The midpoint of the NBA season has arrived, and by Saturday night all 29 NBA teams will have played at least half of their 82-game schedules.

The surprises have been many and the changes have been rapid in a league that has no elite team but plenty of championship caliber contenders.

A midseason report on how several individual award categories are shaping up:

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

Peja Stojakovic, Sacramento. He's the primary reason why the Kings have built the league's best record despite the season-long absence of Chris Webber. The NBA's third-leading scorer with an average of 25.4 points, the Kings' sharpshooter entered the weekend shooting .495 from the field. To put that in perspective, consider that Tracy McGrady has needed 936 shot attempts _ 247 more than Stojakovic _ to produce his average of 26.4.

Also in contention: Kevin Garnett, Jermaine O'Neal, Tim Duncan.

COACH OF THE YEAR

Too close to call. Shaping up as a three-way race between Jeff Bzdelik of the Denver Nuggets, Jerry Sloan of the Utah Jazz and Terry Porter of the Milwaukee Bucks. All three teams have greatly exceeded expectations, and Bzdelik and Sloan have kept their teams above .500 in a much more competitive conference. Sloan could garner sympathy votes, as he's never won the award despite taking the Jazz to the playoffs in each of his 15 seasons in Utah. But if the Nuggets keep playing .600 ball, it might be hard to vote against Bzdelik.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

LeBron James, Cleveland. First among rookies in scoring, second in assists, fifth in rebounding, the super-hyper 19-year-old has performed consistently while taking on a bigger share of offensive responsibilities following the trade of Ricky Davis. If James keeps producing and the Cavs make it to 30 victories, the award could be his. But a recent ankle injury could hinder him, and it's unknown how James will be affected by the trade of his best friend on the Cavs, Darius Miles.

Also in contention: Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade.

MOST IMPROVED

Michael Redd, Milwaukee. Remember when the Bucks traded Ray Allen last February? Part of the reason they deemed Allen expendable was that he was blocking the way for the left-handed shooter from Ohio State whose scoring average has increased almost seven points from last season to 22.0. The Bucks' surprising record with Redd as their primary offensive weapon gives him the midseason nod over Portland's Zach Randolph, whose points (21.4) and rebounds (11.2) have more than doubled a year ago.

EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR

Too close to call. R.C. Buford of San Antonio has rebuilt Tim Duncan's supporting cast without the Spurs having to go through much growing pains. Kiki Vandeweghe of Denver has built a winning team while retaining significant salary cap flexibility for the upcoming offseason. Isiah Thomas has quickly made the Knicks exciting and relevant again.

Also in contention: Kevin McHale, Minnesota; Geoff Petrie, Sacramento; Jerry West, Memphis.

SIXTH MAN AWARD:

Antawn Jamison, Dallas. The league's most productive bench player, the former starter in Golden State has averaged 15.9 points and 6.4 rebounds and is one of only 10 players leaguewide shooting above 50 percent (52.2).

Also in contention: Al Harrington, Indiana; Maurice Taylor, Houston, Desmond Mason, Milwaukee.

ALL-STAR BALLOT:

East: Ben Wallace, Jermaine O'Neal, Ron Artest, Jason Kidd, Tracy McGrady.

West: Shaquille O'Neal, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Sam Cassell, Mike Bibby.

___

GRIZZ GROWL:@ The Memphis Grizzlies were one of the early-season surprises before falling under the radar in late December during a stretch in which they lost seven in a row.

One of the reasons for that slump was the Grizzlies' schedule, which included three separate stretches of four games in five nights. Adding to the fatigue factor, the Grizzlies had to get on an airplane and travel after each one of those 12 games.

The Grizzlies, now in the middle of a two-week, six-game homestand, entered the weekend with a six-game winning streak. With 51 victories, Hubie Brown has already become the franchise leader in career coaching wins.

The franchise record for most victories in a season is 28, which Memphis should eclipse before the All-Star break.

The schedule makers were more kind to the Grizzlies in the second half of the season, giving them nine sets of back-to-back games but no more of the four-games-in-five-nights variety.

Memphis currently sits in eighth place in the Western Conference.

``You get 41 (victories) in the West, now you're a player _ but not necessarily in the playoffs,'' Brown said. ``The excellence in the West is hard to overcome because of the talent base.''

___

LOW SCORES:@ Scoring continues to be down, with teams averaging only 92.5 points per game through Jan. 14 _ the latest date for which figures are available.

The leaguewide average is down 1.3 points from the same period a year ago, when teams eventually picked up the pace and finished the season averaging 95.1.

A detailed statistical breakdown compiled by the NBA shows that 3-point attempts are at a four-year high of 14.9 per game, while 3-point accuracy is at a four-year low of .342. The week of Jan. 5-11 highlighted that trend as teams averaged 16.1 3-point attempts but made only .337 of them.

Free throw attempts are down to 23.5 per team from 24.8 at this point a year ago, and technical fouls are way down _ a total of 356 were called in the first 526 games, compared to 582 at the same point last season.