Hollinger's NBA All-Improvement Team

justinb80 · Post #1 » by **justinb80** » Thu Mar 4, 2010 5:47 pm

ESPN's John Hollinger annoints Robin Lopez as captain of his All-Improvement Team. From his insider article:

Normally when we think of improvement, we picture a player putting in extra work over the summer and coming back with an improved jump shot, a new move or the proverbial 15 pounds of muscle. The league even gives out a trophy, the Most Improved Player Award, to commemorate the league's greatest season-over-season improvement.

That's one type of improvement, but it's not the only kind. There's another way to get better, and it's perhaps more difficult -- via slow, inexorable progress over the course of the regular season. Some players have managed it, however, and are visibly better than they were five months ago.

Take Suns sophomore Robin Lopez, for instance. For half the season he was a bust, a plodder who seemed lost in Phoenix's helter-skelter system and generated unflattering comparisons with his more successful twin brother in New Jersey.

Then, magically, it all changed. The Suns inserted him as their starting center on Jan. 15, and he's thrived, averaging nearly a point every two minutes while shooting a sizzling 61.7 percent from the On Friday against the Clippers he shocked the masses by erupting for 30 points and 12 rebounds; his team, meanwhile, has won 13 of its past 16 to stem a precipitous midseason slide.

Watching Lopez dive down the lane on pick-and-rolls with Steve Nash and aggressively finish at the rim, it's hard to believe this is the same player who looked so mechanical and awkward in December (or his entire rookie season, for that matter). As a result, Lopez is the captain of the 2009-10 In-Season All-Improved Team.

justinb80 · Post #2 » by **justinb80** » Thu Mar 4, 2010 5:58 pm

He also recants on The Dragon. From a chat with him today:

Mike (Reno, NV)
Professor Hollinger. Where does the Dragon (Goran Dragic) fall in the most improved list? You were really down on him last year and now he at least is competent in your eyes yes?

John Hollinger
He is one of the most improved players in the league, without question. The change in his jump shot has been nothing short of amazing -- last year he had this weird line-drive flick off his shoulder that had no chance; now all of a sudden his lofting high-arcing 3s with great form. I have no idea who worked with him or what he/she did, but that's an impressive turnaround. My favorite moment -- the Suns-Spurs game in early December; Spurs kept conceding 3s to him and then looking back at the coaches with puzzled expressions when he kept hitting them.

Sun Scorched · Post #3 » by **Sun Scorched** » Thu Mar 4, 2010 6:00 pm

Is this one of the ESPN articles where you have to be an "insider" to view?

Anyway you could post a link or the entire article?

Thanks Justin, good stuff.

justinb80 · Post #4 » by **justinb80** » Thu Mar 4, 2010 6:01 pm

Yeah, it's an Insider article. I don't like to post entire Insider articles, so I just post the Suns-related stuff.

Link:

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/ ... iem-100304

Sun Scorched · Post #5 » by **Sun Scorched** » Thu Mar 4, 2010 6:03 pm

No worries, I was just curious who the other MIPs were

Post #6 » by **rsavaj** » Thu Mar 4, 2010 6:06 pm

suh-weet!

justinb80 · Post #7 » by **justinb80** » Thu Mar 4, 2010 6:07 pm

Names:

Andray Blatche
Corey Brewer
Paul Millsap
Jonas Jerebko
Kevin Durant
Russell Westbrook
Jarrett Jack
Darren Collison
Andrew Bogut

WTFsunsFTW · Post #8 » by **WTFsunsFTW** » Thu Mar 4, 2010 6:22 pm

I agree with all those names but Jarret Jack and Corey Brewer. JAck has been good for a few seasons but is still too inconsistent. Corey Brewer is just playing on raw emotion and still cant shoot. He hasnt done anything to improve his team, just add a few highlights of him hitting a shot finally and screaming like a maniac. Bogut has always been decent but never healthy enough to make an impact to non-buck fans.

grumpysaddle · Post #9 » by **grumpysaddle** » Thu Mar 4, 2010 6:27 pm

I really do think Lopez or Dragic have a shot at MIP this year. Perhaps it's because I'm a Suns fan, but they seem dramatically improved compared to the rest of the names on that list. Going from painful to watch, to being key pieces in the teams success in under a year is pretty good in my eyes.

WTFsunsFTW · Post #10 » by **WTFsunsFTW** » Thu Mar 4, 2010 6:32 pm

grumpysaddle wrote:I really do think Lopez or Dragic have a shot at MIP this year. Perhaps it's because I'm a Suns fan, but they seem dramatically improved compared to the rest of the names on that list. Going from painful to watch, to being key pieces in the teams success in under a year is pretty good in my eyes.

Not to mention Dudley and Frye... We have 4 legit changes at bringing MIP back to phx.

grumpysaddle · Post #11 » by **grumpysaddle** » Thu Mar 4, 2010 6:41 pm

WTFsunsFTW wrote:
grumpysaddle wrote:I really do think Lopez or Dragic have a shot at MIP this year. Perhaps it's because I'm a Suns fan, but they seem dramatically improved compared to the rest of the names on that list. Going from painful to watch, to being key pieces in the teams success in under a year is pretty good in my eyes.

Not to mention Dudley and Frye... We have 4 legit changes at bringing MIP back to phx.

True. This team (despite their midseason hiccup) has overplayed their expectations and most of it is due to these 4 players. Granted Nash has shown he hasn't lost a step this season, and Stat is stepping up the past month or so big time, but I can't even recall the amount of times the bench has come in and turned games around. Well, Lopez I guess can't be counted as bench now, but he completely changes the dynamic of the starting lineup. Teams figured out the Frye lineup pretty quickly, but it's looking less likely they'll be able to do the same with Lopez in the starting 5. He's been consistent lately, also, staying out of foul trouble early. But as consistent as he's been, he's also completely random in how much he affects games. A lot of times I think it's just his energy and somehow ending up in the right place at the right time around the rim to clean up offensive boards for easy put-backs. Teams don't seem to have an answer for that. So while Brook looks a lot more stable and relaxed while he's playing, I sort of like Robin's unpredictability and how he's just kind of all over the place with all of his limbs. He's been a game changer, surprisingly to me as I was convinced he was a complete bust.

justinb80 · Post #12 » by **justinb80** » Thu Mar 4, 2010 6:53 pm

grumpysaddle wrote:
WTFsunsFTW wrote:
grumpysaddle wrote:I really do think Lopez or Dragic have a shot at MIP this year. Perhaps it's because I'm a Suns fan, but they seem dramatically improved compared to the rest of the names on that list. Going from painful to watch, to being key pieces in the teams success in under a year is pretty good in my eyes.

Not to mention Dudley and Frye... We have 4 legit changes at bringing MIP back to phx.

True. This team (despite their midseason hiccup) has overplayed their expectations and most of it is due to these 4 players. Granted Nash has shown he hasn't lost a step this season, and Stat is stepping up the past month or so big time, but I can't even recall the amount of times the bench has come in and turned games around. Well, Lopez I guess can't be counted as bench now, but he completely changes the dynamic of the starting lineup. Teams figured out the Frye lineup pretty quickly, but it's looking less likely they'll be able to do the same with Lopez in the starting 5. He's been consistent lately, also, staying out of foul trouble early. But as consistent as he's been, he's also completely random in how much he affects games. A lot of times I think it's just his energy and somehow ending up in the right place at the right time around the rim to clean up offensive boards for easy put-backs. Teams don't seem to have an answer for that. So while Brook looks a lot more stable and relaxed while he's playing, I sort of like Robin's unpredictability and how he's just kind of all over the place with all of his limbs. He's been a game changer, surprisingly to me as I was convinced he was a complete bust.

I think another reason that Lopez's effect on the game is random is how much playing time he gets. Gentry has a tendency to flat-out pull the plug on him if he's not getting it going immediately. They've been winning regardless, so I guess I overall applaud the "ride the hot hand" mentality.

grumpysaddle · Post #13 » by **grumpysaddle** » Thu Mar 4, 2010 7:01 pm

i think if Lopez doesn't get it going immediately he's generally not going to. Some teams he's more effective against, others he's not. When Frye is hitting 3's like he did last night, you neeeeeeeed to keep him in. I mean... he was 7-8 at one point, before he tossed up two more for the hell of it. But I think this makes the Suns super dynamic. Most teams end up having pretty much carbon copies for centers, meaning you need to study one way to prepare before the game. With the Suns, you have Lopez taking up enormous amounts of space inside, which is weird cause he's not really HUGE, just tall and lanky and moves around crazy which I think gets under a lot of the other teams' players' skin and frustrates them. Then you pull him and the same guy guarding Lopez down low, now has to readjust his game to be able to cover Frye around the arc. Frye's been changing his game up recently as well, not just settling for hanging around the 3 point line and it's definitely opened things up for him. Now teams need to be sure they don't overplay him on the 3 because he'll put it on the floor and usually get a pretty good look at a layup or dunk. But they can't just leave him wide open cause he has the ability to hit 7 of 8 threes.

eastsidecrossover · Post #14 » by **eastsidecrossover** » Thu Mar 4, 2010 7:29 pm

I love how he proclaims players to be bust and then all of a sudden, there are part of the MIP team.

Hollingers is such a moron. I cant stand him and most of his information is pathetic. wow, you can crunch numbers. Stick to numbers and not talking about how good players are and which ones are bust. Someone has to ask him, how does that crow taste? :lol:

MaryvalesFinest · Post #15 » by **MaryvalesFinest** » Thu Mar 4, 2010 7:31 pm

Depending on what managements plans are for the future, if they plan on fielding a team that relies on defense to win and plays more in the half court I'd love to see Robin hit the weight room and put on about 20-30 pounds and get to 275 or 285, he would dominate in the post.

justinb80 · Post #16 » by **justinb80** » Thu Mar 4, 2010 7:31 pm

Yeah, he was very hard on both Lopez and Dragic, but can't blame him too much. Most Suns fans initially and throughout their rookie seasons thought Kerr had miffed on picking those two.

justinb80 · Post #17 » by **justinb80** » Thu Mar 4, 2010 7:33 pm

MaryvalesFinest wrote:Depending on what managements plans are for the future, if they plan on fielding a team that relies on defense to win and plays more in the half court I'd love to see Robin hit the weight room and put on about 20-30 pounds and get to 275 or 285, he would dominate in the post.

Personally, I think Robin would be more than capable of being the number 2 or 3 option on the Suns, if they chose to go that route. Don't see him being a number 1 guy, though.

Biff · Post #18 » by **Biff** » Thu Mar 4, 2010 9:00 pm

eastsidecrossover wrote:I love how he proclaims players to be bust and then all of a sudden, there are part of the MIP team.

Hollingers is such a moron. I cant stand him and most of his information is pathetic. wow, you can crunch numbers. Stick to numbers and not talking about how good players are and which ones are bust. Someone has to ask him, how does that crow taste?

Kind of similar to 99% of the posters on this forum, right? I don't think he's a moron, he's just prone to jumping to conclusions just like everyone else.

These guys have quotas and deadlines they have to meet-- they need to write to get paid. What else is he supposed to write about?

Sun Scorched · Post #19 » by **Sun Scorched** » Thu Mar 4, 2010 9:20 pm

I have always liked Dragic, ever since I saw the pre-draft workout videos of him.

I'll admit Robin's early foul trouble and relative inability to even stay on the floor had me worried, but he's gotten the footwork down and he moves better than most 7 footers i've seen.

ATTENTION ROBIN LOPEZ

Please learn the skyhook. That is all.

Sun Scorched · Post #20 » by **Sun Scorched** » Thu Mar 4, 2010 9:21 pm

I have always liked Dragic, ever since I saw the pre-draft workout videos of him.

I'll admit Robin's early foul trouble and relative inability to even stay on the floor had me worried, but he's gotten the footwork down and he moves better than most 7 footers i've seen.

ATTENTION ROBIN LOPEZ

Please learn the skyhook. That is all.