Just a thought that I had today, while looking at Rondo's statistical progression this season. It's not a huge improvement but his stats are really up by a good margin when you think about it, and of course his impact on the game and on his team has never been stronger, although it doesn't necessarily translate into stats.
Here are Rondo's stats from last year :
Per game : 33 minutes, 50%FG, 64%FT, 12 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals,
His stats from this season :
Per game : 37 minutes (!), 14 points, 52%FG, 60%FT, 10 assists, 4 rebounds, 2,5 steals.
In addition, so far, Rondo ranks 7th in double doubles (he has 30), first in steals, 4th in assists.
Thinking about the MIP candidates, and although I've followed the season closely, I just don't know which players are in the race. I think you could think of David Lee and Durant but they have only improved their scoring margin (by an average of 4 points) so I don't know if they should be favorites.
Also, do you think Rondo's performance in the playoffs last year is an asset for him to be named MIP this season or, on the contrary, a drawback since it could be considered that he didn't improve much from last year (which is kind of silly because he surprised everybody in the playoffs).
I don't give much credit to individual awards but I think Rondo really deserves this award and it would be cool to see him get some recognition, especially when his impact has really taken a big leap, and doesn't really translate into stats. I think that Rondo is the favorite to be the MIP if finishes the season with his current stats (the most important being his assists at an average of 10 per game).