Page 12-The Michigan Daily- Tuesday, April 13, 1993

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SPORTING UIEWS

Olajuwon should top
list of NBA awards

by Chad A. Safran
Daily Sports Writer
Although most teams in the NBA
still have eight games or so remain-
ing before they make plans for the
first round of the playoffs or make
plans for that first golf outing of the
offseason, the time for postseason
awards is just around the corner.
Here are the recipients of this year's
top prizes:
Most Valuable Player: In previ-
ous years, the decision was easy.
Choose between Larry Bird, Magic
Johnson and Michael Jordan. The
last time one of those three did not
win the award was 1983 when
Moses Malone captured the league's
top prize while leading the
Philadelphia 76ers to the champi-
onship.
This year the candidate list is as
long as a Dallas Mavericks' losing
streak - Charles Barkley, Hakeem
Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing, Domin-
ique Wilkins, Brad Daugherty, Mark
Price, David Robinson, Shaquille
O'Neal and, of course, Jordan.
Trimming the list, four players have
a chance - Barkley, Olajuwon,
Ewing and Jordan.

And the winner is ... "The
Dream." Yes, Olajuwon. One simple
reason is that he is the Houston
Rockets. Barkley and Ewing have
more supporting players than a Cecil
B. DeMille film (he directed "The
Ten Commandments" and "Ben
Hur"). The argument against Jordan
is that he has won it before and the
Bulls have lost more games than
they did a year ago. Yet, he will lead
the league in scoring for the seventh
consecutive season, top all other
players in steals and Chicago has the
third-best record in the NBA.
Olajuwon, after having resolved
his conflict with Houston manage-
ment and ownership, is having a ca-
reer season on both ends of the floor.
He must also deal with notorious
ballhogs Sleepy Floyd and Vernon
Maxwell, a player who thinks his
range begins once he crosses half-
court. At least Kenny Smith feeds
Olajuwon the ball in the low post.
Olajuwon has led the Rockets
from a team that was floundering in
the early part of the season and fac-
ing another lackluster season to a
likely 50-plus win season, including
a 15-game winning streak, and a

possible Midwest Division crown.
And do not forget that "The
Dream" was almost traded to the
Miami Heat before this season in ex-
change for Brian Shaw, Rony
Seilkaly and Grant Long. That
would have been a nightmare for the
Rockets.
A special MVT (Most Valuable
Trainer) should be given to the
trainer of the Golden State Warriors,
Tom Abdenour, who has had to deal
with injuries to Chris Mullin, Tim
Hardaway, Billy Owens, Sarunas
Marciulionis, Keith Jennings and
Paul Pressey, who began the season
as an assistant coach but was forced
into action because of injuries.
Sixth-man award: After having
won this award for the past two sea-
sons, the Indiana Pacers finally came
up with the incredible notion to start
Detlef Schrempf, making him ineli-
gible. Thus, this becomes a clear-cut
decision - Portland Trailblazer
forward/center Cliff Robinson.
Much maligned throughout his col-
lege and early pro career because of
a lack of a work ethic, the former
Connecticut Husky came into his
own this season, doing everything

AP PHOTO
Despite putting up some big numbers this season after being traded from
Philadelphia last season, Charles Barkley may have a hard time besting,
Houston's Hakeem Olajuwon for the NBA most valuable player.


the team asked of him, scoring, W
rebounding and playing defense.
Comeback player of the year:
Another no brainer right here. Go
with Dominique Wilkins. A year
ago, no one knew whether he could
come back from a torn Achille's ten-
don, much less contribute to the
Atlanta Hawks as more than a cheer-
leader - something for which Wil-
kins has not been known in his
career.
Contribute? Does Jordan wear
Nike? Wilkins is averaging over 30
points a game, his highest total since
winning the league scoring title in
the 1985-86 season. And the label of
"The Human Highlight Film" has
not faded from his persona. See
ESPN's "SportsCenter" for that.
Coach of the year: When
leading the Pistons to back-to-back
NBA titles, no one knew how good
of a coach he really was. Sure the
Pistons played defense but the per-
sonnel was there. One year with the
New Jersey Nets has proved Chuck
Daly's wizardry as a master on the
sidelines.
Labeled "Team Turmoil", the
battle of egos among the Nets'
players and former coach Bill Fitch,
recalled some of the epic battles of
history, say D-Day. But Daly has
managed to soften the likes of
Derrick Coleman, Kenny Anderson,
Drazen Petrovic and Chris Morris.
Once the biggest bunch of under-
achievers in the league, the Nets are
poised to make an impact in the
playoffs.
Rookie of the year: Shaquille
O'Neal. Enough said.
All rookie team: Without regard
to position -.O'Neal, Alonzo
Mourning, Christian Laettner, Ton
Gugliotta and Walt Williams
Disappointments: As a team, no
one has failed to come through more
than the Trail Blazers. The biggest
bunch of whiners in the league has
fallen off the pace this season as the
players complain about playing time
and getting the ball, and putting Rick
Adelman's job in jeopardy in the
process.
Adelman does not deserve the
flak - more like a flak jacket - for
guarding himself against all the bul-
lets fired at him. He cannot keep
apologizing for Kevin Duckworth's
perfomances after every game.
The biggest disappointment as a
player has to be Kendall Gill.
Expected to dominate with his ath-
leticism and shooting skills, Gill has
yet to prove himself after three sea-
sons in the league. Rumor has it that
the former-Illinois star wants out of
Charlotte. What a surprise.
Howe's
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