With all of the talk that has circulated on who should win MVP, I feel there are some other battles that should be mentioned. Discussions for Coach and Rookie of the Year deserve a little press time too, so let me break it down.

For the coaches award, I commend Byron Scott of the New Orleans Hornets and Doc Rivers of the Boston Celtics. Both have done a fantastic job of turning around teams that had losing records last season.

Rivers has coached the Celtics to the best record in the NBA this season with 62 wins against 16 losses. So far, they've made a 38-game turnaround after struggling to get in the win column 24 times in 2006-2007.

Rivers success was pre-determined when Boston traded for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in the off-season to compliment Paul Pierce. Garnett has been named MVP once before and Allen is one of the best shooters in the game.

However, I didn't think the Celts would be 60-wins good in their first season together. Many observers are picking them over the Detroit Pistons to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals.

Defense wins championships and the Celtics play it well. They lead the league in opponent's field goal percentage and points allowed. They rotate well also, and if they can elevate to another level when the playoffs begin on April 19th, theres no doubt they'll be around in June.

 Whoever made the decision to get rid of Scott must feel like a damn fool. On the Nets firing Byron Scott

All things considered, I feel coach Scott deserves the award over Rivers. Most people forget he led the New Jersey Nets to the NBA Finals two straight years. He was supposedly run out of Jersey because he couldn't coach.

Whoever made the decision to get rid of Scott must feel like a damn fool. His second year in New Jersey saw him make the sixth-best turnaround in league history. He shouldn't have been fired to begin with, and now New Orleans is reaping the benefits. On Wednesday,                                                             the Hornets won their 55th game of the season, a franchise record.

Scott should win the award because he's also helped his team deal with off the court issues. Hurricane Katrina forced the Hornets to play home games in four different arenas that season although they called Oklahoma City home officially. New Orleans managed to win 38 games despite the situation and maybe could have won more had injuries not decimated their roster.

Whoever receives the award has definitely earned it. Both have implemented their own philosophy and their players bought into the system. When a coach has his players' confidence and trust, there is nothing they won’t do for him.

Rookie of the Year

It's pretty much been between the Seattle SuperSonics' Kevin Durant and Al Horford of the Atlanta Hawks all season. Durant has won Rookie of the Month four times for the Western Conference while Horford has claimed the East’s award three times.

I don’t think a rookie’s impact should be based solely on stats because they are usually inconsistent in a player's first year. Sometimes Durant has a great night and the next game he is nowhere to be found. For a rookie, thats normal.

Both players play different positions and are asked to do different things. Horford has a better supporting cast while Durant is the face of the franchise for the Sonics with absolutely no help except maybe fellow rookie Jeff Green.

With that said, Durant will claim the award due to the extra weight on his shoulders to carry his team.

The heavy media coverage he receives doesn't hurt either.