MIP: Markieff Morris
Honorable Mention: Alex Len
Len has probably improved more than anyone on this roster, but because he was so banged up his rookie season — and for the sake of variety — we’re giving the Most Improved Player Award to Markieff Morris instead.
Taking a look at the raw numbers from this season and last season, you’ll notice that Keef’s improvement seems like it’s been minimal:
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/14/2015.
Sure, he’s stepped up his scoring, assists, minutes and field goal percentage to career highs, but so what? The year-by-year improvement really wasn’t that significant between 2013-14 and this season, right?
Wrong. As much as the numbers don’t show it, it should be noted that last season, Keef came off the bench as the league’s fourth-leading Sixth Man of the Year candidate. His stat line was definitely inflated by playing against other teams’ weaker second units, and with Channing Frye in the lineup, Hornacek didn’t need Morris to try and fill a stretch-four role.
This season, all that has changed. Frye is gone, Keef is a starter and the Suns’ offense needs Morris to be able to spread the floor with a three-point shot. His season three-point percentage (32.7) doesn’t leap off the page, but after a poor start to the season, Morris is actually hovering right around 39 percent from downtown since December.
The fact that he’s putting up these career numbers against starters now also speaks to his vast growth. Keef is one of the deadliest midrange players in the league and now has the arsenal of post moves to score on most power forwards.
If you still need any more proof that Morris is one of the most improved players in the league, let alone this team, Wednesday’s career-high 35 points against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers ought to do the trick:
Next: Suns Most Valuable Player