NBA Power Rankings: Kevin Love and 11 Candidates for 2011's Most Improved Player
The 2011 NBA season has shown us several unexpected players who have taken drastic steps forward in performance since last season.
The majority of the Most Improved Player candidates won't be helping their teams in the postseason, but guys like Kevin Love and LaMarcus Aldridge are now among the best power forwards in the NBA. Nobody could have predicted Love's 53-game double-double streak.
Young guards Jrue Holiday and Kyle Lowry have been key pieces for the 76ers and Rockets in their playoff runs, too.ย
Who's the leading candidate to win the 2011 Most Improved Player Award? Let's take a look.
11. Dorell Wright
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Wright fits with the Warriors offense perfectly. After playing a total of 72 games last season (one start) with Miami, Wright has started all 66 games he's played with Golden State in 2010-2011.
In about 38 minutes a night, he's averaging 16.2 points and 5.4 rebounds while honing a 14.91 player-efficiency rating.
Wright has been tremendous and the sharpshooter has truly found his place on a run-and-gun offensive team. He was only scoring 7.1 points per game last season and averaged only 20.8 minutes.
He may eventually be a star forward for Golden State.
10. Ramon Sessions
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Even with the new acquisition of Baron Davis, Ramon Sessions has been running the point guard position for the lowly Cavaliers.
Sessions automatically gets more playing time than last season because he plays for an awful team, but he's put up nice numbers in spans this season.
At 12.5 points and 5.4 assists per game, Sessions helped the Cavaliers stun the Lakers and sweep the Knicks this season. He's a speedster who can get to the basket, but he has yet to develop a consistent jump shot.
If not for Sessions' pace at the point guard position this season, Cleveland might not even have 10 wins.
Think about that...
9. Paul Millsap
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Millsap is on the list because, although he was solid in 2009-2010, he's taken great leaps this season.
After trading Deron Williams to the Nets, the Jazz basically gave up on the playoffs this season, but Millsap has kept a steady pace, even without a star to feed him the basketball.
Compared to last season, his points-per-game total is plus-5.3 and he's pulling in an extra rebound per game. A 19.58 player-efficiency rating ranks him in an elite group among NBA power forwards, too.
Millsap is developing into a star, but unfortunately, we probably won't see him in this year's NBA playoffs. He's the best player on the Utah Jazz, though.
8. Kyle Lowry
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At the beginning of this season, former Rocket Aaron Brooks was penciled in as the starting point guardโbut Kyle Lowry pushed Brooks out of Houston and on to Phoenix.
Lowry isn't the most efficient scorer as a starting point guard, but compared to last year's zero starts with Memphis, he's started 59-of-63 games with Houston.
Fortunately for Lowry, Houston is packed with sharpshooters like Kevin Martin, who has helped raised his assist totals, too.
Houston is pushing for an eighth seed in this year's playoffs, and with Lowry scoring 12.8 points per game, they just might make it.
7. Tony Allen
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Tony Allen's statistics are by no means great, but when comparing them to his minutes per game (18.8), there's no doubt he's efficient.
He's single-handedly changed Memphis' defensive mindset, as he averages 1.6 steals per game. Allen has made 19 starts for Memphis this year (eight with Boston in 2009), and he has been a valuable acquisition.
The Grizzlies appear to be serious playoff contenders, and the biggest accomplishment for Allen this year has been his ability to replace O.J. Mayo. He was originally acquired as a role player and defensive stopper, but Allen is shooting 50 percent from the floor and he has a 17.32 player-efficiency rating.
He has been great.
6. Marcin Gortat
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Really? Yes. Marcin Gortat is young and extremely valuable to a Suns team that's never cared for defensive minds until now. He averages 1.2 blocks per game.
He only averaged 4.0 points per game with Orlando this season, but with only 12 more minutes per night in Phoenix, Gortat is averaging 11.8 points per game.
He doesn't start, but Gortat brings in 6.8 rebounds per game and shoots well over 50 percent from the floor.
It's amazing to think that Gortat is only 25 years old, and he's a hard-nosed foreign player, which is rare these days. Gortat remains key for the Suns on the inside, and he may eventually be a permanent starter in the near future.
5. Michael Beasley
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Of all places, potential star forward Michael Beasley found his comfort zone in Minnesota.
As a permanent starter at power forward, Beasley is averaging 19.2 points per game, accompanied by 45-percent field-goal shooting. The fact that the Wolves don't have ton of talent is conducive to Beasley's offensive mind, and it gives him a chance to showcase his skills.
We saw Beasley battle psychological problems in a big city like Miami, but it seems like if Minnesota GM David Khan can actually draft the right players (don't count on it), Beasley will be part of an exciting core in a small market.
The 2010 season is refreshing for this 22-year-old former Kansas State University star, and the future looks bright for him.
4. Jrue Holiday
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In just his second season as a pro, Holiday will most likely lead Philadelphia to the playoffs.
He's assumed the starting role at point guard the entire season. With his minutes increasing by 11 since 2009-2010, Holiday's scoring average has elevated by more than five points.
He's the glue to a team that not many expected to make a playoff run, but his 14.95 player-efficiency rating and blazing speed compliment the young wing players on the team.
Holiday is a star in the making.
3. Nick Young
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For all of the turmoil the Wizards have dealt with over the past year with Gilbert Arenas, they were rewarded with John Wall and the breakout of Nick Young.
Young has started more than half of Washington's games this season. Compared to 2009-2010's 8.6 points per game, his scoring average has doubled to 17.7! This is unbelievable.ย
The Wizards are in the Eastern Conference cellar, but Young packs the scoring punch for the team, shooting about 40 percent from beyond the arc.
Young has been remarkable. Now the Wizards have to work on translating his big scoring nights into wins. Arenas didn't lie about a knee injury for no reason. He wanted Nick Young to have more minutes, and now we know why.
2. LaMarcus Aldridge
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LaMarcus Aldridge is on the verge of being an elite forward in the NBA, but for some reason, he was an All-Star snub this year.
Aldridge's numbers are off the charts, averaging 22.3 points and 8.7 rebounds a night. His 21.59 player-efficiency rating is also ranked in the top 10 of the league.
He's the main source of offense for a Blazers team dealing with the ongoing injuries of Brandon Roy and Greg Oden. His scoring average has increased by 4.6 points since last year.
Aldridge also shoots about 50 percent from the floor and almost 80 percent at the free-throw line. He's incredible.
1. Kevin Love
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If Kevin Love played for a great team, he'd surely win the MVP this year.
Love's amazing streak of 53 consecutive double-doubles came to an end this past Sunday, but over that span, he captured the basketball world's attention. How about 20.7 points per game, 15.7 rebounds and a player-efficiency rating of 24.67 this season?
We haven't seen anybody rebound the basketball like Love in a long time, as he's even recorded 13 games of 20-plus reboundsโin one of them, he had 31.
Love made the All-Star team as a late reserve, which is also baffling, considering how well he's played.
Compared to last season, he averages 6.7 points and 4.7 rebounds more per game. Love can't win any other award besides Most Improved Player, only because of the horrible team he plays for. He's had a legendary season and he will continue to blossom into one of the NBA's great stars.
He wins the Most Improved Player, hands down.
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