Look at that! The playoffs are suddenly upon us. Seems like just yesterday, we were basically praying for an NBA season just to be played. Before we start worrying about all that postseason drama, how about taking a few moments to recognize the accomplishments of an exceptional few and explain why they will/should be honored with this season’s individual awards?

Let’s start with an obvious one, and go from there. Kyrie Irving, a.k.a. the number one overall pick of the Cavs, is clearly going to win Rookie of the Year, and deservedly so. Sure, there were some nice rookies out there like Iman Shumpert of the Knicks, the Pistons’ Greg Monroe, and Golden State’s Klay Thompson, but Irving displayed star power year round.

With an average of 18.5 points and 5.4 assists per game, there is only a 2.4 difference when comparing both of these numbers to the rookie stats of one of the league’s top-point guards, Chris Paul. Do not forget about his eight three-pointers, thirty-four points, nine assists, and MVP Award during the Rising Stars Challenge, either.

Next on the list is Most Improved Player of the Year. As much as you think that Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin is going to be the unanimous winner, you are unfortunately and sadly mistaken. Lin’s story may have been inspirational beyond belief, beautiful, and Hollywood-like, but he did not participate in enough games to contend for this award. His absence from the rotation before being given an opportunity, combined with a serious knee injury, caused him to miss 31 of the team’s 66 games.

Instead, the honor will go to Magic forward Ryan Anderson. Anderson, who completed his fourth season in the league, was able to up his scoring average from 10.6 points per game last year to a career high 16.1 in 2011-2012. In one year, he also increased his minutes per game by 10, jumped up to 7.7 rebounds a night after previously averaging 5.5, and made 32 more three-pointers while still shooting a respectable 39 percent from deep.

Sixth Man of the Year will undoubtedly be won by Oklahoma City forward James Harden. At 16.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game, he is exactly the kind of beast you would want to have, so he can take care of things while the starters are getting a blow. In fact, he actually averaged starter-like minutes, at 31.4 per game, and scored a career high 40 points in an April 18 game at Phoenix. Having a guy like that to come off the bench sort of seems like cheating.

No one is more deserving of Defensive Player of the Year than New York’s Tyson Chandler. He did exactly what the Knicks hoped he would when they brought him in this season–make playing defense cool. New York went from the third worst defensive team in 2010-2011, giving up 105.7 points per game, to the eleventh best in 2011-2012, allowing just 94.7. It was a group effort, but Chandler, his average of 1.4 blocks, and seven-foot-one-inch frame definitely got the ball rolling.

Usually, Coach of the Year goes to the man who takes a bad team and turns them around. That should not be the case this time. Tom Thibodeau should be the recipient for leading his Bulls to the league’s best record at 50-16, despite not having last year’s MVP, Derrick Rose, for 27 games. He coached a suffocating, lock-down defense that surrendered a league best: 88.2 points a game.

Neil Olshey equals Executive of the Year. Who is Neil Olshey, you ask? He is the L.A. Clippers’ General Manager, the one that brought in superstar Chris Paul, solid Caron Butler, clutch Chauncey Billups, scrappy Kenyon Martin, smooth Nick Young, and high-energy Reggie Evans all in the same year, even with the lockout.

He is also the man that took last year’s 32-50 Clippers squad and turned it into a team worthy of a 40-26 record, giving them the fifth best record in the West as they clinched only their third playoff berth since 1997.

Finally, the moment for which you have all been waiting: the Most Valuable Player award. If it truly did go to the “most valuable” player, it would go to Chris Paul for what he means to the Clippers, but instead, it will go to LeBron James for the third time since it was actually claimed by the league’s most outstanding performer.

The Heat forward put up averages of 27.1 points, 6.2 assists, and 7.9 rebounds per game this season. Only Kevin Durant of the Thunder had relatively similar numbers, but his inability to play skin-tight defense like James will cost him the MVP in the end.

Now let’s wait and see!

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If the Orlando Magic (32-19) came to Wednesday night’s game with the mentality that the New York Knicks (26-25) wouldn’t come to play due to the absence of both forward Amare Stoudemire and point guard Jeremy Lin from their lineup, then their 108-86 defeat might have been well deserved.

Despite sporting the third best record in the Eastern Conference, and also fifth in the league, this was not the first or even second time this season that the Magic were the victims of an old-fashioned beatdown where they were simply just run out of the gym. New Orleans, Boston, and Chicago have also embarrassed Orlando this season, and they looked nothing like a team who had won three straight entering the contest.

“We got behind, they hit a lot of shots, they got us down,” said Magic coach Stan Van Gundy. “And then we just sort of died. We didn’t do anything we had talked about doing. We played with no energy. We were very individual at the offensive end. And not much effort.”

Lin and Stoudemire were both inactive for a second consecutive game with a sore left knee and bulging back disk, respectively. While Lin’s injury has been classified as minor, it was announced earlier in the day that Stoudemire would miss the next two to four weeks, with surgery unnecessary.

Carmelo Anthony knew he would have to step up for New York, even though he was dealing with a minor groin injury of his own. He had no problem doing so, scoring a game high 25 points on 9/15 shooting. Anthony had a solid all-around game, adding six rebounds and five assists as well.

With 25 of his own, rookie teammate Iman Shumpert equaled Anthony’s point outpoint and also recorded a new career high in doing so. “Right now, with the coaching change, we’ve been playing extremely well,” said Anthony. “Guys seem to be responding pretty well. We’ve been really locked in on our mission right now.”

A thrashing by the Knicks did not seem likely early on, as Magic point guard Jameer Nelson’s 11 first quarter points, which led both sides, helped his team attain a 29-25 lead going into the second.

Nelson went 7/14 overall and was the Magic’s top scorer with 17. Steve Novak’s jumper with 9:41 remaining in the second would conclude a 6-0 Knicks run to open the second, giving them their first lead of the night at 31-29. After Orlando tied the game with a bucket on the next possession, New York went on a 7-0 run, establishing a 47-38 lead thanks to a lay-in by Anthony at the 2:26 mark.

Two free throws from Magic center Dwight Howard ended the run at 12-0 with 38.5 seconds remaining in the half, but a Novak three at the buzzer – his third of the half – gave the Knicks a commanding 57-41 lead entering the locker room. Howard was essentially a non-factor in the ball game, scoring 12 points and bringing down just five boards.

Novak made four of eight three’s in almost 23 and a half minutes of play, putting up 16 points. They may lead the league in both three pointers attempted and made, but the Magic were shut down in this one, going 9/26 from behind the arc. After making eight three’s in Orlando’s last game, forward Ryan Anderson hit just one in this one, scoring a mere three points.

When everyone thought that the Knicks could not outdo a 32-12 second quarter, they did. It started with 8:45 shown on the third quarter clock. The Knicks went ahead 69-49 on a floater by backup point guard Baron Davis. Between that time and Shumpert’s jumper with 2:58 left they ripped off 21 unanswered.

Shell-shocked, the Magic found themselves trailing 90-59 before taking the floor for the final quarter. They were able to cut the deficit down to 15 with 2:10 left to play, but the Knicks held on easily, 108-86. Orlando shot just 44.8% from the field, and allowed New York to shoot 50.9%.

“It should be frustrating for everybody,” said Howard. “We just have to step up and play the right way, and when we don’t, we have games like this.”

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Orlando Magic forward Ryan Anderson was on absolute fire Monday night, making a career-high eight three-pointers and leading all scorers with 28 points as the Magic (32-18) made their way just north of the border and rolled over the Toronto Raptors (16-34), 117-101.

“I had a lot of open looks,” said Anderson, “I think everybody did a good job finding me.”

Anderson, who continues to have by far the best season of his brief four-year career, with averages of 16.2 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, certainly aided the powerful case that he’s been making for this year’s Most Improved Player Award, with his lights out shooting performance from beyond the arc.

At 29 consecutive games, with at least one made three pointer, Anderson has the longest streak in the league. Not to mention he leads all players in the long range department, with 143 made this season.

“I’m happy for him,” said Magic center Dwight Howard, who was the game’s second-highest scorer, after posting 23 points and 10 rebounds. “I just want him to continue all the things that he’s been doing. We all love the way he’s been playing. He just has to keep it up, and we’re going to need that same effort and energy from him every night. We know he can do it.”

The Magic came out of the gate in a dominant fashion, scoring the game’s first 10 points. One might have gotten the feeling that this game would be over before halftime, after an alley-oop slam by Howard made it a 24-8 Orlando lead with about five minutes remaining in the first.

However, a nice push by the Raptors bench, that concluded with a fastbreak dunk by Ed Davis with 2.4 seconds left in the quarter cut the Magic’s lead all the way down to two, entering the second, 28-26.

Toronto’s second unit completely outplayed Orlando’s, which was non-existent over the first 12 minutes, outscoring them 16-0 and keeping them in the game at least for the time being.

The Raptors evened the score at 28 on the opening possession of the second quarter, but that would end up being the closest they ever came to winning.

Orlando never surrendered the lead, and combatted the Raptors’ 23 point quarter with 33 of their own, giving them a 61-49 lead at the half.

Six threes accounted for each one of Anderson’s 18 first half points. The Magic as a team went 9/19 from distance during that half, and went 15/34 in the entire contest, 44.1%.

Their overall field goal shooting percentage of 54.3% was even more efficient.

Reserve forward for the Magic, Glen Davis, was forced to exit the game with 7:49 left to go in the half, after a hit taken across the forehead from a Raptor opened a cut that would require five stitches.

Davis was able to return to the action in the second half, and finished the game with 13 points and seven rebounds.

After the Raptors fell behind by 20 early in the third, 75-55, they trimmed the deficit down to 12, 80-68, with a Jose Calderon three about eight minutes left.

But by the time the buzzer signaled the expiration of the third quarter, the Magic had regained their 20 point advantage, 93-73.

Failing to reduce the lead to less than 15, the Raptors posed no threat in the final period, and the Magic eased their way to a blowout victory, 117-101.

Orlando point guard Jameer Nelson did a solid job of keeping his teammates involved with seven total assists, and also did his fair share of scoring with 18 points.

The Magic made a concerted effort to stop Toronto’s lethal center, Andrea Bargnani, and definitely succeeded in doing so. Bargnani shot just 3/11 from the floor, with eight points and three rebounds.

Orlando also took better care of the basketball than they had been doing in recent games, turning it over just nine times.

The next stop for the Magic will be in the Big Apple on Wednesday night, as they visit the resurgent and suddenly defensive-minded New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, who are 7-1 since Mike Woodson took over as coach.

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After back-to-back losses to the best two teams the East has to offer – the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls – the Orlando Magic got off the snide in a convincing fashion on Wednesday night with a 103-93 home victory over the Phoenix Suns.

A ten point margin of victory may not be much in today’s NBA, but in reality the final score did not tell the proper story of how lopsided the game truly was in the second half.

The Magic extended their lead to as many as 22 in the fourth quarter before the Suns were able to cut the lead in half with four and a half minutes remaining in the game. Orlando would not allow them to get any closer from that point on. The win improves the Magic’s record to30-18, putting them three and a half games in front of the Philadelphia 76ers for the number three seed in the conference.

“We just wanted to play our game, no matter what the situation was or what we scored,” said Jameer Nelson, the Magic’s starting point guard. “Whoever’s out there, just go out and play to our capabilities so we could be good collectively.”

Entering the game at an even 23-23, the Suns dropped back under .500 with the loss. However, the Magic were well aware that this team was not to be taken lightly because of their record. Despite losing a road game to Florida’s other team the previous night, the Heat, Phoenix stepped onto the Amway Center floor as one of the hottest teams in the league, having gone 9-3 since the All Star break and coming out victorious in 11 of their last 15 overall.

Magic forward Ryan Anderson, who had one of his best performances of the season and finished with a game high 29 points, had nine in the opening quarter on three-three pointers. The usual leading scorer for the Magic, center Dwight Howard, had yet another monster night with 28 points and 16 rebounds, giving him his 39th double-double of the season.

Thirteen first quarter points from Suns guard Jared Dudley kept Phoenix within striking distance after one, as the Magic held a slim 27-21 lead. Dudley only scored four additional points over the next three quarters, but still managed to be the Suns leading scorer with 17. The Magic began opening up the game in the second quarter, outscoring the Suns 30-23 and taking a 57-44 lead at the half.

In fact, it should have been a 59-44 lead, but backup point guard Chris Duhon inexplicably missed an open breakaway layup as the final buzzer of the first half sounded. Luckily for the Magic, that didn’t come back to haunt them.

Suns’ point guard Steve Nash was responsible for 12 of his team’s first half points, but was held scoreless in the second half. He also had just two assists on the night. Orlando kept its foot on the gas pedal in the third, and by quarter’s end they had acquired a 19 point lead, 81-62.

The game appeared to be in hand until Phoenix went on a late run to make it a 96-85 game, however Anderson’s career high-tying seventh three pointer following a Magic timeout killed the Suns’ momentum. The Magic would not surrender their double digit lead and made their way across the finish line with ease.

As a team, the Magic made 11 of their 23 three point attempts. Just as important, they limited the lethal shooters of the Suns to just 4/12 from beyond the arc. Fans kept their eye on Suns’ center Marcin Gortat, who was traded by the Magic last season and is currently having his best season by far, averaging 15.9 points and exactly 10 rebounds per game.

Gortat was Howard’s backup from 2007 until he was dealt in 2011. Although he was able to rip down nine boards, the Magic held him to just four points altogether. “Dwight played extremely well, and I thought we defended Marcin’s offense very, very well,” said Magic coach Stan Van Gundy.

Both teams play their next games on Friday night. The Magic will play host to the Cleveland Cavaliers, while the Suns will visit the Indiana Pacers.

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The Orlando Magic (29-18) suffered one of their worst losses of the season on Monday night, as the league’s best team record-wise, the Chicago Bulls (38-10), handed them a disappointing 85-59 home loss despite the absence of reigning MVP Derrick Rose. Rose sat out his fourth straight contest with a groin injury that he suffered last week.

“Tonight, they sent a team out there that played without their star player and did what they needed to do to win the ballgame,” said Magic reserve Glen Davis. “And they beat us. They beat us with no problem. I wish they would have had Derrick Rose, in a sense.”

Oddly enough, the Magic defeated the Bulls in Chicago with Rose on the floor on March 8, 99-94. But playing their third game in four nights and a back-to-back after falling short in Miami last night may have had the Magic players overly fatigued coming into this matchup with Chicago 11 days later.

Carlos Boozer led the way for the Bulls with a 24 point, 13 rebound effort. Backup guard John Lucas 20 point game, which consisted of nine points in both the first and fourth quarters, was a solid compliment. Dwight Howard was the high scorer on the night for the Magic with 18 points. He also pulled down 12 rebounds.

Ryan Anderson’s 10 points made him the only other Magic player in double figures. Howard shot 8/12 from the field, but the Bulls – who are second in the league in points, allowed with just 89.3 per game – did an excellent job of ball denial on him with Boozer, Joakim Noah, and Omer Asik.

Orlando was also unable to score 20 points in any quarter last night, and has actually failed to do so over their last six quarters of action. The Bulls converted 19 Orlando turnovers into 25 points, and held the Magic to just 35.3% shooting.

“Our offense was pathetic,” said Magic coach Stan Van Gundy. “And that’s something that I’ve got to take a look at because we’ve got better players than that. I’ve got to take a look at what we’re doing because it’s really two games in a row now where we’ve been very, very bad offensively.”

With the score 22-14 in favor of Chicago at the completion of the opening quarter, it was still a single digit ball game. However, after the Bulls outscored the Magic 26-19 in the second, they had extended their halftime lead to a comfortable 15, 48-33. Both teams struggled mightily in the third quarter, as they combined for just 27 points. The Magic were able to outscore their opponent by three and cut the deficit to 60-48 entering the fourth quarter.

The Bulls were not by any means extraordinary scoring the ball in the final period. They put up 25, but the fact that they only gave up 11 is what allowed them to cruise toward their fifth win in six games.

The win was Chicago’s third during the current four game stretch without Rose. He’s missed 14 overall due to back issues that he fought earlier in the season, but that hasn’t prevented the Bulls and their smothering defense from going 10-4 during those games.

For the Magic, it was their third loss in their last four games. Van Gundy did not shy away from taking the blame for his team’s recent struggles.

“When you play the way we played tonight, this is a team-wide thing,” said Van Gundy. “I’ve got to take responsibility.”

The Bulls will make their way up to Toronto on Wednesday for a game against the Raptors, while the Magic will play host to the Phoenix Suns that same night.

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For most of the season it seemed like there was a fairly strong possibility that Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard would actually be wearing a red New Jersey Nets uniform, playing the role of villain when the teams met on March 16 at the Amway Center – one day after the trade deadline – as opposed to continuing on as the Magic’s star, leading them to a comfortable 86-70 victory.

Howard shocked the basketball world on Thursday with his decision to remain under contract with Orlando through next season, and proceeded to follow it up with an 18 point, 6 rebound effort against New Jersey, the team many believed to be the frontrunner in acquiring his services before the deadline.

“I don’t think anyone asked me any questions about trades, so that part is over with,” said Howard about the season-long situation after the win.

Forward Glen Davis and point guard Jameer Nelson each chipped in 13 points as Orlando’s second leading scorers behind Howard. Forward Ryan Anderson’s 12 point night made him the team’s next highest point man, followed by forward Hedo Turkoglu and shooting guard Jason Richardson, who both added 10.

Howard scored 10 of his 18 in the first quarter on a perfect 5/5 from the field. He would then only take two shots in the second quarter, missing both and going scoreless for the remainder of the half.

A 3/3 second half with two made free throws gave him his final 8 points on 8/10 shooting.

New Jersey was considerably banged up, as All Star point guard Deron Williams sat out for the fourth straight game with a sore right calf, along with backup guard Jordan Farmar, suffering from a strained right groin, and center Brook Lopez, who has been unavailable since March 4 with a sprained right ankle.

The Magic certainly took advantage of New Jersey’s health issues, never trailing the rest of the way after falling behind 2-0 in the early moments.

Orlando took an 11-4 lead with a 7-0 run that concluded with 7:41 remaining in the first quarter. They ended the quarter with a 22-18 lead. A 12-2 run extended the lead to double digits, 43-29, with 2:57 left in the half.

Jameer Nelson’s three pointer with 2.1 to go in the half ended a 7-0 Nets run, making it a 46-36 score in favor of Orlando at halftime.

Nets guard/forward Gerald Green, who is on his second 10-day contract with the team, went 6/9 from the floor and led them with 14 points total, half of which came on 3/3 shooting in the first quarter.

A 21-11 scoring stretch by the Magic in the third quarter stretched their lead all the way out to 20 at 67-47, their largest of the night.

The Nets were able to make the score manageable when a long alley-oop pass from forward Deshaun Stevenson accidentally banked into the basket for a three pointer during the final seconds of the third and cut the lead to 72-60 entering the fourth. It was easily one of the most bizarre three pointers ever witnessed.

But the Magic never allowed the Nets to creep any closer than 12 points in the final period, and they coasted toward an 86-70 win.

“I was happy,” said Magic coach Stan Van Gundy about his team’s overall performance. “I thought we did a good job on their starters. Their bench guys, Gerald Green got going, but I was fairly happy with our defense. The only thing I was unhappy with honestly was the 20 turnovers … again, just mindless.”

The Nets now sit at 15-30 following the loss, but just a reasonable five and a half games behind the Milwaukee Bucks for the eighth and final playoff seed in the East. They will host the New Orleans Hornets on Saturday night.

As for The Magic, they are now third in the East with a 29-16 record. They will make their way to Miami for a Sunday night matchup against the Heat, who they have beaten two out of three times this season, including this past Tuesday, 104-98, and trail by only four games in the standings.

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