID PHILADELPHIA 76ers

With teammate and #1 pick Ben Simmons gone for possibly the whole season, and Kris Dunn being brought on slightly slower than first thought, this could be Embiid's award to lose provided he can stay healthy. While pinning ROY on a guy who's missed two full seasons prior to his debut, the patience seems to have paid off with Embiid, who has been beyond impressive in a small sample.

Sternly reminding everyone why he was so hyped pre-injury, Embiid gets to compete against a pretty shallow class, with a number of likely impact-rookies - Dunn, Jaylen Brown, Domantas Sabonis, etc - stuck in competition for minutes. Embiid will have all the opportunity, he just needs to dodge some bad injury luck.

CONTENDERS: Kris Dunn, Marquese Chriss, Buddy Hield, Dario Saric


SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR - BRANDON KNIGHT, PHOENIX SUNS


Much as it pains me not to go with Z-Bo, newly-minted to Memphis' bench mob, I have to give Brandon Knight the benefit of the doubt here. There's just too much potential for him to beast weaker second units, and being able to see minutes at both guard spots alongside either of Phoenix's starters will give him ample opportunity to contribute.

Knight has lots going for him as a young, athletic and largely-overqualified sixth man on a free-flowing team whose backcourt is sure to buoy its offense. What's more, the biggest knock on Knight - his poor shooting -might be moot, since Jamal Crawford has won this award three times.

CONTENDERS: Zach Randolph, Evan Turner, Bismack Biyombo, Andre Iguodala, Enes Kanter, Jamal Crawford


COACH OF THE YEAR - QUIN SNYDER, UTAH JAZZ

COY is always kind of a crapshoot since it's often predicated on defying expectation and may have the most abstract criteria of any of the NBA's awards.

This year, like any, it could go a number of ways: Pop is always a contender, Brad Stevens may steer the Celts' ascent high enough to snare the honor, Tom Thibodeau will preside over a T-Wolves leap, and someone else will come out of nowhere like Dave Joerger and Terry Stotts did last year.

But Snyder might stand the best chance, with Utah's stock set to skyrocket up the West standings, likely crashing the 50-win barrier and possibly homecourt with a top-4 seed. Snyder's coaching chops have been put to the test through two injury-riddled seasons on the Jazz bench; if he's as good with a healthy lineup as he is with reserves, he'll be right in the thick of this race.

CONTENDERS: Brad Stevens, Gregg Popovich, Tom Thibodeau, Coach X


MOST IMPROVED PLAYER - MYLES TURNER, INDIANA PACERS

This might be easily said after Turner opened the season with a 30/16/2stl/4blk rampage, but this is sort of something I've seen coming; stashing him all last year in my fantasy keeper league, while happily making him the fourth round's first pick in my yearly.

Turner possesses uncanny movement for a player of his size and reach, and his range on offense makes him a nightmare to account for pretty much anywhere on the floor. Now that Indiana's starting center spot is unquestionably his, the consistent playing time and confidence boost should translate to multi-faceted improvement for a player with such a vast potential of elite skill sets.

CONTENDERS: D'Angelo Russell, Devin Booker, Victor Oladipo, Dennis Schroder, Clint Capela, 


DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR - DRAYMOND GREEN, GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS

So it's pretty much accepted that Kawhi Leonard is the NBA's best defender. He sustains himself on swingmen's souls. But just like LeBron James has been the NBA's best player for the last decade and has only 4 MVPs to his name, best doesn't always equate to the award. I think Draymond ships it this year, for four reasons:

1. He's lost two of the closest voting races in DPOY history to Kawhi the past couple seasons.

2. He's going to have to exert himself far less on offense with Durant eating so many touches, and can devote even more effort to defensive destruction. Draymond will also be playing with a chip on his shoulder, as he knows he very possibly cost his team an NBA title, and is not the type to take that lightly.

3. Tim Duncan - the NBA's leader in defensive plus-minus last season - has now become repeat liability Pau Gasol. The Spurs' D is thus highly unlikely to crush the team rankings like they did last year, removing a proverbial feather from Leonard's cap.

4. As much as we hate to admit, there's definitely a "boredom bias" against awarding a multiple-repeat winner, at least among some voters. As close as it's been between these two, that could be enough to tilt things Green's way. Said bias is only going to be further shifted by what you're about to read below.

CONTENDERS: Kawhi Leonard, Rudy Gobert, Hassan Whiteside, DeAndre Jordan


MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: KAWHI LEONARD, SAN ANTONIO SPURS


The pieces are all in place for this to happen for last year's runner-up. Timmy D's retirement means the Spurs are now unquestionably Kawhi's team, and he's a pretty consistent occasion-riser. A completely dominant defender across multiple positions, and one of the NBA's most efficient offensive weapons, he's likely to further benefit from a number of outside factors.

Curry and Durant will likely devour each other's odds of winning, LeBron will be on cruisiest of controls until April, and Westbrook and Harden's teams aren't going to be good enough for them to win unless they massively upend historical precedent. As such, Leonard may have just stepped into MVP status by default.

CONTENDERS: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant


EAST ALL-STARS
STARTERS: G-Kyle Lowry, G-Kyrie Irving, F- Jimmy Butler, F-LeBron James, F-Paul George

Not really a whole lot to think about here; these guys should be pretty clear-cut starters in a perfect world. In reality Melo will probably swerve into a starting spot, but unless the Knicks greatly exceed expectations it won't be in merit.

BENCH: G-John Wall, G-Giannis Antetokounmpo, F-Paul Millsap, F-Andre Drummond, F-Al Horford, WC-Demar DeRozan, WC-Isaiah Thomas 

Wall is an obvious pick, and could-be starter if the Wiz didn't suck.  The Bucks are going to be mediocre at best this year, but Antetokounmpo will be hard to ignore when he's flirting with triple-doubles nightly.  Isaiah Thomas also gets the nod for what should be a top-3 team, ditto for DeRozan.

Millsap can also punch his ticket; coming off a career year, his all-around game even more valuable to Atlanta with also-slotted Al Horford gone, whose Celtics could very much be a "Should Have Two All-Stars" team. Andre Drummond gets a slight nod over Carmelo Anthony, mostly because Detroit will be noticeably better than New York.

Snubs: Carmelo Anthony, Kemba Walker, Hassan Whiteside, Kevin Love, Dwyane Wade, Reggie Jackson, Serge Ibaka


WEST ALL STARS
STARTERS: G-Stephen Curry, G-Russell Westbrook, F-Kevin Durant, F-Kawhi Leonard,
F-Draymond Green

Picking between the Curry/Westbrook/Harden/Paul Mount Rushmore of backcourt awesomeness is like pulling teeth with no anesthetic; those spots can go any way. Leonard is a no-brainer at one frontcourt spot, while Durant and Green should both still rep for the Dubs if reality meets expectations.

BENCH: G-Chris Paul, G-James Harden, F-Blake Griffin, F-Anthony Davis, F-Karl-Anthony Towns, WC-Damian Lillard, WC-Marc Gasol
Harden and CP3 are automatic, Blake Griffin should be as well if he can avoid breaking his hand on someone's face. Karl-Anthony Towns has all kinds of momentum in his favor, and if the Wolves make a leap, he'll likely be here. As should Davis, with his annual Great Player/Awful Team challenge. Bad D and all, Lillard is still a must for one Wild Card spot, and a healthy Gasol is still an all-around beast for what should be a top-5 team.

Lots more depth of top-tier talent here obviously, with Cousins and Aldridge both serious threats to Gasol's spot. Cousins would have pretty safe odds if the Kings weren't in complete disarray, while Aldridge is in limbo and might not even be on the Spurs by midseason.

Snubs: DeMarcus Cousins, LaMarcus Aldridge, Klay Thompson, Gordon Hayward, Mike Conley, Eric Bledsoe, DeAndre Jordan, CJ McCollum, Derrick Favors, Dirk Nowitzki 


ALL-NBA TEAMS

FIRST: G-Russell Westbrook, G-James Harden, F-LeBron James, F-Kawhi Leonard, C-Anthony Davis

SECOND: G-Stephen Curry, G-Chris Paul, F-Kevin Durant, F-Paul George, C- Karl-Anthony Towns

THIRD: G-Kyle Lowry, G-Damian Lillard, F-Draymond Green, F-Paul Millsap, C-DeAndre Jordan

Now comes the fun part: Seeing how wrong I am.

Enjoy the season everyone!