I apoligize for being inactive recently. My grandmother has been seriously ill in the hospital, and I've spent most of the past week at her bedside, praying for her to get better. I won't go into details, but she has been the single biggest influence in my life, and has raised me like I was her son. Thankfully, she's recovering well, and hopefully soon she'll return home and resume her normal routine.

Now, back to sports. It's officially April, and now I feel it's time to present some awards. Here are my picks (along with runner-ups in most cases) of the major NBA awards:

MVP: Kobe Bryant, Lakers: Say what you will about his attitude, Bryant has been a key reason the Lakers are back as a relevent team again. While Gasol and Bynum have been hurt, he has kept his team in the thick of a brutal Western race. And, frankly, it's about time he got an MVP.

Runner-up: Chris Paul, Hornets: There will be arguements for Kevin Garnett and LeBron, but Paul is the engine for the surprising Hornets, as he leads the league in assists and has New Orleans primed for a major playoff run. Thus, he's my runner-up.

Coach of the Year: Maurice Cheeks, Sixers: I'm not knocking Byron Scoot or Doc Rivers, or even Phil Jackson; they've all done remarkable jobs this season. But each has major talent to work with. Cheeks has Andre Igudola... and a bunch of youngsters and bench fodder. Yet he has the Sixers in the playoffs with a winning record in the Least, er, East, marking their first trip to the postseason since 2005.

Runner-up: Byron Scott, Hornets: Scott gets runner-up because no one expected the Hornets to be near the top of the West. Scott has done a magnificent job of molding this young team into a contender the same way he did the Nets; by letting a special PG lead the way.

Defensive Player of the Year: Marcus Camby, Nuggets: He leads the league in blocks per game (by a wide margin) and is second in rebounds. And, by the way, he does it on the run-and-gun Nuggets, who play defense only if the moon is in the correct phase.

6th Man Award: Leandro Barbosa, Suns: Because, simply, no one else stood out enough to win the award. I actually wouldn't mind if someone could give me another candidate (and before you Manu people chime in, he plays starter minutes, so that skewers his stats).

Rookie of the Year: Luis Scola, Rockets: Whoa, no Durant? Well, Scola has been instrumental in the Rockets' surge since January. While he would become the first ROY to win the award averaging fewer than 10 PPG, the Rockets have lost only 4 or 5 games since he became a starter.

Runner-up: Kevin Durant, Sonics: Durant finishes second because his team stinks, and he has needed a lot of shots to get his points (on a bad team, which skewers any productive players on such teams). I call it the John Starks effect. Durant has a bright future, but he shouldn't win ROY by default.

All-NBA 1st Team:

G Chris Paul, Hornets

G Kobe Bryant, Lakers

F LeBron James, Cavaliers

F Kevin Garnett, Celtics

C Dwight Howard, Magic

Executive of the Year: Mitch Kupchak, Lakers: Kupchak gets the award because he made the unsung moves to make the Lakers a contender again. And any exec who can trade Kwame Brown's corpse for Pau Gasol should be EOY.

Runner-up: Danny Ainge, Celtics: Like Kupchak, Ainge made the moves to make Boston relevent again after 21 years of dormancy. Ainge took a chance, and it paid off, big.

Now, as far as the playoffs go, here are my favorites in each conference, ranked 1-8 based on my preference, not on current seeding. They are:

West

1. Lakers (provided Gasol and Bynum are healthy, they're the deepest team)

2. Spurs (to be the best, you must beat the best. Until they lose, they're the best)

3. Hornets (inexperience an issue, but Paul and Scott will guide them nicely)

4. Suns (Shaq was brought in to win a title, after all. Right?)

5. Jazz (need to show they can win away from home consistently)

6. Rockets (no Yao will hurt them against elite bigs in playoffs)

7. Warriors (lightning won't strike twice)

8. Nuggets (no defense except Camby = no playoff series wins)

East

1. Celtics (Garnett, Pierce and Allen are hungry for a ring)

2. Pistons (if they overcome conplacency, the biggest threat to Boston)

3. Cavaliers (LeBron can win series himself)

4. Magic (Howard is emerging as maybe best C in game)

5. Sixers (a sleeper to pull an upset 1st round win)

6. Wizards (can't stay healthy... or play defense well)

7. Raptors (a poor man's Wizards)

8. Whoever is 8th (Hawks, Pacers, Bulls, etc.; it doesn't matter; they'll get swept)

There you are. Disagree? Just drop me a line. Gotta go; Kwame Brown's corpse is being moved out of the morgue!