The NBA website SheridanHoops.com posts a weekly update that ranks the league’s most improved players, in part to keep fans abreast of who’ll be in contention for the annual MIP award that gets handed out each spring. In 2011-12, forward Ryan Anderson (then a member of the Orlando Magic) captured the honor, after increasing his scoring and rebounding averages by 5.5 and 2.2 per game, respectively.
When the Houston Rockets visit the New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday in a Southwest Division matchup, each team will have multiple players on the floor who could receive votes in 2012-13 Most Improved Player balloting.
While Houston’s starting lineup includes center Omer Asik (recently ranked third by SheridanHoops.com in the MIP rundown) and forward Chandler Parsons (fifth), New Orleans has seen impressive improvements by point guard Greivis Vasquez and center Robin Lopez. In the first two seasons of his NBA career, Vasquez averaged 2.2 and 5.4 assists, but he has jumped to 9.1 assists per game in 2012-13, placing him in the top three of the league leaders. The only players ahead of Vasquez are Boston’s Rajon Rondo and the Clippers’ Chris Paul.
Lopez was known primarily for defense and rebounding during his previous four seasons as a member of the Phoenix Suns, but has displayed a much more productive offensive repertoire with New Orleans. Lopez averaged 5.4 points last season in Phoenix, but has more than doubled his output in 2012-13, at 11.7 points per outing. The 7-footer is also easily surpassing his prior career highs in rebounding and blocked shots.
In a division game featuring several players who’ve shown tangible improvement, Houston has also received a significant boost from the play of shooting guard James Harden, who arrived in an October trade from Oklahoma City. Harden has upped his scoring average by an eye-popping 9.6 points per game, from 16.8 to 26.4.
Intriguing matchup: Center, Robin Lopez vs. Omer Asik
Lopez and Asik are eerily similar players in a few respects, including the fact that both are listed at exactly 7 feet, 255 pounds. Like Lopez, prior to 2012-13, Asik had played his entire NBA career with a different team (Asik was a member of two straight Chicago Bulls playoff teams). Asik’s relatively large free-agent deal was second-guessed by many NBA analysts, but the native of Turkey has helped spark Houston’s above-.500 record.
