The Next Movement: M.I.P.O.Y. and R.O.Y.

It’s time for the next movement. I like to call these players those that are right on the cusp of being known but not quite. Their play catches non-hoop heads and non-ballers by surprise. Today I decided I’m giving you the players that are going to have the most effect on their teams the key being that they are not already stars.

I mean let’s be honest I can’t give you Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul they’re already stars. So instead I have to dig for the Most Improved Player of the Year and challenging things like that. The good news for me though is the Rookie of the Year is always easy because we already know before the season starts, who the GM’s are going to pick. So if I pick who the GM’s pick I look like a genius.

But hey if I just wrote about what GM’s wanted or thought, where would the entertainment be in that? Heck these are the same people who thought Adam Morrison could get his own shot (his whole offensive game is based on getting a floater in the lane) and did not see what I thought I saw in Gilbert Arenas (the Truth), so let’s get started on the next movement.

Most Improved Player of the Year

This award is really about who gets more playing time and who gets to touch the ball more. Plus basically for this award people have to pretty much think that you are a waste of talent and then boom! You get them. In theory though you should not be able to predict this, but I hate theory. We know that Gerald Green, Antoine Wright, Marcus Williams of the Warriors, Rudy Gay will all get more playing time. T.J. Ford should get more playing time to. People are so use to T.J. getting hurt and not playing the full season but I expect T.J. to be healthy this year.

Plus he should put up big numbers in O’Brien’s three point run and gun system. Add that up with sharing minutes with Jarrett Jack instead of Calderon. I can see T.J. getting 17ppg and 10apg and us watching the Pacers in the playoffs. Yet despite all of that I’m going with Andray Blatche. He should probably win the Tonya Harding Award too. When you really look at it at how can he not win? Haywood went down, Etan Thomas is coming back from an injury, Arenas is out until December, which means he won’t be in shape until January and Butler has never played a full season, since he has been in the NBA.

So at 6’11 250 Blatche has to be better than his career averages of 5.3ppg and 3.9rpg this year with all that superb extra playing time. I also want an undercover detective watching Blatche’s actions, because people keep going down around Blatche.  

I’m adding my own award this year. It’s for veterans players drafted in the first round that are paid well and always seem to tease you with their talent and their whole you debate if they are a bust. I wanted to call it the Tim Thomas Award but there were some legal issues and Tim’s people wanted to talk to my people and I had no people, so I decided I would just call it what I named it below.

Player with the Most to Prove = Adam Morrison

Rookie of the Year

This is a 3 man race between Rose, Beasley and Oden. All others need not to apply. I understand some poor saps want to talk about the intangibles of Mayo and Love and the scoring numbers that Bayless should put up, but no. I know a lot have already given the award to Greg Oden, because traditionally if you are a once in a generation big man, who is from this country you get award. But historically it also goes to the guy who scores the most points (unless of course your Melo or C. Butler). So I do I don’t really see Oden being able to close it out. Not to mention they are comparing to him Bill Russell and he, Russell lost the award his rookie year.

Which now brings us down Beasley and Rose, and with four capable starting guards in Chicago outside of Rose his minutes will have to be forced. That probably won’t sit well with the Brit (Ben Gordon). Can you say hate, team in disarray in the locker room?

Which takes me back to Russell, a defensive center, Russell lost to a sweet outside shooting forward from a land grant school, who was now playing for a southern pro team (Yeah, ok Hawks really played in the Midwest but a year later their below the Mason-Dixon, so go with the flow). Folks that player was revolutionizing power forward Bob Petit who averaged 20ppg that year while sleeping, for the St. Louis Hawk.  What say you? The stars line up again like this? All the same points of reference here in 2008-09 season?  Well in that case I’m obligated to go against the grain of common wisdom and pick Beasley over Oden and Rose. Against the grain, what am I talking about?

Well, the NBA is a business and Michael Beasley is reminding people of Michael Ray Richardson, and not in a good way. Stern has spent 30 years trying to get people to think of NBA as the only non-drug issue and let’s be honest the two above and Roy Tarpley did not make it easy. Toss in the deaths of Len Bias and the comments of Josh Howard, this is not what the NBA wants to promote. Heck they did not even put his rookie picture up (This could be because you actually have to be at the symposium to get the shot).

All I can say is really bro, you could stay away Mary Jane for four days in place where it’s all about not knowing anything named Mary, women or drugs? But I’m still putting my faith in the Beast because he makes scoring look easy. In the past few years in high school and college only Anthony, Durant and Beasley have I ever seen score so easily, in what seemed like they were not giving effort.  So Mike for me, please stay away from all things named Mary J (Blige included).

I was going through all the rookies and watching different clips of their games and their summer play. The three rookies who stood out the most in Summer League were Portland’s Bayless and Fernandez and Washington’s McGee. Well you’ll get enough chances to see the Portland boys but make sure you get a chance to look at McGee; you will forget he is a 7’0 foot PF/C.