NBA Roundtable: 2015-16 Midseason Awards

Lastly, who is your midseason Least Valuable Player?

Jason Coldiron: Joel Embid, who hasn’t played for the worst team on Earth.

Evan Caulfield: Ever since the Rockets acquired Ty Lawson, things have been a disaster. The point guard is averaging the lowest minutes, points and assists per game since his rookie season, not to mention, he’s shooting 37.3% and 32.4% from behind the arc. Statistically speaking, Lawson may not be the absolute worst player in the league, but his negative effect on the team has been evident since day one.

John Armstrong: It seems like picking on the Phoenix Suns is the popular thing to do these days, but it’s got to be Markieff Morris. It’s hard to place blame on a singular player in a team sport, but it’s not every day that a team owner calls out a particular player on his own roster by name. I wouldn’t blame Morris for the complete dumpster fire the Suns have become, but he’s been a key player in it.

Next: 2015-16 NBA Midseason Grades

Morris always seemed to be the alpha when compared to his twin brother and former teammate Marcus, but Marcus has been having a stellar, career season for the Pistons. Since that trade, Markieff Morris has been benched, seen his role reduced, and has been called out by the Suns owner. He’s also the center of trade discussions and rumors, and is often blamed in the media for a lot of the chemistry issues the Suns have. That sounds like an LVP candidate to me, sadly.

Michael Saenz: Goran Dragic. With high expectations coming into this season, Dragic came into Miami Heat camp overweight and out of shape. By the time he finally began to play up to his level, he goes down with a calf injury. After getting an $85 million contract this past summer, I expected more out of The Dragon.

Still could turn his season around, but he’s had a trying first half of the season, to say the least.