TIME TO HAND OUT SOME HARDWARE

The NBA's regular season comes to a close Wednesday night and the race to first place, race to last place and playoff picture is all nearly complete. Now time for some awards. The NBA will soon announce the winners of Rookie of the Year, Most Improved Player, Sixth Man, Coach of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, MVP, All-NBA team, All-Defensive team and All-Rookie team.
Ballots are due Thursday afternoon, so here's a peak at my picks.

Rookie of the Year
Derrick Rose. Without question, Rose has lived up to expectations associated with being the top pick in last summer's draft. Solid from start to finish, Rose averaged 16.8 points, 6.3 assists and 3.9 rebounds a game. His only legitimate competition was New Jersey's Brook Lopez and Memphis' O.J. Mayo. But only Rose was able to lead his team to the playoffs with a 41-40 record (with a game left), a year after Chicago finished 33-49.

Most Improved Player
Danny Granger. As much as I would've loved to give my pick to Roger Mason Jr., Granger's overall body of work and significant strides top the strong, much-improved seasons posted by Mason, Devin Harris and Kevin Durant. Averaging 25.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.4 blocks, Granger upped his scoring by 6.1 points a game and this season. Granger also ranks fourth in the league in fourth-quarter scoring behind LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade.

Sixth Man
Jason Terry. With his 19.5 points, 3.4 assists and 1.3 steals a game, Terry edges out a field also led by Lamar Odom, Travis Outlaw and Nate Robinson, in my book. The 10th-year vet is averaging more points than each of teh last 18 winners of this award as Ricky Pierce of the Bucks was the last sixth man to average more (23.0 ppg) in the 1989-90 season.

Coach of the Year
Mike Brown. Really wanted to give this to another Brown – Larry – but the Charlotte Bobcats fizzled, fell out of the playoff hunt and likely will finish up with only three more wins than they did last year. Sure Mike Brown's job is rather easy when you have LeBron James, but often overlooked are his skills as a defensive coach. The Cavs are the best defensive team in the league, holding foes to a league-best 91.1 points a game. They own a 40-1 record at home and have homecourt advantage locked up throughout the playoffs.

Defensive Player
Dwight Howard. Dwyane Wade's 2.2 steals and 1.3 blocks are impressive stats, but Howard is simply a monster, boasting league highs in rebounds (13.9 a game) and blocks (2.9).

Most Valuable Player
LeBron James. With 28.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.15 blocks, James posted the finest all-around individual season since Michael Jordan's 32.5-point, 8.0-rebound, 8.0-assist, 2.9-steal, 0.8 campaign the 1988-89 season. He led his team not only to the top record in the East but also in the league. Take him off that team and they're lottery contenders, which couldn't be said of the squad of his closest competitor, Kobe Bryant.

All-NBA Team
First team: F LeBron James, F Tim Duncan, C Dwight Howard, G Dwyane Wade, G Kobe Bryant. Second team: F Pau Gasol, F Paul Pierce, C Yao Ming, G Brandon Roy, G Chris Paul. Third team: F Dirk Nowitzki, F Chris Bosh, C Shaquille O'Neal, G Tony Parker, G Devin Harris.

All-Defensive Team
First team: F Kevin Garnett, F Shane Battier, C Dwight Howard, G Dwyane Wade, G Chris Paul. Second team: F Ron Artest, F Emeka Okafor, C Marcus Camby, G Kobe Bryant, G Rajon Rondo.

All-Rookie Team
First team: F Michael Beasley, F Kevin Love, C Brook Lopez, G O.J. Mayo, G Derrick Rose. Second team: F Jason Thompson, F Rudy Fernandez, C Marc Gasol, G Eric Gordon, G Mario Chalmers.

-- Mike Jones