Most improved player award goes to...

[cornbreadsmart]

     Who ya got? I'd like to think it would be Greg Oden. If injuries the previous year DID NOT enter the equation I've been thinking J.J. Hickson.Who ya got?

[indeedproceed]

I think JJ Hickson won't win it for the same reason Rondo didn't win it last season...2-3 yr players that make "the jump" because of increased playing time or logical improvement based on previous years typically don't win.

If Andris Biedrins benefits because of playing next to David Lee and an improved Stephen Curry, i think he has an outside shot.

Raymond Felton in NY if he can keep his 12ppg and bump his ast totals to 9 or 10 has a real chance..esp if NY gets the 7 or 8 seed.

If Ryan Andersen or Brandon Bass get 30 minutes per game and Orlando dominates the reg season like they have been doing, either one of those guys could take it.

If Al Jefferson gets back to 22 and 10, he ought to win though. If he can do his usual stat filler play when healthy, plus be the second best player on a playoff team, he'll win, or should.

Hakim Warrick in Phoenix has a shot too. If he can hit 20ppg with 8 boards or so, which entirely possible with Phoenix's pace and Nash's transcendental offensive play, he could win.

[Who]

JJ Hickson is an excellent choice. I think he'll be able to up his numbers to the 18ppg and 8rpg level. That would firmly place him amongst the top contenders.

I don't think Oden makes a challenge. I don't think he'll play enough minutes (likely mid twenties) or score enough points (low double digits) ... in order to win enough votes to be in the running for the award.

[indeedproceed]

Also, don't count out Gilbert Arenas or Josh Howard. If the Wizards don't suck, and Gilbert doesn't do anything crazy while getting back to his 22ppg and 8 ast game, while mentoring an over achieving team, he's got a shot. Same thing with Josh Howard if he can get his scoring to the high teens.

[Who]

Some other candidates:

Linas Kleiza -- Kleiza should get a good number of shot attempts in Toronto with Chris Bosh gone. He could put up some impressive numbers relative to what he was doing in Denver two years ago.

Russell Westbrook -- should make another leap this year

Roy Hibbert -- Obie has said the Pacers will be running their offense through the post, through Hibbert, this coming season + reportedly he has had a fantastic summer working on his game and his conditioning. Could see a big increase over his 11.7/5.7 he posted last season.

Jrue Holiday -- Oh, almost forgot the lad. He's going to make a huge leap this season. Along with Hickson, he's my early frontrunner.

Outside shot -- Terrence Williams, Paul Millsap, Robin Lopez

[indeedproceed]

Some other candidates:

Linas Kleiza -- Kleiza should get a good number of shot attempts in Toronto with Chris Bosh gone. He could put up some impressive numbers relative to what he was doing in Denver two years ago.

Russell Westbrook -- should make another leap this year

Roy Hibbert -- Obie has said the Pacers will be running their offense through the post, through Hibbert, this coming season + reportedly he has had a fantastic summer working on his game and his conditioning. Could see a big increase over his 11.7/5.7 he posted last season.

Jrue Holiday -- Oh, almost forgot the lad. He's going to make a huge leap this season. Along with Hickson, he's my early frontrunner.

Outside shot -- Terrence Williams, Paul Millsap, Robin Lopez

Does Robin Lopez really have the stuff to get to offensive level he'll need to win the award?

[Who]

Some other candidates:

Linas Kleiza -- Kleiza should get a good number of shot attempts in Toronto with Chris Bosh gone. He could put up some impressive numbers relative to what he was doing in Denver two years ago.

Russell Westbrook -- should make another leap this year

Roy Hibbert -- Obie has said the Pacers will be running their offense through the post, through Hibbert, this coming season + reportedly he has had a fantastic summer working on his game and his conditioning. Could see a big increase over his 11.7/5.7 he posted last season.

Jrue Holiday -- Oh, almost forgot the lad. He's going to make a huge leap this season. Along with Hickson, he's my early frontrunner.

Outside shot -- Terrence Williams, Paul Millsap, Robin Lopez

Does Robin Lopez really have the stuff to get to offensive level he'll need to win the award?

Gotta run the pick and roll with somebody ... if R.Lopez plays 32-34 minutes a night, he should be able to score somewhere close to 15ppg in addition to his rebounding and defensive play.

He'll also receive a large amount of the credit for Phoenix's ability to survive the loss of Amare Stoudemire since he's the Suns best big man.

If R.Lopez gets those minutes and Phoenix wins close to 50 games, I think he could have a shot at the award.

[cornbreadsmart]

I like those picks of Warrick and Robin Lopez. I don't see what people see in Jrue Holiday. I see him as a career backup at best.I can't see him manning the point this year whole year, even as bad as Philly looks.

[incoherent]

1985–86   Alvin Robertson   Guard    United States   San Antonio Spurs
1986–87   Dale Ellis   Guard/Forward    United States   Seattle SuperSonics
1987–88   Kevin Duckworth   Center    United States   Portland Trail Blazers
1988–89   Kevin Johnson   Guard    United States   Phoenix Suns
1989–90   Rony Seikaly[a]   Center    United States   Miami Heat
1990–91   Scott Skiles   Guard    United States   Orlando Magic
1991–92   Pervis Ellison   Center/Forward    United States   Washington Bullets
1992–93   Chris Jackson   Guard/Forward    United States   Denver Nuggets
1993–94   Don MacLean   Forward    United States   Washington Bullets
1994–95   Dana Barros   Guard    United States   Philadelphia 76ers
1995–96   Gheorghe Mureşan   Center    Romania   Washington Bullets
1996–97   Isaac Austin   Center    United States   Miami Heat
1997–98   Alan Henderson   Forward    United States   Atlanta Hawks
1998–99   Darrell Armstrong   Guard    United States   Orlando Magic
1999–00   Jalen Rose   Guard/Forward    United States   Indiana Pacers
2000–01   Tracy McGrady*   Guard/Forward    United States   Orlando Magic
2001–02   Jermaine O'Neal*   Forward/Center    United States   Indiana Pacers
2002–03   Gilbert Arenas*   Guard    United States   Golden State Warriors
2003–04   Zach Randolph*   Forward    United States   Portland Trail Blazers
2004–05   Bobby Simmons*   Guard/Forward    United States   Los Angeles Clippers
2005–06   Boris Diaw*   Forward    France   Phoenix Suns
2006–07   Monta Ellis*   Guard    United States   Golden State Warriors
2007–08   Hedo Türkoğlu*   Forward    Turkey   Orlando Magic
2008–09   Danny Granger*   Forward/Guard    United States   Indiana Pacers
2009–10   Aaron Brooks*   Guard    United States   Houston Rockets

[csfansince60s]

Two BIG ifs here, but 1.if Quisy stays healthy and 2. keeps hitting the treys and the midrange shots,that opens up his slashing game in a big way..I know, some homerism and wishful thinking here with 2 BIG IFs

[Jon]

Two BIG ifs here, but 1.if Quisy stays healthy and 2. keeps hitting the treys and the midrange shots,that opens up his slashing game in a big way..I know, some homerism and wishful thinking here with 2 BIG IFs

I agree that Daniels could be the Celtic's MIP; however, with PP and Ray getting 30+ mpg and West in the equation too, I don't see Marquis getting enough minutes to win the MIP. 

Plus, I see his value to the second team as his defense and his intangibles (steady hand, good movement, etc.).  And that type of stuff doesn't usually show up on a stat sheet. 

Still, I like your thinking.  To me, Marquis is a huge key to the season.  If he plays like he's capable of and stays healthy, this team may have no big flaws.   

[pearljammer10]

I feel like people seem to forget that Daniels was playing really good ball for us last year. He missed games due to injuries and when he came back, Tony Allen was playing well enough to fill that role.

As far as MIP canidates...Ill go with... Hmmm. Darren Collison? Sure sounds good.

[shookones99]

I gotta go with Raymond Felton.  In Mike Dantoni's system, and feeding the ball to Gallinari and Amare, I think hes gonna have a huge year

[PosImpos]

People have been guessing this for the last couple of years, but I'm gonna say Anthony Randolph has a shot if he finally makes the leap people have been expecting him to make.

I don't really like the guy, but Andrea Bargnani has a shot at it if he can improve his defense at all and rebound a bit better.  His scoring will undoubtedly go up, and the other stuff could conceivably happen if the Raps get smart and play him at the 4 instead of the 5.

Somebody on the Suns - I'm not sure who - seems like a decent bet.  I wonder if Josh Childress has a shot at it, considering he wasn't actually in the league the last couple of years.  I don't think Hakim Warrick is talented enough to have a high usage rate and still be efficient, but with Nash it's possible.  Same for Robin Lopez.


Javale McGee, Andray Blatche, and Yi Jianlian are all possibilities as well given that they'll finally be playing with a point guard who can pass them the ball.  One or two of those three is going to become the primary inside scorer for the Wiz.  My guess would be Blatche.  He showed late last year that it's possible for him to consistently put up around 15-20 pts and 8-10 rebounds a game (even though it doesn't usually translate to wins for his team).

Don't sleep on Nic Batum, either.  The Blazers are expecting big things from him, and he should get even more playing time with Webster gone and Rudy in the dog-house.  Unless the Blazers really think Wes Matthews is worth all that money and play him a bunch.  But from what I've read the Blazers think Batum is a potential star, and will try to develop him accordingly.

[Who]

One of the things about the Suns is that they are overloaded with small forwards with Grant Hill, Hedo Turkoglu, Josh Childress and Jared Dudley. Those guys are going to have to take a lot of minutes at power forward + all the SF minutes + some SG minutes.

Even at that, it'll be a shared load between the four of them. That makes it very unlikely that any of them or Warrick or Frye receives enough playing time to make a run at MIP.