The Detroit Pistons have been the best story in the NBA this season and will be considered for several post-season awards.
Cade Cunningham has already made the All-Star team and should make the All-NBA team now that he has played the minimum number of games.
JB Bickerstaff will certainly get some votes for Coach of the Year and Ron Holland may get a look for the All-Rookie team.
Unfortunately, Isaiah Stewart and Ausar Thompson will not be eligible for the All-Defensive team for failing to meet the minimum minutes and games requirements, respectively, which is a shame for Beef Stew, who has been one of the most impactful defenders in the league this season.
Cunningham is also the frontrunner for the Most Improved Player award, which has caused a lot of debate about the award, what it really means, and who should get it.
Many believe that a guy like Cunningham, who was a #1 pick, should not be in consideration for this award, as he was already very good, and this type of improvement was expected.
That’s where the argument falls apart for me, as expectations shouldn’t factor into this, and there was no one on planet earth predicting Cunningham was going to be All-NBA this season after being given the label of “bust” (by a loud minority of fans) for most of his career.
I’d argue that going from good to great is more difficult than going from nothing to good, but the four frontrunners for MIP, according to the betting odds, represent different angles of the argument about what it means to be the most improved.
Cade Cunningham and the Most Improved Player award
Norman Powell would also be in this discussion, but he is also ineligible after missing too many games. The NBA is likely going to look at these minimums in the offseason, as I’m not sure they are having the intended effect.
But with Powell out of the running, here are the four frontrunners, who represent different opinions about what the MIP is.
Cade Cunningham
Cunningham is the single biggest reason for the Pistons’ turnaround this season. He’s more efficient, more dominant and just all-around better than he ever has been in his career.
His numbers are up across the board, and he is now leading a team to the playoffs. The argument against this type of player winning MIP is that he was already good, and you could just say this is the natural progression of a great player, an argument I saw quite a lot of yesterday, even coming from Pistons’ fans.
Ja Morant is the most recent example of this type of player winning the award, as he was a #2 pick and came in with a world of expectations, just like Cade Cunningham. Tyrese Maxey also won last year after going from good to great, so there is precedence for Cade winning it.
Dyson Daniels
Daniels is the classic “young guy who got more opportunity and made the most of it” player, as he was a top 8 pick let’s not forget, but wasn’t getting the same opportunities in New Orleans that he’s getting this season in Atlanta.
He’s playing 10 more minutes per game, so shouldn’t he be putting up bigger numbers? He’s also young, so isn’t his improvement part of an expected and “natural progression?”
Daniels will make the All-Defensive team, and his emergence has certainly helped the Hawks stay in the play-in discussion, so if Daniels is your guy, there is an argument, but it seems his improvement has mostly come from increased opportunity.
Brandon Ingram and Victor Oladipo had a similar MIP profiles, as both got more opportunities when they joined new teams.
Tyler Herro
In a similar category to Cade, as Herro was already very good, but has been even better in an increased role with more responsibility. The Heat’s recent crash might take him out of the running, but Herro’s argument is similar to Maxey’s last season, as he made a leap in a bigger role.
Christian Braun
Braun represents what a lot of people think the award is about, which a role player who comes out of nowhere to become a key part of a good team.
Braun has more than doubled his scoring output this season, and more importantly, has become a more versatile weapon on offense, as he has emerged as a great cutter who Jokic always seems to find for dunks.
He’s shooting 57 percent from the floor and his effective field goal percentage has gone from .525 last season to .627 in this one. He’s been huge for the Nuggets and might better fit the idea that many fans have about what an MIP should be.
Like it or not, Cunningham is probably going to win the award, and this debate will rage on, as there has never been a clear definition about what the award means. But you can’t diminish what Cade has done because of “expectations” or because he was the #1 pick, as nothing is a given and we’ve seen that improvement is not always linear.