I can . . .

Include Maurice Cheeks on my five-man list for NBA Coach of the Year, but, sadly, the league only allows space for three names.

As much as I respect and admire what Cheeks has done without a clear No. 1 star, with limited resources, with a midstream management change amid dire predictions of the 76ers finishing dead last even in the weak Eastern Conference, I can't in good conscience put him in the top three.

I reserve the right to wait until the conclusion of the regular season to make a final decision, but if you pin me down right here, right now, I'm pointing (in descending order) at New Orleans' Byron Scott, the Los Angeles Lakers' Phil Jackson and Boston's Doc Rivers (and wishing there were room for Utah's Jerry Sloan).

Scott has had the Hornets at the top of the Western Conference much of the time, working in a city still far more focused on recovering from Hurricane Katrina. Jackson eased his way through the controversial early- season waves created by Kobe Bryant, the development of Andrew Bynum and the arrival of Pau Gasol. Someone whose opinion I respect suggested that you, me and Bobby Dupree could coach the Celtics of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, but I disagree; it's harder to meld three stars in their first season together than anyone seems to want to accept. And Sloan? C'mon, he has to win one of these seasons, doesn't he?

I can't . . .

Include Andre Miller on a five-man ballot for Most Valuable Player.

Miller has been everything you could ask for from a point guard and a floor leader, adjusting his approach to be a scoring priority rather than just an initiator and distributor. The absence of his name in a top five in this category has virtually nothing to with his performance.

It has everything to do with who is ahead of him.

For me, that's Chris Paul, CP3 of the Hornets, who has been the best point guard in the league all season; Garnett, who hasn't just led the resurgence of the Celtics, but has changed their culture with his work ethic; Bryant, who has been the best player in the league (and has never won this award); and LeBron James, who is probably 1-A with Bryant.

You can argue about a fifth name: Orlando's Dwight Howard, San Antonio's Manu Ginobili, Utah's Deron Williams all probably have to be considered ahead of Miller, although I'll take Miller ahead of Detroit's Chauncey Billups, Houston's Tracy McGrady and Golden State's Baron Davis.

I can . . .

Think long and hard about including Thaddeus Young on the first team all-rookie team, but hardly playing in the early portion of the season probably works against him. For now, I like Seattle's Kevin Durant (rookie of the year despite the Sonics' miserable record); Atlanta's Al Horford, the L.A. Clippers' Al Thornton, Houston's Luis Scola and Memphis' Juan Carlos Navarro.

I can . . .

Lean toward Orlando's Hedu Turkoglu, who probably deserved to be an All-Star, as the league's Most Improved Player, although it's difficult not to lean just as hard toward New Orleans' Tyson Chandler, Memphis' Rudy Gay, Boston's Rajon Rondo and Bynum.

I can . . .

Also remember how close Turkoglu came to being a Sixer in the 2000 draft. He was Billy King's guy, only to go four picks earlier to Sacramento. I still

remember King gently

prodding Turkoglu to respond

in English rather than in Turkish through an interpreter to

reporters' questions after a workout at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Let the record show that Turkoglu speaks much better English now. But he speaks best in threes.

Words to live by

* Boston's Kevin Garnett, on his MVP candidacy: "My MVP is sitting next to me . . . Paul [Pierce] does things that people really don't see on the stat sheet."

* Shaquille O'Neal, on a career that has taken him from Orlando to the LA Lakers to Miami to Phoenix: "I'm sort of like a specialist. I go in, do what I do and every 4 years they get tired of me and I have to relocate myself."

* Grizzlies swing man Shane Battier, on Kobe Bryant, in the Memphis Commercial Appeal: "He never shows frustration. He's the only guy in the league." *

Send e-mail to jasnerp@phillynews.com.