Roger Mason has been very impressive. As a former Hapoel player, I'm rooting for him this year. And for Devin Harris, who judging by his last 4 games should also be considered a strong candidate.
I think there's a plethora of candidates for this. Devin Harris will be there by the end of the year if he continues to put up such ridiculous numbers. Thaddeus Young has a legit shot as long as he gets consistent burn. Nick Young will be up there as well, same with Wilson Chandler. Right now though, it's still too early to tell, because anyone that might be playing well right now could hit a wall. On the note of this award...I'm personally completely against giving it to a second year player. Players like Thaddeus Young shouldn't really be considered for the award because their progressions is expected. I think it should be a player that's been in the NBA for at least 3 or 4 seasons that wins the award, much like Hedo last year. He'd been around for quite a few years and then just exploded out of nowhere. With that criteria, I would give it to Roger Mason Jr. at this point. He's been around since '02 and has really found his niche with the Spurs. Will he keep it up when Tony and Manu returns? Who knows. But right now, he is the person that I think should win it, because he made some large improvements to his game this year and has been around for 6 years now. The other person that would be most worth mentioning as well, would be Devin Harris. He's in his 4th year and has really exploded this year now that the reigns have been taken off.
+1 Moo... totally agree, 2nd year players are supposed to improve after getting their feet wet. It should go to a guy who's worked hard for 3-4 years and is now making a drastic improvement.
Another guy who could be mentioned in there is Trevor Ariza. Call it bias or what have you, but the kid has made some big strides this year. He's been rock solid on defense, as always, but his offense has been very good. His jump shot has been much improved this year, to the point where I no longer cringe at the thought of him taking a jump shot. He's also doing a better job on the glass this year too.
So this will be the last time I post pad in this thread (for now), but I forgot about Nene. He's always been a pretty solid guy when he's healthy, but he's been money this year. He's averaging about 15/8 on a ridiculous 64% shooting, which, oh by the way, is tops in the league.
Nene is a good choice.... if he can last most of the year of course. Ariza's numbers have not jumped that much and in the end it's about the numbers when ppl vote for this award IMO. So even if he is playing great D, it will be overlooked for this award.
You are quite correct on both aspects CF. Nene would be a good choice, but health is always a worry for him. I really hope he stays healthy, because if he does, he's got a really bright future and could help the Nuggets a lot. You're also right about Ariza. And it's unfortunate, because he has improved a lot more than his numbers show. They're not the entire story there. If he was on a different team, he'd probably have better numbers, but since he plays on arguably the deepest team in the NBA, he's not going to have eye popping numbers, especially considering he's the 2nd or 3rd player off the bench.
Devin harris Last season: 15.4 ppg 6.5 assists 3.3 reb This year: 23.9 ppg 5.8 assists 3.6 reb Not to mention his last 5 games he had 38,30,33,23,30
I wouldn't go that far. In order to get qualified, one must shoot the ball, and that's not something he does too often.
I love Ariza and all, but voters are too stat happy. Ariza has really improved by leaps and bounds from this year to last. His jumper is actually respectable now and I don't have to cringe every time I see him take a jumper. Too bad voters won't notice that. Instead, they'll notice his 10ish points per game and decide that since his scoring output hasn't been more improved like Nene, Wilson Chandler, Mason Jr, Harris, etc. and therefore, won't vote for him.
I dont know man...I see where you are coming from but his defense is getting REAL sick. Its gonna start being hard not to notice. 11/11/5/3stl tonight
Defense doesn't always show up on the stat sheet though...and that's what the MIP is all about...statistical improvement.
