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| Kyle Lowry/AP Images |
Kyle Lowry is the front-runner for Most Improved Player, but it seems "experts" did not notice.
By Matt Rose
Recently, ESPN has been polling sportswriters and experts to get their takes on the leading candidates for various awards. They also did so before the season was underway. Both times, all the experts failed to include Rockets PG Kyle Lowry on the list. Instead, they ranked him tenth in the MVP race through six weeks of the season. I don’t know about you, but I would have laughed in your face if you said Kyle Lowry is deserving of MVP talks before the season started.
ESPN places Oklahoma City G James Harden and Orlando Magic F Ryan Anderson as the front-runners for the award; they are having terrific seasons and are deservedly in the conversation. Harden has upped his scoring to 16.7 PPG from 12.2 PPG, but he is shooting nearly the same percentage as last year and all his other statistics have made only modest improvements. Meanwhile, Anderson improved to 16.0 PPG from 10.6 PPG, is shooting a lights out 42.9% from three-point range.
On the other hand, Lowry is displaying significant improvements across the board. This season he is averaging 14.9 PPG, 8.0 APG, 6.0 RPG, and 2.0 SPG. Last season he averaged 13.5 PPG, 6.7 APG, 4.1 RPG, and 1.4 SPG. Lowry has made those improvements in only one more minute per game; Harden plays over four and Anderson plays just under eight more minutes per game. What’s that mean? Harden and Anderson’s advances are partially a result of increased playing time, while Lowry’s progression is a product of his efficiency.
I don’t mean to undercut the intelligent and much more qualified experts at ESPN, but I question their failure to acknowledge Lowry—not only as a legitimate candidate—but the front-runner for Most Improved Player. It is a contradiction to mention Lowry as an MVP Candidate and not a Most Improved Player Candidate. Lowry plays on a team that receives hardly any media attention (as pretty much any team outside of LA, Boston, Miami, Dallas, and Oklahoma City does), so he will have to find a way to stand out to the “experts.”
