During this final week of postseason positioning, many experts plead their cases on who should win the NBA's awards. Since college columnists don't get an official vote, this is the best I can do to be heard.

MVP – Kevin Garnett: I don't even have to go into detail on why he needs to win. The T-Wolves will have the top seed in the West and he's the best player in the league — just give him the award.

Rookie – Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James: Jason Kidd and Grant Hill shared the award, as did Elton Brand and Steve Francis. It's just not fair to choose one over the other so I choose both.

Coach – Hubie Brown: Jerry Sloan deserves it just as much as Brown, but the Grizzlies are in the playoffs and are 50-game winners, more than Utah can say about itself. Doc Rivers won the award in 2000 after Orlando failed to make the playoffs, so it could go either way. However, I'm sticking with Brown.

Defensive – Ben Wallace: Ranks second in rebounds, second in blocks and sixth in steals. Wallace and Jason Kidd are the only players who can take over a game without scoring a single point.

Most Improved – Carlos Boozer: Portland's Zach Randolph didn't improve because he played this way last season when he actually played, so the real most improved player is Cleveland's Carlos Boozer. In one year he has gone from a role player to a top-20 forward in the league. His 16 points and 12 boards a game look good to me.

Sixth Man – Desmond Mason: Yeah, I admit I may be a bit biased with this choice. Mason is a team captain with the Bucks, he is the team's third leading scorer and is a true spark off the bench with his athletic ability. Antawn Jamison scores for the Mavs, but who doesn't? Mason deserves this award and probably won't win it.

Executive – Pat Riley: I don't want to hear any more about Joe Dumars or Kiki Vandeweghe. They both improved their teams, but no one is giving any love to Riley. Riley needed a point guard, and instead of drafting Kirk Hinrich, he took a chance on Dwyane Wade to be his quarterback for the future and it worked. Nobody wanted Rafer Alston or Lamar Odom and Riley brought them into town. Both are having career years. Fifty-eight picks went by in last summer's draft and Udonis Haslem went undrafted. Riley signed him as a free agent and he will be an all-rookie second team selection this year. Riley's best move of them all was firing himself as coach and the Heat are in the playoffs when nobody thought they would win.