<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Keep An Eye on Trevor Ariza As mentioned in this space a little while back (See my Oct. 4th entry below), keep an eye on Trevor Ariza. He?s making a case for the NBA?s Most Improved Player Award. Case in point: His career averages entering this season were: 5.3 ppg., 3.4 rpg., 1.1 apg., 17.4 minpg., .431 FG pct. In the first 15 games of the season he averaged: 5.1 ppg., 3.5 rpg., 17.4 minpg., .464 FG pct. (32-69 FG). Over the last 12 games of 2006, he averaged: 12.9 ppg., 5.2 rpg., 1.7 apg., 1.50 stlpg., 29.3 minpg., .613 FG pct. (65-106 FG). And over the last six games of 2006: 15.8 ppg., 5.8 rpg., 2.0 apg., 1.83 stlpg., 32.3 minpg., .623 FG pct. (38-61 FG), while scoring in double figures in all six outings and recording a double-double on Dec. 30 vs. Miami with 16 points and a season-high 10 rebounds.</div> Source
this year's MIP race is very very good...you have monta ellis who is averagin 17 ppg, matt barnes at 12, trevor and about 9 ppg...i think this year in general has been very exciting...those players are putting up great numbers, AI was traded, webber is about to be bought out, the steve francis situation, along with the artest and maggette situations. the improvement of mike miller's game. US!...this has been one of the most exciting years of basketball i have watched in my 10 years as a magic fan
I doubt he actually has a chance at winning it. Hedo Turkoglu is healthy again so Trevor will go back to coming off the bench and his stats will likely decrease. Kevin Martin (who has been an offensive monster for the Kings this year) definitely has the best chance of winning it and Monta Ellis is another guy I'd put ahead of Ariza. This season's headlines have been pretty exciting though. Everyone is demanding trades, one of the greatest players ever has a new home, and many surprises have emerged. Definitely a fun year for basketball.
I really doubt that Ariza will win it, there's no doubt he has improved but guys like Kevin Martin, Monta Ellis, even Al Jefferson or David Lee have a better chance of winning the MIP award. Some other names that come to mind are Jarret Jack, Luke Walton, and Andris Biedrins.
<div class="quote_poster">Riot Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Kevin Martin, Monta Ellis, even Al Jefferson Jarret Jack, Luke Walton, and Andris Biedrins.</div> All of these are more deserving than Ariza.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Hell, half the Warriors are possible lol.</div> Of course, this is in no way reflected in the teams overall record.