Most Improved Player

[theTHIEF]

Hedo Turkoglu and that's gospel...

[mkwest]

Hedo or CP3

[blue steel]

I think a lot of people are forgetting something here. Guys like Aldridge and Gay are not only sophomores, but they were lotto picks and were expected to turn into all-star caliber players. I'm not making a judgment on whether or not that's a valid way to measure the MIP, but I'm sure that a lot of people subconsciously have that notion when considering who deserves this award. TMU mentioned Gilbert Arenas and Monta Ellis winning MIP as sophomores, but both of them were 2nd round picks, and probably weren't EXPECTED to produce at even a remotely high rate as sophomores. However, I'm sure that many people expected a significant statistical leap from both Aldridge and Gay (I know I did. Sure I didn't expect Gay to be avg 20 ppg, but I still expected a significant improvement).

Now you look at guys like Hedo and Dunleavy who have been around this league for a while. Dunleavy was a lotto pick, but he's not a sophomore this year. He's had a rather disappointing career, but he's salvaging it this season. Hedo was a 1st round pick, but he didn't have all-star caliber expectations. He's always been one of my favorite players, but he's really surprised people this season.

Basically, I think MIP not only has to do with who's played significantly better than they did last season, but also about which one of those players wasn't necessarily expected to do so.

Just for the record, my vote goes to Hedo for this one.

This is a great post arguing against sophomore lotto picks being MIP. In my opinion, giving players that are expected to improve the award essentially makes the award less interesting. This award is one of the few awards made to reward the hard work of players that weren't expected to be good, giving Gay award would be a cop out since hes likely to be able to get the satisfaction of being an all-star for years to come.

[blue steel]

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The leap from being around a top 25 to top 5 player in the league is much more significant and impressive than improving from an average player becoming very good. If Paul doesn't win it, this will improve MIP is only for formerly average players who made the leap, in the same way that coach of the year is an award for the coach whose team most exceeded writers expectations.

Um....the award for going from top 25 to top 5 is called the MVP.

And MIP is for more average players, MVP players get recognition all season/career. And why the hell would Paul care about getting MIP if hes in MVP contention. You think Kobe is mad he didn't get MIP the last few years? Please.

[Ballings7]

Hedo or Aldridge... overall Hedo because of his team

[sp6r=underrated]

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Um....the award for going from top 25 to top 5 is called the MVP.

And MIP is for more average players, MVP players get recognition all season/career. And why the hell would Paul care about getting MIP if hes in MVP contention. You think Kobe is mad he didn't get MIP the last few years? Please.

There is nothing in the award that says it is limited to average players. Rarely do MVP voters factor in improvement in a players performance. If Chris Paul has made the most improvement, in my mind he has, then he should win the award regardless of whether he wins the award.

[blue steel]

^

So he should win MIP and MVP? Couldn't you then make the case that every MVP should win MIP? Didn't they have to "improve" in order to win MVP or they just happen to be an MVP every year but don't get it... not buying it.

It doesn't have to be for more average players, but its not for MVP type players and its not for sophomore lotto picks.

But maybe Chris will be disappointed if he doesnt win the award that Monta Ellis, Bobby Simmons, Boris Diaw and Zach Randolph have won the last 4 years. Lets not get into semantics here, this award is obviously not designated for top-10 players in the league, they can win awards that actually mean something...like MVP.

[Scalabrine]

Aldridge jumped from 9 to 18 because of Zach Randolph, as a result his minutes have gone up and he has become an offensive option.

I think this is a no brainer, Hedo Turkoglu has improved in every facet of his game and is now a legit 20-5-5 player.

[Milkdud]

Personally my vote also goes to Hedo I don't really buy the argument ignore 2nd year players who are getting more PT (like in the case of LA). While trading Zach clearly paved the way to LA getting for playing time he still had to do something with it.

[writerman]

but a guy that at least deserves consideration is Mike Dunleavy.

Yeah, it's Pacer homer vote, but he's come back from bein written off as a major disappointment to emerging as a pretty darn good player.

[theTHIEF]

i'm with you...I'm a Mike fan...check the records, I have praised him for a long time and always attested that the kid just needed the ball more and to not have a choker wrapped around his neck...

[Harry Palmer]

but a guy that at least deserves consideration is Mike Dunleavy.

Yeah, it's Pacer homer vote, but he's come back from bein written off as a major disappointment to emerging as a pretty darn good player.

Swear to god, when I saw your name as having posted in this thread, I expected the answer to be 'Bob Cousy' or similar.

[theTHIEF]

lol

[76erinSJ]

I know this is a long shot and I dont know if anyone has already mentioned him but how about Louis Williams? He has gone from 4.3 points to 11.4, 1.8 to 3.2 in dimes, 1.2 to 2.0 in boards, .4 to 1.0 in steals, .696 to .778 in free throws % and .324 to .371 in 3pt % while playing only 23 minutes off the bench.