The Dream Shake Regular Season Awards: Most Improved Player
by Tom Martin on Apr 14, 2011 8:00 AM CDT
in Discussions about Badasses
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PrintIt wasn't the regular season that many of us expected, but given the circumstances, an impressive late-season run and another near-playoff miss could serve to provide a sturdy foundation for the future. But now that it's over, it's time to hand out awards. In this case, you get to vote on who wins. We'll have a different award to hand out each day, so keep checking in. Feel free to discuss your reasoning for making a particular vote in the comments.
We begin with the Most Improved Player award. Keep in mind: A) The only Rockets eligible to receive the award are those who have played with the team from the 10-11 season's start to finish, so if you were pushing to revive Terrence Williams' morale with a blog award, think again. Also, B) The award gauges improvement from THIS SEASON ONLY.
Have at it. Spread the word. Let's get as many votes on this as we can.
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How can Patrick Patterson reasonably be put in this poll?
He’s a rookie. A rookie does not have improvement in a year, only a baseline to be established to improve UPON.
To me this is a toss up between Lowry and Hayes because both of them improved on their major weaknesses and stepped up in a big way.
TDS's resident dickhead.
by BD34 on Apr 14, 2011 8:15 AM CDT reply actions 1 recs
I guess the argument could be made that
Patterson improved throughout the season, finishing as a much better player than he was when he first started getting playing time. I think it’s Chuck though. Lowry’s developing that outside shot was huge, but Chuckwagon’s offensive improvement was really impressive. I think someone posted a fanshot a couple weeks ago about how he’s one of the most efficient offensive big men in the NBA or something like that. That says it all.
And I realize Lowry did more than just hit 3's obviously,
but I feel like he was already at this level in the other facets of his game last year. He just hadn’t gotten the starting gig yet.
it says improvement from this season only
so i can see why he was in there because he improved during the season
Chase Budinger...
I’m going with Chase. Lowry was already a gifted PG and already did well coming off the bench most of the time, so I can’t really call what he did an “improvement.” I think he just got his due PT and opportunity to shine.
Chase on the other hand went from a huge slump to being a relatively productive member of the team, which in my eyes is an improvement.
I would give the following awards:
MVP: Kevin Martin
Big Man of the Year: Chuck Hayes
Guiard of the Year: Kyle Lowry
Most Improved: Chase Budinger
Defensive Player of the Year: Chuck Hayes (Hon. Mention: Lowry)
Offensive Player of the Year: Luis Scola
6th Man of the Year: My main man Courtney Lee
Chase sucked for half the
year,Lowry is the MIP. I agree with your list but offensive player of the year is Martin.
by since86rocketsfan on Apr 14, 2011 1:12 PM CDT up reply actions
The poll refers to improvement from this season's start to finish.
The Dream Shake ...on Twitter.
"I think girls are probably just better shooters." - Steve Novak
Ok but Lowry did
not play bad this year. After getting his ankle healthy he improved to All Star claiber play at the point. Chase struggled for most of the year, but didhave some improvement by driving to the hole more, and slightly on defense. His average d still needs improvement, but he gives alot of effort. Lowry’ play was superior to Chase’s, at the end of games of course Lowry is in, but Lee was in at the end of games more then Bud. Chuck is great on defense and a player we need to make the playoffs, but his offense is no way as good as Lowry’s. Not only does Lowry have a better shot then Hayes but can hit threes. He stays on the free throw line. Chuck is an under the rim player who makes alot of layups, and misses some as well. Hayes has improved on offense, but not as much as Lowry.
by since86rocketsfan on Apr 14, 2011 1:59 PM CDT up reply actions
I guess my question just comes with Patterson
if it is his rookie year you can’t actually say he improved because no one has a defined line of what he is. You have to establish a bottom line before you can see marked improvement. If we take that line that it’s easily Patrick Patterson because he went from 0 MPG 0 PPG 0 RPG and 0 BPG to actual NBA stats, which is a drastic increase.
TDS's resident dickhead.
Not sure you can include Patterson either
I mean the guy was a rookie, we don’t know what he had to build on. For all we know, he could have been like this at Kentucky. I do believe that he has a high ceiling and can win this award next season.
Funny how Memphis' ****-up has become Houston's obsession
I've got to put my money with Chuck Hayes. And this is with removing my bias I have.
What has he improved this year?
Fg%-up considerably.
FT%-highest in his career
OFF REB- highest in his career
DEF REB- highest in his career
Assist- highest in his career (see a trend here?)
Steals-tied for highest in his career
Blocks-highest in his career
PPG-highest in his career
And unstats-wise, he consistantly improved the entire year. Being 6’6", he didn’t scare drivers from the rim, but he effectivly shut down nearly every one-on-one match he had. He also brought a bit more attitude to the team this year. K-Low was downright horrible at the beginning of the year. And although he was amazing for the second half, it seems more like a long hot streak than steady improvement. However, I hope K-Low makes me eat my words next season.
"You know how Einstein got bad grades as a kid? Well, mine are
even worse! " ~Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes
by TheChuckwagonisrolling on Apr 14, 2011 8:31 AM CDT reply actions
Chuck has always done the things in the un-stat wise reference you brought up.
Chuck has improved all across the board and he has been integral but I feel as though Lowry freed up the team to go ahead and move last year’s MIP, has shored up the back court defensively, and has bumped all of his totals as he’s gone on this year. We always knew he was the more traditional point guard but to sniff near 10 APG in the second half is near elite level in the NBA. Lowry did that all while scoring and ball hawking as well.
It’s definitely a toss up, Chuck and Lowry both had career years.
TDS's resident dickhead.
I agree with you that Lowry has been great.
Lowry is an extremely close second for me.
But it looks like Lowry is running away with the votes, so I suppose it’s not so close in other minds.
"You know how Einstein got bad grades as a kid? Well, mine are
even worse! " ~Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes
by TheChuckwagonisrolling on Apr 14, 2011 10:56 AM CDT up reply actions
agreed again...
this is all about Chuck and Lowry.
Chase, I guess he improved but not THAT much to really be noticed. …and his “improvement” was largely a function of recovering where he should have been on day one of the season.
No, I voted for Chuck but I think both he and Lowry did awesome this year and are worth every penny of the salaries…and chuck worth even more…he is very much underpaid currently.
Hope we can build on this next year
I have to vote for Chuck Hayes for the basic fact that most of us have been watching him since he was called up from the D-League
It’s weird to see him do THIS well. Lowry has been fantastic though.
If you're a fan of basketball, watch a movie called Sonicsgate. It's free, just google it.
Hard to argue about Kyle Lowry
with the all-star kind of number he started putting in after the deadline.
Definitely has to be Lowry.
Wanted to be a starter and proved he could be a quality starter in this league. He also took on much of the on-court leadership that Shane used to exercise. He became our buzzerbeater king. The stats across the board will also show his improvement.
Both Deserve it
Lowry and Hayes teamed up and took over this team and that is the main reason why we have done so well after the trade. They took over the leadership by example with D and hard unselfish play.
Lowry adding the improved 3 point shooting opened up his game. The extra spacing allowed him to really display his skills. But Chucks improved offense and great passing added to Lowry’s game too.
The team work, trust and bond that seemed to happen between Lowry. Chuck and Rick after the trade was great. They were as one and others started falling into place. I hope we develop from this example into next year
Why can't there be a category for both Lowry AND Hayes?!?!
yes, i can see why Lowry would get most the votes. but deep down, i really think Chuck Hayes has been the more surprising player on the roster… but yeh, i voted for both players anyways :D
Bobby G is Sexy
CHUCK
Lowry played solidly for the first 50 games or so, but not markedly better that what we expected from past years. His last 25 games or so were indeed remarkable, but I’m not completely convinced he will keep that up for an entire season. Chuck, on the other hand, made an absolutely remarkable transformation this year. I absolutely believe he could start for a championship contender now, and I never would have believed that before this year. He’s just so much better in so many ways than he has been.
Go look at the stats. Chuck had a higher assist rate this year than any PF or C in the entire league except Blake Griffin, and Boris Diaw. And I’m not even sure you call Diaw a PF. And the man shot 53% percent from the floor this year!
http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/player/_/stat/assists/sort/avg48Assists/position/centers
The award is for this season, not speculation into next.
Who is to say Chuck keeps his improvement up too? Also, that 53% is misleading considering he didn’t take many shots beyond layups and putbacks.
TDS's resident dickhead.
yea but if you remember he used to blow every layup and put back.. he has improved the most in my eyes.
his whole offense improved. he started driving and spinning. using his left hand. that man put work in the gym
I think whole season is a much better predictor of future performance than 25 games.
I’m very optimistic about Lowry, but also concerned this late run could be a flash in the pan.
And no, I don’t think 53% shooting is misleading. Every player has to find a way to be productive on offence and to get shots he can make. 53% shooting (on a for bit more shooting this year) means that Chuck both understands where he should be getting shots, and also is very effective at converting the opportunities he does get.
Rondo has averaged about 50% shooting for the last 4 seasons. He can’t hit the broad side of a barn outside 15 feet. He wouldn’t have a chance in a game of horse against Kevin Martin (who, of course, averages a much lower percentage). But Rondo is a stud because he has figured out a way to get shots from places on the floor where he can be effective. BD, I certainly hope you’re giving me more credit than to assume that my 53% comment is somehow an argument that Chuck is a better shooter than Lowry…
Not nit picking, I want Lowry to win but I also could see Hayes winning.
For me it’s just there are questions to ask that need to be posed to get a good feel for whether or not it’s hype or there is grounding. The only person who wins a free pass on that questioning is TheChuckWagonisRolling. Hah.
TDS's resident dickhead.
Sweet.....
"You know how Einstein got bad grades as a kid? Well, mine are
even worse! " ~Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes
by TheChuckwagonisrolling on Apr 14, 2011 10:57 AM CDT up reply actions
I think highly of you even when we disagree, I give you more credit, hah.
I’m just seeing that both the guys are great choice for MIP but I also think people are downplaying Lowry’s first half pre-trade deadline performance (He had a bad month and a half to start the season, played pretty good to the trade deadline, then played out of his god damn mind in the second half) because of his strong showing in the second half. He opened up room for us to trade Brooks (A guy who I loved, I think that’s well documented on TDS) and Chuck did approve by leaps and bounds but we were still a weak rebounding team with no resolution to our paint issue, we picked up a 7’3" project center to (hopefully) replace him, and at the end of the day Chuck is a role player to use sparingly (More time than before this season admittedly).
I think when we look at MIP we look at a player who increased his value, which Lowry did by causing us to get rid of a point guard for a happy back up.
TDS's resident dickhead.
OK
Most of my relevant comments are in the reply a couple spots down. I think Lowry has more potential to be great than Chuck (even though, as you say, this isn’t about the future). But point guard is a loaded position in the league. His assist rate or ast/TO numbers are nowhere near the elite in the league, and though strong, he is short and can’t break people down off the dribble. He shot from the perimeter really well this year, and everything you read says this is the result of really hard work on his part. But he’s been such a poor shooter (by NBA standards) historically that he may well regress there (Trevor Ariza, anyone?). Other than effort and strength, I’m not sure what qualities he can bring at an elite level over the long term.
But much like Brooks play his last few months in Houston made it hard to justify supporting him, Lowry the last two months is making it tough to doubt him. (And Brooks in PHX certainly didn’t do anything to convince me the trade was a mistake.)
Chuck is not a starting C for a championship contender
Albeit it’s not his fault, the guy is vertically challenged. But all the layups given up, offensive rebounds given up, and opponents points in the paint has to rest at our C position. Chuck is a role player who can guard multiple positions and give a solid, consistant 20-25 minutes per game. Kyle Lowry can be a starting PG for an elite team.
Funny how Memphis' ****-up has become Houston's obsession
he didn't say starting C. just starting in general the man can ball
i would put him at pf next to an actual center. a tall one
Thanks mb.
Requiring labels on everyone is a bit silly. Chuck needs to play with an offensively-minded, shotblocking big man beside him. That could be a C or PF, if you need a label. Chuck/Amare would be wonderful. Chuck/Aldridge would be fantastic. Chuck/B. Griffin would probably work. You just can’t have him teamed with an under-the-rim guy (Scola) or a big shotblocker (Thabeet) who probably brings little offense to the table. And that’s a fundamental problem for the Rockets make-up, that it’s not clear that the pieces fit.
And we need to stop insinuating that Chuck is a bad rebounder. Al Jefferson, Nene, Chris Kaman, Marc Gasol, Erick Dampier, Brook Lopez: all “true centers” that have been mentioned here as possible saviors in the middle. All have rebound rates lower than Chuck. The man gets it done. Complain about his offense. Complain about his shot-blocking or paint presence. But there are only a few truly elite guys in the league who are meaningfully better rebounders than Chuck.
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/statistics?position=c&sort=reboundRate&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnba%2fhollinger%2fstatistics%3fposition%3dc%26sort%3dreboundRate
Has to be Lowry...
and not just his improved offensive skills, and not just because he quantified his new contract. But he finished 8th in the leauge in assist to turnover ratio. Personally I think it could be higher because almost every rotation player is a good passer. But getting back to the stats, 6 of the 7 guys above him average more turnovers per game, and only 2 of them average more minutes. Given a full season as being the guy at point, I think he can actually have a better ratio.
Funny how Memphis' ****-up has become Houston's obsession
completely off point but...
did you guys see dragic man. he had 1 TO in the dallas game thats ridiculous he played all 53 minutes. in the last four games he only had 4 TO while stacking up 27 assists
yeah, personally I was very skeptical and still very high on AB
but I think Goran is a player and the fact that he will still improve on all facets of his game, he’s got a very high ceiling.
Funny how Memphis' ****-up has become Houston's obsession
after ABs little hissy fit alot of us fell of his bandwagon
i still think AB is going to be a starter but dragic seems to fit pretty well with our team. i’m looking forward to seeing him grow. he has a lot of fun on the court. he’s fun to watch
For Brooks it was always starter versus bench.
He tasted starter, excelled, then going back was difficult. Dragic fits perfectly because he’s content to be a backup. He’s a better back up than Brooks but Brooks would be a better starter, if that makes sense.
TDS's resident dickhead.
Same as Rafer-Brooks
I think its not so much that Dragic is content to be the backup but that its easier to accept. Part of why we traded Rafer for Lowry was because AB was going to start ( he had earned the spot ) and Rafer would have problems being behind him on the bench. Lowry always wanted to start but just worked hard looking for his chance. AB could not handle moving back to a backup role that he was a better fit at ( Lowry making more money did not help ) . Dragic is going to be a better back-up for Lowry than AB because he has more size and is more of a push the ball point guard rather than a undersized shooting guard.
If we do resign Chuck
I am thinking he will come back next season with a mid-range jumper. He works on something every summer and that would make sense as his project this summer. Can you imagine the damage he could do if he could score from 15-17 feet?
With a Center or PF on him?
He’ll probably help block numbers unless mid range space is made.
TDS's resident dickhead.
That would be nice.
But I’m suggesting he works on his 48-inch vertical and 720-degree tomahawk slam dunk instead.
What about Thabeet?
This Poll is seriously flawed without consideration for the improvement shown by Hasheem Thabeet. When we got him at the trade deadline, everybody in the world projected him to be the Wikipedia picture for “NBA Bust.” Now look how he finished the season. I don’t mean the last two games where he watched the Rockets play from the bench. I mean the two double doubles he racked up in his seven games with the Vipers. DOMINANT.
This guy is the real deal and will probably help the Vipers rack up another championship next year.
by willievanillie on Apr 14, 2011 11:39 AM CDT reply actions
Not sure how much BD paid you to put this, but it's not enough LOL
Now if we are talking about an award for hustling money, we’re on to something.
Funny how Memphis' ****-up has become Houston's obsession
by jake_471 on Apr 14, 2011 11:42 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
You have no such thing as tact do you?
I rather like this post because thabeet is showing he gets it in the dleague.
TDS's resident dickhead.
by BD34 on Apr 14, 2011 12:05 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions
As much as I wanted to see Thabeet play, I think not playing him was for the best
Being drafted where he was and not ever seeing the floor in Memphis has had to be hard on his confidence. Getting traded to the Rockets and starting completely over with his development is the right way. Treat him as the prospect he is and not the #2 draft pick Memphis thought he was. I am so glad he did well in the D-League but that is still a long ways from the NBA. As I have said before that is the 1st step. Now he needs to work hard this summer. The Lockout means he is going to have to do this on his own. Hopefully we have a full training camp that he show how he can help the Rockets. Playing him at the end of the season ran the risk of hurting that confidence if he is not ready yet. I believe with the right attitude he is going to be a helpfull bench player next year.
I think people will still put time in with Hasheem, or I hope so.
I see where you’re coming from and I agree with it but part of me screams for the fact that sometimes when all the chips have been cashed in and you’re left with a fiver in your pocket, why not go for broke and let guys who have been shackled to the bench see some time. What harm can it do?
TDS's resident dickhead.
You should probably read Tom's criteria
And really take D-league play with a grain of salt, He’s not really dominant down there, he’s had couple good games, I think one of the Ridiculous upside writer actually contested this
Development League is just that
They are playing with and against other young players needing to work on some part of their game. Its a way for them to get game situations, work on their game and gain confidence. But we all know it is not the same as a NBA game.
Not to mention there's about
9 people attending the games and if you fart the entire arena can hear you. But hey, he’s recorded a couple double doubles so that 5 million a year we’re spending isn’t all wasteful right??
Funny how Memphis' ****-up has become Houston's obsession
actually RGV has some pretty dedicated fans
you’ll be surprised by the attendance they have
i'm going with the chuckwagon
lowry was stellar the last couple of years and while he probably raised his ceiling with his performance this season, the only thing that was really missing from his arsenal was a jump shot. granted, lowry put in consistent numbers this season and was able to keep us somewhat competitive while brooks got injured during that stretch.
the wagon must have put in a LOT of work in the offseason. getting that FT percentage up 12 percentage points shows he went to the gym and practiced the hell out of it. he helped us get a winning season even after yao went down and it was evident that the FO hadn’t been adequately prepared for that eventuality.
so yeah, chuck for me. i’d say lowry would probably be an MVP candidate for us, along with martin.
click here for: rockets playoff watch!
Hayes is the man in my opinion
I was thinking lowry but i checked out the stats of this season and last and lowry is up on most stats.
MPG, FG, 3PT, FT, RPG, APG, SPG, BPG, TO, PTS
Lowry 9.9 .029 .104 .062 .5 2.2 .5 .2 .4 4.4- .117 2.4 1 .2 .2 .26 3.5
Hayes 6.5 .38 -
Notable:
Lowry 0 starts up to 71, 3PA up 2.5% while 3PM also rising, triple double, ranked 8th assist per turnover
Hayes pts nearly double from last season, 8less games played, robounds up by roughly 2in both offense and defense, triple double
i picked hayes based on his amazing defense one on one wit taller players every nite but lowrys leadership may overtake this i donno i like stats haha
Scola!!!!!
Me against the world is a mismatch in my favor.
by batman713 on Apr 14, 2011 1:13 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs
The MIP and MVP of the 2010-2011 Rockets is
Kyle Lowry.
"Hakeem couldn't kick your ass cuz you were too
close kissin his!"- Sir Charles to Kenny Smith.
With those same attempts
Patterson can put up those numbers, but be improved in rebounding, and shot blocking, and defense in general. Lee is way better on d then Martin, but at this point can’t produce on offense like Martin does
by since86rocketsfan on Apr 14, 2011 1:17 PM CDT reply actions
"those numbers"
Use the reply function? Otherwise we don’t know what you’re talking about.
All about Kyle Lowry
Went from backup to perhaps the team’s most valuable player. While Martin was hugely important, the team seemed to go as Lowry did, and in the second half both the team and were on the mark. Let’s hope it continues.
I think when we get to MVP we have Lowry who was the driving force as the MIP
but without Martin none of those close wins come out, none of those second half wins come out. There’s a lot to be said for a guy consistently dropping 25+ a game with no one noticing him.
TDS's resident dickhead.
All about Team
Thats what I loved about this team after the trade, there seemed to be no egos. Lowry and Hayes took over the leadership role and led by example with D and hard unselfish play. Scola and Kevin both were our most consistant offense. Everybody seemed to just want to their part to win. I am an old basketball guy that loves team ball. Just look at the team’s assists.
Since TWolves announcers seem so enamored by Chase...maybe they can convince
the TWolves to trade for Chase and Scola for Kevin Love and another player….. :-)
There isn't another player on the Timberwolves that I would actually want on this team.
Dead serious.
Minnesotan Rockets fan
I'd take Randolph or Beasley
I’d take Beasley even if he sucked just to be the really scary bench warmer nobody wants to mess with.
by Patrick Harrel on Apr 14, 2011 11:29 PM CDT up reply actions
Beasley would try to role up Budinger and smoke him.
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by craigj007 on Apr 15, 2011 5:50 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
I'd take them both as well
I don’t think there is a deal that would make sense for both teams though.
Me against the world is a mismatch in my favor.
Lowry would win NBA most improved if not for the likes of Love and Wright.
I think chuck has done well and scola has improved again.
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