It’s two thirds of the way through the NBA season, and as the final trimester gets set to tip off and the trade deadline passes, focus will eventually turn to debate over end-of-season awards. The Toronto Raptors are in a long, one-season drought on that front, with no player bringing home individual hardware a season ago.
Still, last season’s franchise-best year saw the team make out well in the voting. A refresher:
MVP: Lowry finished 10th in voting
Most Improved: Lowry received a vote
Defensive Player of the Year: Lowry received a vote
Sixth Man of the Year: Patrick Patterson received a vote
All-Defense: Lowry received three votes, Bismack Biyombo received one
All-Rookie: Norman Powell received three votes
All-NBA: Lowry named to Third-Team, DeRozan placed 21st
Coach of the Year: Dwane Casey placed fifth
Executive of the Year: Masai Ujiri placed third
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Media Relations award: Raptors were a finalist
PBWA Rudy Tomjanovich award: Casey won
NBA sportsmanship award: Luis Scola won for Atlantic Division
Teammate of the Year award: Luis Scola finished ninth
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D-League Most Improved: Axel Toupane won
D-League Sportsmanship award: Scott Suggs won
That’s not a bad season by any means. This year, the Raptors are probably in tougher – they’ve played worse, Casey is definitely not in consideration, their rookies have played sporadically, and their sixth man has missed nearly a quarter of a season due to injury. It seems unlikely anyone is going to take home a major award, but Lowry and DeRozan both have shots at All-NBA nods, and a lot can still happen over the final 25 games of the season.
As it stands now, Lowry’s a long-shot even for MVP consideration, despite is profound on-off court splits. DeRozan actually has better odds, coming in anywhere from 100- to 250-to-1, while Lowry is in the 150- to 250-to-1 range. Neither are anywhere close to the top, where James Harden and Russell Westbrook look to be battling it out, with some major names not too far behind. Casey, meanwhile, is 8-to-1 for Coach of the Year. The Raptors, meanwhile, are anywhere from 25- to 45-to-1 to win the NBA Championship. (Odds aren’t yet listed for other awards.)
Of course, with so much time left, it might be worthwhile to head to casinoUK, collect some sign-up bonuses, and bet with long odds on a turnaround in any of these areas. There’s a lot of season left, and if the Raptors were to push back toward their previous perch, maybe Lowry, DeRozan, or a healthy and back-to-the-bench Patterson can get some love.
