Highlighting the best (and best at losing) from the month of December.
Recognition in the NBA can be hard to come by, and it can be even more difficult for players and teams in the lottery. These monthly awards, starting with last December, and done through a polling of our writers, highlights the major highs from lottery teams and players over the past month, while also awarding the team that had a dismal month record wise, and thus fell further back into the lottery (while increasing their odds).
Daniel Coughlin
In a nearly direct response to my take down on the Magic, Orlando went on a tear in December with a record of 10-5. That pushed Orlando from the outer limits to the very edge of playoffs. Posting almost 5 full points per game more than in November – along with raising his rebound and assist numbers – Vucevic has survived and thrived amid the Skiles rotations.
Rookie: Bobby Portis
Team: Orlando Magic
Unsung Hero: Ish Smith
Tank of the Month: Phoenix Suns
The Nuggets might be in a slide,but it isn’t THAT bad. The Sixers and Lakers are bad, but that has been a constant for the entire season. The situation in Phoenix is the absolute worst. Coaching staff fired, key player lost for the season, turmoil in the locker room, a Morris brother on the roster – the Suns are burning and all we can do is watch.
Zach Reynolds
Player of the Month: John Wall
Wall has been on a tear on Washington, nearly single-handedly keeping the eighth seed in the playoffs within reach. Averaging 22/12 in a month where Bradley Beal only played six game, Wall is continuing to establish himself as one of the game’s top floor generals.
Rookie of the Month: Karl-Anthony Towns
This one was an easy selection. Towns neared a double-double average in December, and led all rookies in scoring and rebounding and was the only first-year player to eclipse 30 minutes per game. In terms of a consistent impact, no other rookie is doing more than Towns.
Team of the Month: (Indiana, Boston, Detroit, Orlando, and Charlotte)
The team of the month could go to any one of Indiana, Boston, Detroit, Orlando or Charlotte- all of which have elevated the level of play in the Eastern Conference to surprising levels. Predicted to be the inferior conference, again, the fact that each of these teams remains at .500 or better earns them all team of the month honors. Editor’s note: way to not pick a team, Zach!
Unsung Hero of the Month: Ish Smith
I get it. Philadelphia is bad. REALLY bad. But the Sixers are 3-3 since installing Ish Smith as its point guard after going 1-30 without him. The six-game sample size is very small, and his shooting percentage leave a lot to be desired, but fans in Philadelphia finally have an intriguing backcourt player for the first time in over two years.
Tank of the Month: Phoenix Suns
The Suns have lost nine games in-a-row, and have had no answer to the loss of Eric Bledsoe as its top offensive option. Markieff Morris’ situation continues to worsen, and there are underachieving players all around the roster. The Suns should go into sell-now mode and search for trades for Morris, Chandler, Tucker, Teletovic, and other veteran options that might have value to a contender.
Josh Cornelissen
Player of the Month: John Wall
John Wall is angry that Reggie Jackson makes more than he does, that Kyrie Irving is being voted as an All Star Starter despite only a handful of games played, and he is angry that the Wizards are outside the playoff picture. He responded with a line of 22-12-5 alongside over two steals per game, willing his team to keep pace with the bottom of the East as players get start to get healthy.
Rookie of the Month: Karl-Anthony Towns
Not sure how you go anywhere but Karl-Anthony Towns here. His averages of more than 19 and 9 blow the competition away, and his shooting percentages were all above league average. This guy is special.
Team of the Month: Orlando Magic
Orlando went 10-5 in December, including blowout wins over Brooklyn, New Orleans, and Charlotte. Nikola Vucevic came roaring back from injury to put up nearly a 20-10 for the month, and under-the-radar player Andrew Nicholson has stepped into a larger role.
Unsung Hero of the Month: Allen Crabbe
Portland is fighting its descent into the lottery, and its need at small forward has been filled recently by third-year player Allen Crabbe. Crabbe jumped from averaging eight points a game in November to fourteen in December, and he played key roles in tight games at the end of the month as he continues to gain confidence.
Tank of the Month: Phoenix Suns
4 wins, 14 losses. Santa brought coal to the city of Phoenix in December, as the Suns are in an absolute tailspin; their 4-14 month fits into a 5-20 mark over their last 25. Coaches are being fired, Eric Bledsoe tore his meniscus, and players are actively being shopped. This could be the tank of the year if this keeps up.
Gabe Allen
Player of the Month: C.J. McCollum
John Wall is the best answer, but I’ll mix it up and take C.J. McCollum. The third-year guard had to step up with Damian Lillard sidelined by plantar fasciitis, and so he did. McCollum averaged 22.3 points (44.4 FG, 41.9 3Pt, 75.6 FT), 5.3 assists, and 4.1 rebounds in 36 minutes per game through sixteen contests. McCollum might not be the obvious answer long-term next to a dismal defender like Lillard, but if the Trail Blazers can surround those two with three solid players who are above-average defenders, the backcourt pairing could conceivably become one of the league’s best with proper seasoning.
Rookie of the Month: Karl Anthony-Towns
Sorry for not going against the grain again, but in a month where most rookies appeared to slam head-first into the rookie wall, Towns improved the majority of his per-game averages. He also hit seven of his 19 attempts from beyond the arc. KAT is already an All-Star-level player as a rookie, and he’ll soon be a household name—his versatility standing out as the model for the modern generation of bigs.
Unsung Hero: Richaun Holmes
Per basketball-reference.com, the 76ers’ Richaun Holmes shot 67.6 percent from the field on 43-of-69 through fifteen December games, recording 6.9 points and 2.5 rebounds in 14.2 minutes per night. Ish Smith is earning plenty of praise, and deservedly so, but Holmes has provided a spark as well, carrying his recent holiday heat into the first few games of the new year.
Tank of the Month: Phoenix Suns
Eric Bledsoe’s injury has the Suns destined for the West’s cellar. It’s been obvious for a long time that they aren’t going to get a fair deal for Markieff Morris, but Robert Sarver still hasn’t moved him. Coach Jeff Hornacek’s crew of assistants were fired, and the former Suns guards’ job is on the line. There’s a real stench in Phoenix, and the dumpster-fire-sale may soon begin.
Jon Elliot
Lottery Player of the Month: Andre Drummond
John Wall has been exciting to watch over the past month, but an 8-8 record, while decent for a current lottery-bound team, is underwhelming for a team that was in the middle of the playoff standings last year. Drummond has helped his squad to a 9-6 record in December, posting 18.2 points and 15.1 (below his season average, incredibly) rebounds per contest. He has actually gotten to the free-throw line more often this month and rose his abysmal free-throw percentage from 31.5 in November to 36.8 in December.
Lottery Rookie of the Month: Karl-Anthony Towns
It’s not even that close. Okafor is the only real competition to Towns, but Okafor doesn’t have to play alongside Andrew Wiggins, Zach Lavine, and Ricky Rubio. The talent-bereft Sixers squad has led Okafor to be the only real weapon on the court, while Towns is putting up All-Star numbers with a ton of talent around him. 18.6 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.6 blocks, and a field goal percentage of 55.3 percent are the reasons why Towns strolled to the December Lottery Rookie of the Month honors. He’s all but wrapped up the end-of-season award too, with a month and a half before the All-Star break to boot.
Lottery Team of the Month: Orlando Magic
Orlando has made a push through December to prove that they’re a playoff-caliber team. After posting a 10-5 record with a respectable Defensive Rating of 101.5 (11th in NBA) and an Offensive Rating of 104.9 (7th in NBA), the Magic jumped right into the thick of the playoff race in the East at 19-13. Vucevic had an outstanding month, and the continuity of the team’s core seems to be gelling at the right time.
Unsung Hero: Rajon Rondo
I don’t know that Rondo’s necessarily gotten enough credit for the turnaround in Sacramento. The Kings are knocking on the door of the playoffs, a feat unthinkable at this time last year with all the turmoil surrounding the team’s ownership and it’s All-Star player, Demarcus Cousins. Rondo led the league in assists in December (12.1 per game) and was 7th in steals (2.1 per game). He seems to have returned to most of his original “Big Four” form from his Boston days. It’s hard to imagine the Kings sniffing the postseason without him this year.
Lottery Tank of the Month: Los Angeles Lakers
Phoenix and Philadelphia are easily right up there with the Lakers for December, but the Lakers allowed the most points (108.4) per contest and the best Field Goal Percentage (48.3) while having the worst Effective Field Goal Percentage (46.2) during the month. They also had the second-worst Offensive Rating (97.5) and worst Defensive Rating (110.1) during the stretch, leading to their 4-13 record in the last month of 2015. They played most of their games on the road, but even a strong month from the league’s leading vote getter for the All-Star Game, Kobe Bryant, couldn’t propel them out of the cellar.
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