Sam Amick's vote for Luka as MIP --
[b]Most Improved Player: Luka Doncic, Mavericks. [/b]It would have been one thing if Doncic’s First Act wasn’t so special. Yet by debuting with a 21-point-seven rebound-six assist campaign as a rookie that only Robertson had matchedbefore him, it set his ceiling extremely high from the start. And then, somehow, he raised the roof in the kind of way that you don’t often see in Year No. 2.
In terms of degree of difficulty, this is the kind of really-good-to-great improvement that coaches and front office executives often say is the toughest of them all. Doncic, the Slovenian who faced so many questions about fitness and work ethic when he entered the draft in 2018, answered them all in emphatic form. While playing nearly identical minutes (32.2 to 33.3), his scoring spiked significantly (21.2 points to 28.7) while his field-goal percentage (42.7 to 46.1), rebounds (7.8 to 9.3) and assists (six to 8.7) went North too.
While Doncic’s three-point percentage dipped slightly, his coaches will tell you that his ability to use that shot to set up the rest of his shifty game only got better. The young man is a hoops magician whose latest developmental achievement was both unexpected and unlike anything I’ve seen from Year No. 1 to Year No. 2.
https://theathletic.com/1949269/2020/07/...eeklyemail
And John Hollinger's regrets over not voting for Doncic as the MIP and on his first All-NBA team --
MIP -- Brandon Ingram
The candidate not getting enough attention here is Doncic, who, as I noted earlier this year, has done a lot of work to tighten his handle, improve his left hand and upgrade his explosiveness around the rim. He was already an outstanding player, but now he’s laid the foundation to be a top-five player in the league for the next decade.
All-NBA First Team Luka v Kawhi
The one regret here is leaving off Doncic, who had a first-team-caliber season. For me it came down to Leonard vs. Doncic for the final spot. The perception is that Leonard was coasting through much of the regular season in between load management, and that might be true relative to the ridiculous heights he achieved in the 2019 playoffs. But Doncic missed time too, and in fact Leonard only played three fewer games and 154 fewer minutes.
One can argue fairly convincingly that Doncic was the more valuable offensive player this season. However, that argument flips overwhelmingly in Leonard’s favor on the defensive side of the ball, and that’s why overall I give him the slight advantage here. If I could select six players for All-NBA, Doncic would have made it. On a positive note, I suspect it’s the last time I’ll have him second-team All-NBA for many years.
https://theathletic.com/1945928/2020/07/...d-all-nba/
[b]Most Improved Player: Luka Doncic, Mavericks. [/b]It would have been one thing if Doncic’s First Act wasn’t so special. Yet by debuting with a 21-point-seven rebound-six assist campaign as a rookie that only Robertson had matchedbefore him, it set his ceiling extremely high from the start. And then, somehow, he raised the roof in the kind of way that you don’t often see in Year No. 2.
In terms of degree of difficulty, this is the kind of really-good-to-great improvement that coaches and front office executives often say is the toughest of them all. Doncic, the Slovenian who faced so many questions about fitness and work ethic when he entered the draft in 2018, answered them all in emphatic form. While playing nearly identical minutes (32.2 to 33.3), his scoring spiked significantly (21.2 points to 28.7) while his field-goal percentage (42.7 to 46.1), rebounds (7.8 to 9.3) and assists (six to 8.7) went North too.
While Doncic’s three-point percentage dipped slightly, his coaches will tell you that his ability to use that shot to set up the rest of his shifty game only got better. The young man is a hoops magician whose latest developmental achievement was both unexpected and unlike anything I’ve seen from Year No. 1 to Year No. 2.
https://theathletic.com/1949269/2020/07/...eeklyemail
And John Hollinger's regrets over not voting for Doncic as the MIP and on his first All-NBA team --
MIP -- Brandon Ingram
The candidate not getting enough attention here is Doncic, who, as I noted earlier this year, has done a lot of work to tighten his handle, improve his left hand and upgrade his explosiveness around the rim. He was already an outstanding player, but now he’s laid the foundation to be a top-five player in the league for the next decade.
All-NBA First Team Luka v Kawhi
The one regret here is leaving off Doncic, who had a first-team-caliber season. For me it came down to Leonard vs. Doncic for the final spot. The perception is that Leonard was coasting through much of the regular season in between load management, and that might be true relative to the ridiculous heights he achieved in the 2019 playoffs. But Doncic missed time too, and in fact Leonard only played three fewer games and 154 fewer minutes.
One can argue fairly convincingly that Doncic was the more valuable offensive player this season. However, that argument flips overwhelmingly in Leonard’s favor on the defensive side of the ball, and that’s why overall I give him the slight advantage here. If I could select six players for All-NBA, Doncic would have made it. On a positive note, I suspect it’s the last time I’ll have him second-team All-NBA for many years.
https://theathletic.com/1945928/2020/07/...d-all-nba/