With a little more than half of the NBA season in the books, it’s time to start looking at the candidates for the league’s regular season awards.

And there’s no need to beat around the bush, let’s start with the most highly regarded prize of them all - the Maurice Podoloff Trophy (given to the NBA MVP).

In recent history, the winner of this award had clearly set himself apart from the other potential candidates by the time that the All-Star break came around.  The last three winners of the award, LeBron James (2008-09, 2009-10), Kobe Bryant (2007-08) and Dirk Nowitzki (2006-07), had clearly established themselves as the front-runner and coasted to their respective victories.

This year, however, we truly have an MVP race.  There are some distinct candidates who have emerged, but no true surprises exist in the lot.  Below are the guys who are front and center in this race, with some of the pros and cons regarding their hopes of bringing home the hardware.

LeBron James – Yes, the King stills headlines this list.  Why?  Great stats speak for themselves.  Playing for a top-three team in the conference speaks for itself.  Being the best player on a team with three All-Star caliber players speaks for itself. 

For those of you still stuck on who’s team the Heat is, check out Miami’s top 20 effective 5-man rotations(from our friends at 82games.com).  You’ll notice that of the 20, there are two that include James without Wade or Bosh, and there are none that include Wade without Bosh or James.  Wade is great, but he’s a finisher now.  LeBron is the official playmaker of this team, plain and simple. 

Derrick Rose – This guy has been nothing short of amazing.  His eye-popping stats and eye-popping moves have ushered in a new level of hope for a Chicago franchise that had been spoiled by Michael Jordan’s greatness.  It’s easy to see that Rose has been given the green light, and it has been beneficial to the Bulls – particularly with the injuries that they have had to suffer through.

I think Rose will continue to play well through the end of the season, and he has his team in contention to host a first-round playoff series.  But his teammates are offensively inconsistent, and that may ultimately end up costing the Bulls some wins down the stretch.

D-Rose has pointed the Chicago franchise in the right direction.

Amar’e Stoudemire- From a basketball perspective, Stoudemire has put New York back on the map.  His relentless, attacking style has taken the Eastern Conference by storm and the Knicks are above .500 (25-23) at a point in the season when they are usually evaluating lottery picks.

But let’s face it – when is the last time that we’ve seen a league MVP come from a team that fields a record that is slightly above .500?  All of the past winners of this award were leaders of highly effective teams.  Although A-Stat has played out of his mind for most of the season, New York’s mediocrity will surely work against him.

Dirk Nowtizki – Dirk’s case is a very interesting one.  The German is shooting a career-high 52.5% and has played well – as he normally does year-in and year-out.  But his case is perhaps at its strongest when we evaluate his team’s success (or lack thereof) when he was absent from the lineup.  Before Nowitzki’s injury, the Mavericks began the season with a 23-5 mark.  Dallas crumbled during his time away from the court, going 2-7 without Dirk.  He has since returned to the lineup, and the team has continued on with a 7-3 record in its last 10 games.

A former MVP, Nowitzki averaged 2 more rebounds and 1 more assist in his MVP season than he is averaging this season.  His numbers don’t jump out at you, but neither does Dallas without his contributions.

Kevin Durant – KD was the top pickfor this honor among GM’s this preseason, and for a while, it seemed that they were going to be off-target.  But the Maryland native has heated up of late, throwing up 40 or more points in three of his last four games.  Funny…Durant has been the scoring leader all year long, and OKC has played pretty well.  The Thunder are currently fourth in the Western Conference, and have avoided any long spells of bad basketball.  However, it wasn’t until his recent outbreak (including some attitude that we had never seen from KD) that his candidacy for the award became legitimate.

We're all unsure if Dwight Howard will ever improve his free throw shooting.

Dwight Howard – Superman has been a consistent force for Orlando, both offensively and defensively.  Howard’s MVP hopes will always depend on his team’s ability to knock down shots and provide room for him in the paint.

Besides that, Howard’s free throw shooting is a serious problem.  Can a guy really be an MVP if you can’t go to him in clutch situations because you’re afraid he won’t knock down the free throws?  MVPs should be able to make the needed plays down the stretch of important games, and consistent free throw shooting should be a given.

So who will walk away as the 2010-11 NBA MVP?

At this point, it’s seriously anyone’s guess.  The field of candidates is very even.  

In the end, it should all come down to opportunity.  And the players with the most opportunities to impact the game are the perimeter players – Rose, James and Durant.

The player who has the biggest impact on a successful stretch run for his team should be in the driver’s seat for this year’s Most Valuable Player trophy.

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