It's been a while, but the NBA Roundtable has returned. Though Olympic basketball is the only hoops action on TV right now, three other writers and I decided to talk NBA this week.
Last season, Hedo Turkoglu had an outstanding year with the Orlando Magic and won the Most Improved Player award. But the question is now: Who will be this year's Hedo Turkoglu?
If you're an NBA junky, then at least five worthy candidates should come to mind in discussion for this year's MIP. Then again, it's not always easy because Turkoglu didn't even cross my mind this time last year as an MIP candidate.
Instead of going solo this year for my MIP predictions, three more of Bleacher Report's NBA junkies will join the conversation: Erick Blasco, Joe Willet, and TJ Zwarych.
But enough of the small talk, let's get this thing rolling...
As I mentioned before, Turkoglu didn't cross my mind as an MIP candidate last year, so I'm going to throw a surprise name out there this year.
5. Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics
After the Celtics acquired Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett last summer, the only question mark heading into the season was the play of their young point guard. Rondo turned out to be better than expected, and I think he will improve even more next season.
Rondo doesn't have to score a lot for the C's, but I expect his point production to go up a bit from last season.
4. Francisco Garcia, Sacramento Kings
Garcia has always been an exceptional scorer from his days at Louisville, but now with Ron Artest out of the picture he's almost guaranteed a starting role for this upcoming season. Someone will have to take the load off Kevin Martin this year, but the only problem is his team might not be good enough for him to take the MIP award.
3. David Lee, New York Knicks
Laugh if you will, but if Lee can flourish under Mike D'Antoni's system he could have a breakout year next season. Problem is, he must earn a role as a starter.
Lee only started 10 games last season, but if he doesn't win MIP he'll definitely take home the Sixth Man of the Year trophy. And if you didn't know by now, this is my surprise name I'm throwing out there.
2. Devin Harris, New Jersey Nets
Now that Richard Jefferson is gone, Harris will have to fill the void on the offensive end. Harris has the potential to become a top-five point guard in the NBA some day, and I have the feeling that next season will be his breakout year.
And if they already haven't, the Dallas Mavericks will regret the day they traded Harris for Jason Kidd.
1. LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland Trailblazers
Though it failed to make the playoffs last season, Portland had a pretty good season. And no disrespect to Hedo, but Aldridge should have won the award last season.
No doubt Portland will be better this year, and, if his game continues to gain polish this upcoming season, he has the chance to run away with the MIP.
16 comments Last one added 10 months ago — Leave a Comment
Erick Blasco 10 months ago
I like the picks Mike, I just wonder about Aldridge having Oden and Roy stealing some of his production. He's definitely a very good player who should hav a very good year.
I like the Harris pick too. If Vince Carter gets traded, Harris will be asked to score or get an assist every time down the court.
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Michael Whittenberg 10 months ago
I'm kind of shocked with your Chandler pick, but you never know.
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Erick Blasco 10 months ago
hey, I was shocked by Hedo Turkoglu and Beno Udrih last year!
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Blake Bartholomew 10 months ago
John Salmons, not Francisco Garcia, is the starting SF for the Kings.
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Erick Blasco 10 months ago
Since Garcia's younger, has more upside, and since Sacramento probably wants to focus primarily on their young players this season, I think Garcia gets the starting nod.
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Andrew Ungvari 10 months ago
I wanted to contribute but I could only think of one name: Andris Biedrins. I don't think any of this year's free agents has as much to live up to as this kid. He got 6 years and $62 million so he better perform. The question is how much better will he get?
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Khalid Shakran 10 months ago
Thank you Andrew. I don't really know how much he'll get better, but I can assure you, he is a worthy candidate of the MIP award. The Golden State Warriors are probably the most talented young core in the NBA after the Portland Trail Blazers. Having Monta Ellis, Andris Biedrins, Brandan Wright, and Marcus Williams on the roster, anyone of these players are potential picks in my MIP book. Not just because I am a crazy Warriors' fan, but because I really think next year, it's going to be a break-out year for all of the players mentioned above, even for Monta Ellis, due to his transition into the leading guard spot.
But uhh, I liked Erick Blasco's picks. It was really interesting how he chose Chandler. And it was also interesting how TJ Z. chose Carlos Boozer as a possible candidate.
My top pick would be Devin Harris.
But thanks for the article though Michael.
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Solar Bear 10 months ago
Watch Mickael Pietrus this year. He'll have a chance to play in a system and at the position that suits his skills much better than with the Warriors.
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TJ Zwarych 10 months ago
Yeah I completely forgot about him, Pietrus will fit in well there and will improve and help the Magic improve.
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Brett Fulmore 10 months ago
Chris Duhon hasn't been mentioned but I think he has a chance to win the MIP.
He can distribute the ball very effectively and should see a big bump in minutes now that he's no longer playing second fiddle to Hinrich in Chi-town. On the other side of the coin, I'm sure the Knicks will be trying to distance themselves from the Marbury era in NY as much as possible, and Duhon's unselfishness and grit could make him a favorite with Walsh, D'antoni and the Knickerbocker faithful.
Here's a few others that are on my radar...
-John Salmons... Francisco Garcia was mentioned but I think Salmon will have the bigger year in light of Artest's exit.
-Rodney Stuckey... came on strong to end last season, and will probably see a significant jump in all of the major categories since he'll be getting consistent PT this year.
-Brandon Bass... Another player who emerged near the end of last year, he's one of the few Mavericks who plays with a mean streak - a characteristic that could endear him to Carlisle considering the mental fragility of this Dallas team.
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Inaki Angulo 10 months ago
I agree with you on Rondo. He had a tremendous Playoff performance and I expect a breakout season from him this season.
I 've put Rondo in my top 3 rising point guards for 2008/09. Take a look to the article if you wish.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/48449-nba-top-3-rising-point-guards-for-the-2008-2009-season
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Yama Hazheer 10 months ago
Rajon Rondo will win it IMO. He played great in the finals and will continue playing great this season.
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Brett Fulmore 10 months ago
Rondo is going to have a good year, but when I think of MIP, it usually goes to someone who makes a staggering leap from one level to another.
Rondo will still be the fourth option on the Celts and his role will be similar to this season. He could see a slight bump in ppg, apg, and rpg... and he will undoubtedly be a better player as he's still young and developing, but I don't think his 08-09 numbers will dwarf his stats from this season by any means.
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Gaz V 10 months ago
I like your lists, but I think if you are going to choose a Celtics player you should look at Tony Allen, not Rajon Rondo. Rondo improved so much last season (FG% went up by around 7.5%, assists increased by nearly 1.5 per game, points per game jumped by more than 4), that he does not have a lot of room left for improvement. Everyone still talks about Rondo improving his outside shot, despite the fact that he shot 49.2% last season, which placed him 35th overall for the entire NBA (better than Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Gilbert Arenas and several other key guards have ever done in their careers). If he does make similar improvements this season, then we are looking at the next best PG in the East if not the entire NBA.
Tony Allen, by contrast, was recovering from the physical and psychological scars of his knee injury from the previous season. Immediately before the injury, Allen put together a series of 12-14 games (when Pierce was out) in which he scored 20+ points or more. His biggest problems (ball handling and decision making) can be overcome through off-season practice and more experience on the court. Allen will return this season to the form that he showed before the injury. When he does, the Celtics will be very difficult to beat.
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Stephane Morneau 10 months ago
Great roundtable, I'd like to throw some name in the hat though...
AL THORNTON
It's hard to pick a sophomore guy as a MIP but Thornton might explode in the high-octane Clippers of next year. With Davis and Camby aboard, Al could go back to the SF position, where he belongs, and really becomes a go to guy for the other LA Team.
RAFER ALSTON
He showed some lights out performance last year and if the Rockets stay healthy, Alston will get more and more comfortable and could become a real treat from the arc with the inside all covered by T-Mac/Yao/Artest.
JR SMITH
Already a great 6th Man, Smith might blossom into a starter with the Nuggs and he's becoming mature and take less and less ill-advised shot and it's really interesting to see where he's heading.
GERALD GREEN
That's far off, I know, but I think that the Mavs will be a good suit for Green who will get minutes from the bench. Maybe not MIB material yet...but he'll come around.
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Michael Whittenberg 10 months ago
That's true, it is hard to put a sophomore in contention for the MIP, but Thornton was a pretty good pick.
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