In my mind, Rajon Rondo definitely deserves this award.
Rondo is on a team with Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, so he does get less attention then he should. He is the starting point guard for the best team in the league.
It's not that he has no backup either; he has Sam Cassel Cassell backing him up. I mean, we all know Sammy is old, but he can definitely still get it done.
Last season, in Rajon's rookie year, he averaged 6.4 points per game, 3.8 assists per game, 3.8 rebounds per game and 1.6 steals a game.
Not bad, but compared to this season? There is no comparison. With Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett being added to the team, you would think his averages, at least points averages would go down, right? Wrong.
Rondo averaged 10.6 points, 5.2 assists per game, 4.2 rebounds per game and again 1.6 steals a game. That's pretty great considering 99.9% great, considering 99.9 percent of the plays are designed for Allen, Pierce and Garnett.
The most criticized part of his game is his jumper. Last season, he shot 41.8% from the field. Pretty bad. His jumper flat out sucked.
This season, although still not having the greatest jumper, he shot 49.2 percent from the field. A HUGE iprovement. Even watching games, most of his points are off of the jumper.
The only part of his game he didn't improve on this season was his free throw shooting, where he shot 61%, decreasing from 64% last season.
Something we didn't find out about him last year, was whether he could perform in the playoffs or not, this year, we have, sort of. Playoffs are barely underway, but we have still seen him perform, even if it has been a short period of time.
Check out his playoff games so far. Compare these numbers to his regular season stats. He has 13.5 points per game, 6 rebounds per game, 8.5 assists per game and 3 steals per game. Wow. Those are, if not, almost All-Star type numbers.
This guy has only upside and more upside. He has made huge improvements in his game this season. I think he will win the Most Improved Player award this season, and if he continues to improve, he might win it next year to.
7 comments Last one added 8 months ago — Leave a Comment
Mark Kels about 1 year ago
You say he is the most improved DESPITE being on the same team with Pierce, Allen and Garnett but I say its BECAUSE he is on the same team with them. When you have all the defensive attention of the other team on three players it is a lot easier to get free looks and thus shoot with better accuracy. Its also a lot easier to make more assists with such players on your team. As I see it, the guy did not improve as a player at all - he plays on the same level he did last year. The only thing that changed is the roster around him, a change that helped his stats a bit but nothing more. Honestly, I don't see why he got the award and not Hedo Turkoglu.
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TJ Zwarych about 1 year ago
But how do you explain the points goin up? They run all of there plays through those 3 players and he still finds it possible to score
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Mark Kels about 1 year ago
No need for special plays to score 10 points. He is just left open a lot more simply because he doesn't pose a threat as his teammates. Almost all starters in the league can score 10 PPG... A few fast-breaks, open looks and FT and you get to 10 pretty quickly.
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Khalid Shakran about 1 year ago
Well..he's got three of the best league's players this year helping out. Still though..I think someone like Turkoglu should win it..for sure!
Nice point of view though.
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Peter Fleischer about 1 year ago
I really liked the article, but I tend to side more with Mark's school of thought. I think Rondo is marginal offensively, but a definite stopper on the defensive end, more of a Keyon Dooling type. On that loaded roster, he should average more than 5 APG. However, he is certainly much improved, and was a pleasant surprise this year.
Great job TJ.
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marilyn sanders about 1 year ago
personally i think the best players on the team is kevin garnett ray allen rajon rondo and paul pierce oh yea and leon powe and pj brown those guys can really get it done congradulation on winning the 2008 championship now u finally got ur banner posted by marilyn ya teams #1 fan
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joe brum 8 months ago
thats completely bull mark. you cant even say hes improved over the summer. hes already done things like break steve nash's ankles and how the hell are you going to tell me that he's going to do that with help of the big three. Rondo is one of the best point guards in the NBA and i wouldn't be surprised if he gets in the all star game in the upcoming years
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