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The halfway mark of the NBA season is officially here, with all-star weekend in Toronto culminating with Sunday's All-Star game. That means we get to give you a look on who dominated the first half of the year and what we may expect in the stretch run. One word of caution: Expect a lot of Warriors talk to follow.

Most Valuable Player: Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors

Curry was the MVP last season as Golden State's driving force behind a title run that looked easy at times. So let's put this in perspective: He's been better this year. Far better. He leads the league at almost 30 points per game and also averages 6.6 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game. If possible, his stats may not do his impact justice. He's shaping up to have one of the best seasons in league history, and the Warriors look to be an near-lock to win another championship. Get that trophy mantle ready, Steph. You're going to need more room.

Defensive Player of the Year

Kawhi Leonard may be running away with the award. Leonard is absolutely lockdown on the perimeter. He's big and strong enough that he can't be bullied in the post. He's pretty much the only guy who serves as a true defensive foil to LeBron James. And that alone can get you recognition for this award.

Rookie of the Year

Much of the league is enamored with Kristaps Porzingis. And while the power forward has been very good this season, the clear-cut best rookie has been Karl-Anthony Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves. Towns may be the best rookie big man to come into the NBA since Tim Duncan. Towns is proficient with his back to the basket. He can stroke it from the perimeter. He's a superior passer and ballhandler for his size. He's a great rebounder, and he can defend. The Wolves already have pieces around Towns, namely Andrew Wiggins. As they continue to add to their roster, they will become very difficult for the rest of the league to handle in the future.

Coach of the year

If the season ended today, Brad Stevens of the Boston Celtics and Quin Snyder of the Utah Jazz would be in a dead heat, with Dwane Casey of the Toronto Raptors and Portland's Terry Stotts close behind. I'm going with Snyder. Why? The Jazz finished the first half of the season with a 26-26 record. They are eighth in the Western Conference, and they have done this while missing the following players for significant stretches: Dante Exum, Alec Burks, Derrick Favors, Rudy Gobert. Those are four of Utah's six best players. Nobody in the league has had key injuries to such a massive part of their core group. Maybe the Jazz keep the playoff pace — maybe they don't. But that they are still afloat with as much adversity as they've had speaks volumes about Snyder and his ability on the bench.

Most Improved Player

The funny thing: Curry could probably win this award, too. He's gotten that much better over the past season. But we're going to give it to CJ McCollum, who is averaging 20.7 points per game after averaging 6.8 points per game last season. He's become a wonderful second option to complement Damian Lillard, which has kept the Portland Trail Blazers in the thick of the playoff chase. McCollum may have some competition if Utah's Rodney Hood keeps up his pace. The difference is that Hood has been terrific for a month, while McCollum's done it for the entire season.

Best implosion

The Phoenix Suns destroyed themselves from within. The Sacramento Kings were good for about three weeks, then collapsed. But nothing screams implosion like the Houston Rockets, who have gone from Western Conference finalists to a team in ninth place. How have they fallen off? They fired Kevin McHale in the first month. They don't defend, jack up 3s, ignore Dwight Howard, and did I say they don't defend?

Predicted NBA Finals matchup

The Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers seemed destined to meet again. This time, even if Cleveland's healthy, it won't be close. Expect the Warriors to win in five games. They could be the best team of all-time. Player of the week

Chris Paul culminated his week with a 35-point, 13-assist performance against the Boston Celtics. He's kept the Los Angeles Clippers afloat without Griffin in the lineup, and is still one of the best point guards in the game.

Team of the week

With a couple of wins this week, the Thunder became the third Western Conference team with 40 victories at the All-Star break. The three most likely teams to win a title are in the West: Golden State, San Antonio and Oklahoma City.

Game(s) of the week

TNT got this coming Thursday night's doubleheader correct. The Chicago Bulls at the Cleveland Cavaliers are the opener, followed by the San Antonio Spurs at the Los Angeles Clippers. Both are significant games.