the Lamar Blogom Midseason Awards

i'm going to keep this relatively simple.

most valuable player- kobe bryant.
pushing the lakes to 50-win pace despite have a shit supporting cast and being without his number 2. for nearly half the season so far. his numbers are down from the god-like heights that they were at last season, but that's part of the reason that the lakes are playing so far above their own heads. the knock against kb24 has always been that he doesn't involve his supporting players enough (shaq would have been a supporting player in this line of reasoning.) now, he's doing it and everyone seems to be giving dirk nowitzki love. dirk is great, but he has the best supporting cast in the entire league and doesn't do much but score.

most improved player-monta ellis.
shoot first pgs, as a rule, do not make the transition from high school to the pros. hell, they don't even make the transition from high school to college. credit monta for shitting all over that nugget of common wisdom. he's proved to be an electric presence off the warriors bench, even filling in for the oft-injured baron davis when he goes down. gives leandro barbosa serious competition for the best quick guard in the league title. expect him to wrest it away one of these years.

biggest balls- gilbert arenas.
whether its draining 3s from past 38 feet or not watching potential game-winners as they streak towards the basket, with every game he cements his status as the best combo guard ever. take that, jamal crawford!

once and future king- amare stoudemire.
came back like jordan, wearing the 1. it's not to play games with you, it's to aim at you. if this is 80-90%, i shudder to think what the suns will be like when STAT is fully back and primed for explosion. although he doesn't yet have the leaping ability that made him what he was 2 years back, he cannot and will not be ignored when he gets the rock down low. makes dwight howard look like a pussy bitch.

fucking play me!- darko milicic.
i know that per-40 numbers aren't entirely accurate, and i know that he has some trouble with fouls. but the guy's 40 minutes numbers are 13.1 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 3.1 blocked shots. what, oh what, will it take for us to see the serbian gangster unleashed upon the league? just let him stay on the court, even if he does look lost on occasion. i know this has been said before, but free darko.

coach of the year-phil jackson.
it seems contradictory to give coach of the year to the head of a team that i just accused of being entirely kobe's creation. well, give credit where credit is due. he managed to make an 11-man (occasionally) rotation out of what would be scrap parts on most teams. the fact of the matter is that when the lakes are entirely healthy they could go 12-deep. not that those 12 players are some kind of special bench force that's full of super-secret talent. phil knows what lineups work well together and takes care to put those players on the floor with each other. that's pretty much what a good coach does.

executive of the year- jerry west.
i already told you.