The NBA is full of surprises each and every season. Trying to predict who will have a breakout year, who will thrive in a new role, and which star will shine the brightest is nearly impossible. But in the 2015-16 NBA Awards Prediction Series at Last Word On Sports, we will try to do exactly that. A panel of five LWOS basketball writers will be predicting the winner for each of the five main awards – Sixth Man of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Most Improved Player, Defensive Player of the Year, and Most Valuable Player – in preparation for the 2015-16 NBA season.
For a complete listing of the 2015-16 NBA Awards Prediction Series, click here.
Without further ado, here are our picks for the 2015-16 Most Improved Player award.
2015-16 NBA Most Improved Player Predictions
Robert Holmes, basketball staff writer: Otto Porter Jr. This award is all about opportunity. Porter was a solid contributor off of the bench for the Washington Wizards last year but only played about 19 minutes each game. Paul Pierce was the main reason for that as he averaged 26 minutes per game and was the closer for this Wizard team. With Pierce gone and an excellent backcourt duo in John Wall and Bradley Beal, Porter will have every opportunity to improve on his 6 point-per-game average that he had last year. Porter should be able to at least double his offensive output but it will be his ability to impact every aspect of the game with his size and defensive abilities that will win him this award.
Lior Kozai, basketball staff writer: Andre Drummond. This award is usually more about an increased workload than improvement. Many MIP candidates are just players thriving in bigger roles—like Draymond Green last season. But unlike Green coming into 2014-15, Drummond has already been a clear starter before. Drummond is a monster on the court, barreling down the lane for lobs and put-backs on offense and protecting the rim on defense—all while averaging 13.5 rebounds per game last season. The difference in Drummond’s role this year is that an excellent rebounder at power forward in Greg Monroe is no longer playing alongside him. This means that Drummond will have more space in the lane and more rebounds to grab. After all, Ersan Ilyasova isn’t going to get many boards as the starting four. I expect Drummond to set a career high in rebounds on his way to winning this award.
Jack Hammond, basketball staff writer: One of the forgotten heroes of the 2014-2015 Rockets’ season was Donatas Motiejunas. The Lithuanian forward filled in admirably for Dwight Howard and Terrence Jones, averaging 15.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game before season-ending back surgery that kept him out of the postseason. Motiejunas is really good and showed his versatility throughout the season. I expect a similar year from this guy, but the national media gives him more attention and a full year of good basketball earns him the Most Improved award.
Peter Rosston, basketball staff writer: This is always the toughest award to predict. You have to scour the depths of the pool of NBA players and find one who you think underproduced last year and can turn it around in the upcoming season. I think the person who will have a breakout year this year is Marcus Smart. As a rookie last year, he never really came into his own, scoring only 7.8 PPG with 3.1 APG and 3.3 RPG. His early season was marred by the Rajon Rondo disaster, but with only Isaiah Thomas competing for minutes, Coach Brad Stevens has made it clear that Marcus Smart will be relied upon more. Of course, his shooting will have to improve from his poor 37% clip last season, but otherwise, Smart is poised for a breakout year.
Jack Moon Perrin, basketball department head: Anthony Davis. Davis seems an odd choice for Most Improved Player in that he is already such a good player and most likely to supplant LeBron for best player in the league in the years to come. However, while Davis made great strides last season for the New Orleans Pelicans, he will improve even more this coming season. When David increased the number of shots he took each game in the playoffs, his scoring numbers increased. The more Davis becomes a part of the Pelicans offense, the more he can dish off to other players. Expect Davis to take the Pelicans further in this year’s playoffs and get enough notice to win the Most Improved Player.
Matt Cardenas: Giannis Antetokounmpo– For someone who will possibly play all five positions this season, Antetokounmpo is definitely going to have a breakout season. He is finally using his length as an advantage and it has really paid off. With his jump shot improving, Antetokounmpo is primed to have a great year with the Milwaukee Bucks. The Geek Freak keeps getting more exciting to watch.
