After signing with Phoenix as a free agent last summer, point guard Steve Nash has taken the Suns from a non-playoff team to the best team in the league. Nash is my Most Valuable Player as I pick award winners for the 2004-05 season.

Exceeding
expectations
Nash has gotten the Suns to play beyond what most thought capable of them.

There's no question he is the focal point of the Suns in terms of their uptempo style of play.

He has a positive approach to the game, and the way he distributes the ball makes every teammate on the court with him a better player.

In Phoenix I think Nash is surrounded by more explosive players than he was in Dallas so that makes the Suns fast break better.

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In the 6-foot-10 Amare Stoudemire Nash has a legitimate inside tough guy so when he drives to the hole he can find Stoudemire for passes close to the basket.

As good as the Mavericks were with Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Finley starring with Nash, Dallas never had a big, tough guy like Stoudemire who gets points inside, can get to the foul line, and can battle the top big men on other teams.

Nash had good outside shooters with him when he played for the Mavericks, but the Suns' overall perimeter threat may be even better than that of Dallas.

Coach of the Year
My choice is Scott Skiles of the Bulls.

Considering where Chicago was a year ago, and the problems it was having getting center Eddy Curry and power forward Tyson Chandler to perform on a consistent basis, what Skiles has done is tremendous.

Mix in the Bulls' frontcourt with their young backcourt and some veteran role players and you can see how Skiles has brought it all together for Chicago, making all the pieces fit in transforming the team into a winner.

Looking at the statistics, Skiles has the Bulls playing the best defense in the league.

Much credit goes to Skiles for getting his to team to overcome a brutal 0-9 start this season.

In getting his players to respond to the challenge of digging out of the early hole, Skiles has shown tremendous leadership as a coach.

Never at any time did Skiles let his players start thinking their talent corresponded to their early-season won-loss record.

Before coming to Chicago, Skiles had been in Phoenix as head coach.

I think he is now handling some things better than in the past.

He's letting things like bad shots, careless turnovers, questionable calls and defensive mistakes roll off his back a little easier than he did in the past.

Skiles still reacts to these things, but I can tell that he's not being consumed by them and instead is keeping his eye on the big picture.

The time to address the little things is in practice, and not in a game where it's quickly on to the next play.

Skiles has grown as a coach and the Bulls are all the better because of that.

Rookie of the Year
Orlando's Dwight Howard gets the nod.

The 6-foot-11 Howard, who did not play college basketball and was chosen by the Magic with the first overall pick in the 2004 NBA draft, has been a pleasure to watch this season.

The voting for Rookie of the Year is primarily based on statistics, and Howard's stats are good as he's averaging double figures in points and rebounds.

Howard has gotten stronger as the season has gone on, and he's not hit the wall like so many rookies tend to do.

Other positives for Howard are he's got a great attitude, loves to play the game, and is very good defensively -- and that's hard to say about any young player.

His instincts are good as far as challenging and blocking shots.

He's an exceptional rebounder, and his low-post game has gotten very solid since the beginning of the season.

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