They are going to rob Kevin Martin.

by Ziller on Mar 5, 2007 7:50 AM PST in Commentary

I begrudgingly made a minor scene over Marc Stein's reluctance to hand Kevin Martin the 'Most Improved Player' award with two months to go. His pal Chris Sheridan must have decided he wanted Kings Nation's full wrath, because he doesn't even include Speedracer in the conversation.

Sheridan gives Miami's Jason Kapono the prize:

No shortage of candidates here, and we're resisting the urge to select Al Jefferson or Monta Ellis by seeking someone who has kept his team afloat in the playoff race. And the one guy who has done that better than anyone else is Miami's small forward, the 3-point champion with the sweet stroke (he leads the league with a 52-percent accuracy mark on 3s) whose move into the starting lineup has kept the defending champs from falling below .500 and out of the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Before my mouth erupts into a banshee's scream, let's peruse the evidence:

Player MPG PPG RPG APG TS% PER
Martin +9.3 +10.5 +0.8 +0.9 +3.1 +6.5
Kapono +13.3 +7.0 +1.3 +0.5 +7.9 +5.3
Al-Jeff +15.0 +7.0 +6.2 +0.6 +0.5 +2.2
Ellis +16.2 +10.5 +1.0 +2.6 +6.0 +4.2

The 'minutes per game' is the important part here: It explains most of why these players' numbers jumped. For Jefferson, for whom I doted at Fanhouse yesterday, his increase in minutes completely explains his jump in scoring. His rebounding has significantly improved - his rebound rate went from 17.2 last year to 20.0 this year - fourth-best in the league. Otherwise, he hasn't improved - he's just gotten more minutes to show his stuff.

Why are Kapono's numbers better? Yes, he is shooting a deal better. That accounts for part of it. The bulk of the jump, though, can be attributed to massive jump in minutes. He is playing twice as much as last year. And we don't even need to bring up that he was just plain awful last season - his 2004-05 season was similar to this season, minus the great shooting. He scored 8 ppg that season, versus 4 last year and 11 this season.

Ellis has had a marvelous season, truly, and is the only guy I think you can vote for other than Martin. His shooting on two-point FGs is much better this year because he's getting to the rim almost at will. His deep shooting has dropped off (and it'll rebound next year, I think). Because of the shooting boost and his new-found ability to get to the line, Ellis' per-minute scoring numbers have jumped as Martin's have. But again, like Jefferson and Kapono, Monta's huge jump in minutes per game explains most of the improvement.

If your minutes double, your points per game will usually double. It's science. This makes Martin's incredible improvement that much more powerful - his minutes have increased, but not nearly as much as his competitors. He played a lot last season, and was very good then. Now? He plays like a starter should and he's phenomenal. Kapono sucked last season, and he's almost average this season. Ellis didn't play that much last season, and he's been awesome this year. Jefferson hasn't improved anything statistically but his rebounding. Martin has improved every facet of his game, going from sixth man to borderline All-Star. It shows in the numbers - none of the other players' jumps in PER (the best single-number rating system the league, nearly everyone agrees) even come close.

And Chris Sheridan isn't even going to mention him?

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Re: They are going to rob Kevin Martin.

Two more notes:

I think Sheridan gets every other award right, save maybe 'coach of the year.' Jeff VG deserves that one. I hope more people jump on Sheridan's 'Josh Howard for Defensive Player of the Year' bandwagon - dude is a wizard. Tim Duncan and Shane Battier have claims to it as well.
I didn't even launch into Sheridan's ridiculous assertion that team quality matters, and thus Kapono gets the edge over Ellis, Jefferson, and assumedly Martin. Miami is the 7-seed in the fricking East, while Sacramento and GSW have been knocking on the West playoff door all season. So let's just blame Jefferson for having an inept GM and the others for daring to play for a team in the stacked Western Conference. Absurd on about 90 levels.

by Ziller on Mar 5, 2007 7:56 AM PST 0 recs

Re: They are going to rob Kevin Martin.

well put, i just don't get the "all-stars can only play on winning teams" theory if a player is putting up numbers they shouldn't be ignored. not only do i think martin should win MIP but he should have been an all-star instead of tony parker

by CrownUs93 on Mar 5, 2007 1:59 PM PST up 0 recs

Re: They are going to rob Kevin Martin.

Put simply, a guy who goes from 4 points per game to 11 ppg (Kapono) is less improved than a guy who goes from 11 ppg to 21 ppg (Martin).

These people are idiots.

by Carl on Mar 5, 2007 10:36 AM PST 0 recs

Re: They are going to rob Kevin Martin.

I should erase my post and just put this in its place.

by Ziller on Mar 5, 2007 11:12 AM PST up 0 recs

Re: They are going to rob Kevin Martin.

Should a guy get credit for keeping his team afloat in the playoff chase, when that team won the freaking NBA championship the prior season? That's weak.

This is going to come down to Jefferson and Kapono, I'm sure. 10pm start times are a bit too late for the east coast media to handle.

by otis29 on Mar 5, 2007 11:46 AM PST 0 recs

Re: They are going to rob Kevin Martin.

Good catch on this, TZ. I saw this too and almost headbutted my monitor. Kapono's a great shooter, but he ain't Kevin Martin, who's among the most efficient offensive players in the league and is still improving on defensive. I'm not sure how much more improving Kapono can do, but Martin has revealed himself to be a franchise-caliber player. That's a huge deal, and regardless of how Sheridan feels, I think he's got the award sewn up.

by SJP on Mar 5, 2007 12:37 PM PST 0 recs

Re: They are going to rob Kevin Martin.

Not to beat a dead horse but the award should come down to monta ellis or kevin martin. But because of guys like marc stein who list 10 guys for MIP half of which dont deserve mention really (kapono especially...stinking 1 year than becoming a solid player & great shooter doesnt especially qualify you for a MIP award unless there are no candidates....) it actually confuses people onto whom should get the award. If the kings make the playoffs & it says here that despite all their troubles (ron's arrest might make them better in the short-term) it would raise kevin's value if the kings are playing much better. But kevin will get screwed as he does on most things because he's focus' on getting better on the court & keeping his personal life ...well personal. Heaven forbid. May be great for franchise's to build around but it isnt any good for stories when you have a guy who is outlandish & just decides for the hell of it to shave the teams name in his hair...or get arrested for domestic 'violence' charges....Yeah in otherwords the mass media is retarded usually.

by pookeyguru on Mar 5, 2007 3:35 PM PST 0 recs