Thursday, April 9th, 2009 at 11:49 am  |  73 responses

Who’s the M.I.P?

Unsurprisingly, folks in Indiana think it’s their guy: “Teams routinely send out little gimmicks trying to persuade voters…The Pacers don’t believe in doing that. They simply sent out a letter from team president Larry Bird explaining why voters should select Granger. Here are some of the highlights of the letter from Bird: ‘There are certainly the obvious statistics to support his consideration: he is sixth in the league in scoring at 25.3 points per game; he has recorded career highs in assists (177), blocked shots (90), free throws made (361), free throws attempted (409), free throw percentage (883) and 3-point field goal percentage (404). But there are also a couple of lesser known but impressive statistics on his behalf. He will become the first player in NBA history to raise his scoring average at least five points a game for three consecutive seasons: from 7.5 to 13.9 to 19.6 to his current 25.3. The last jump is notable as it required Danny in the offseason to work on many different aspects of his game to diversify his offense so he isn’t merely a jump shooter. Another uncommon statistic to note is that he is fourth in the league in fourth-quarter scoring behind LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade.’”

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  • nate the great

    Lamarcus aldridge. he has all star stats and does his job. Granger would be my second.

  • http://dillanleuyahoo.com Holy Baller

    I like the Jeff Green suggestion too. I think that if Bynum would have played the whole season, he would also be in consideration.

  • Quail

    it cant be Durant. hes only been in the L for 2 years. and he’s had good years for both of em. he’s gonna slowly improve every year until his prime is over in the far-away future.

  • Jose

    Granger is first for me
    Brandon Roy seems to be leading tha team so him at 2
    3/4 is Aldridge/Rondo on a given day
    and 5 wuld be Stuckey.

    wow. actually any of these guyz can get it.its up in the air.

  • Kozmic

    RONDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

  • wilz

    as I read this I had honestly completely forgotten about the “race” to the MIP.
    but seriously, I cant believe the raps org or at least announcers havent done more to camapaign for Barney, I mean, Granger should get it, but where’s the bargnani hype?

  • http://www.hibachi20.blogspot.com Hursty

    I was going to pick Von Wafer, but Granger will do I suppose.
    Can Boris Diaw win again? he has been putting in WORK for the Bobcats this year.

  • jj

    nene deserves it after havin a bum knee

  • jj

    nene deserves it after havin a bum knee

  • Josh D

    Devin Harris will probably win MIP but Danny Granger, Roger Mason, Kevin Durant, Nate Robison and Matt Bonner all have shots at it too

  • http://theghostofroyhobbs.blogspot.com Mo Charlo

    I think the ship has sailed on Andrea Bargnani. I’m not complaining, but there comes a time when “potential” becomes “a level they cannot consistently play at.”

  • vonkers

    Nate Robinson sucks…if he were on a contender he wouldn’t be player. He has inflated stats because he’s on the Knicks.

  • DJR

    Agree that David Lee should get some serious consideration, but I think to win MIP you kind of need to take-over your team that season which is debatable for Lee – def had solid performances but so have many other players. Aldridge has been putting up solid numbers but still ROY is the obvious leader of that team.

    Danny Granger has owned the Indi this year – he should run away with it.

  • vonkers

    Harris and Granger are really the only two who should be considered. There have been alot of players who have gotten better, but those to are the clear frontrunners.

  • http://neworleansbasketball.blogspot.com Caleb

    Re: Devin Harris. It’s not just more minutes – dude is getting to the free throw line like a beast this year. 9.0 attempts per game compared to just under 5 attempts last season. That’s impressive, and a big reason for his bump in scoring. His FG% is weak, yes – but because of his ability to get to the line he’s still fairly efficient: 1.41 points per shot.

  • http://neworleansbasketball.blogspot.com Caleb

    Oh an my MIP goes to Rasual Butler, the Phoenix.

  • http://neworleansbasketball.blogspot.com Caleb

    If Devin Harris can get back to the efficiency level he was at in Dallas (46-49% shooting), and maintain this level of foul-drawing.. he could be a big time scorer.

  • Brar

    Bargnani. He’s averaged around 19 points, 6.5 rebs and 1 bpg in 2009

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    See? This MIP year is incredibly competitive. So many candidates. I also forgot to mention Von Wafer, who will probably win it next year if Houston keeps him, which they SHOULD. He should also get more minutes.
    And MIP doesn’t have to “dominate” your team. Boris Diaw won it without dominating anything. Congrats to him, I’m not h@ting.

  • http://www.basketballjerseyworld.com nba-jersey-king

    MIP – on recent play I would say Aldridge but I think overall it has been Granger, then Harris, then Rondo… darkhouse could be Gerald Wallace or Mo Williams.

    LIP – Deng, didnt do much then got injured – team is doing fine without him. Iverson, and Baron Davis havent been too impressive either with their new teams.

  • Andrej

    Rondo cuz he’s on a title contender and he’s one of the beat players on the team Harris always had the skill but he just dident have the chance to show his skills on the marvericks and I mean who else on grangers team cud have been the leading scorer no one in my mind

  • larrylegend

    besides doing a horrible job as gm, i would agree with lb on this…

  • larrylegend

    rondo is a good choice too, so is harris, but durant shouldn’t get it. he was a starter right from the start.
    i think granger fullfilles the mip more than anybody else, he worked is way up and on top he was an all-star this years…maybe this will be hold against him for some reason.

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