A start to the season is excitement, but sometimes also money placed on a foal that attracts us. Real money for those who can and who want, or simple predictions between friends or family, just to hear your mother talk about the son of Joakim Noah and Magic Jordan. In any case, this 2022-23 season is no exception to the rule and we therefore decided to reflect on a few existential questions for 30 seconds. One of them ? Who will be the Most Improved Player this year, the MIP, in other words the player who will have improved the most in a few months. Send the reviews, screen me this and we’ll come out in June, probably with huge bars of laughter.
Nico M
Tyrese Haliburton. Arrived at the Pacers last year at the time of the deadline, Tyrese Haliburton will play his first full season with Indiana this year. And the boy’s ambitions are very serious: 20 points – 10 assists on average + an All-Star selection. And you know what ? I believe it. Possessing the keys to the truck at the Pacers, Hali risks doing dirty as much through his stats as his highlights. Big performances are clearly to be expected and given the showtime side of the former King, he will quickly return to the hearts of voters. So certainly it should not win a lot of games this season in Indiana, but on an individual level Tyrese will make the big jump that is expected of him. MIP!
Giovanni
Jalen Brunson. Not necessarily the signing that made me the most excited this summer, not necessarily (not at all) the one that will revolutionize a franchise, but from a purely statistical point of view Jalen Brunson seems to me the best equipped to get the MIP trophy. Why ? Because in my opinion wags like Anthony Edwards or Tyrese Haliburton start from too high to progress sufficiently within the framework of the MIP, and because Jalen Brunson, since we have to come back to our sheep, has everything to find in New York the perfect theater. The responsibilities, a far from brilliant roster in attack and potentially 50% of the keys to the truck with RJ Barrett since Julius Randle will be sulky all season, and an average of 17 points last season which could well go to 25 if Tim Thibodeau continues in his classics and makes him play 44 minutes per game. Not at all the MIP that makes me dream, but the one that seems to me the most logical in projection.
Alex T
Tyrese Haliburton. Recovered in the trade of Domantas Sabonis last February, Tyrese Haliburton begins his first “real” season on the side of Indiana. In his paws, more Malcolm Brogdon, it is to him that we have spun the keys to the city and the future of the Pacers, and it is he who must write it. Since he comes out of a season in roughly 17/9, it will be necessary to cross a small level in stats to really mark people but frankly why not imagine him slamming 22/10? He will have the shots, he is the leader, he is still far from having shown everything. I just hope his franchise record doesn’t hurt his chances.
Clément
Anthony Edwards. I could see myself trying a delirium on Lauri Markkanen, but the Finn will have more women than victories among the Mormons. So my choice will turn to this kind of marsupilami under illicit substances that is Ant-Man. Seeing KAT take the seat of Wolves’ first offensive option, Edwards made the joke of pulling out of the chair to grab the throne. The animal could well be the spearhead of the Wolves’ attack next year and, moreover, we hope that its performance will match its glibness, because in this case the animal has not finished finishing his opponents on the floor. With Rudy Gobert arriving in town, he could well become an even more complete player, with a much more attacking role. And then the statistical explosion should be as strong as the one on Yuta Watanabe. A MIP trophy and a legendary interview afterwards is all the people are asking for.
Arthur
Jalen Brunson. From 16 points per game to 26, from a lieutenant’s cap to a franchise player. In the summer of 2020, “Brunsonance” was still just a corny notion, redeemable for any decent asset. Two years later, all of Manhattan is shaking its head to the rhythm of mid-range shots and fadeaways from Uncle J, the Garden’s announced darling, the Knicks’ first good point guard since leaving Narnia. As for the collective rendering, it’s impossible to know what Tom Thibodeau’s group is preparing for us: big mess outside the Top 10 or a good inlay in the Playoffs, it’s absolutely not our problem. Stats for Jalen spicyall.
Nico V
Killian Hayes. Because it’s never wrong to dream, huh. A Killian who becomes aware of the challenges of this season which already represents a turning point in his young career and which increases his stats to become an element on which to count in Detroit, we believe in it here. Sébastiano Sceptico rightly reminds us: 6.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists at 38.3% shooting including 26.3% from the parking lot in the sophomore season, all in the lead… for a number 7 of Draft, it is rather light. Yes but now, Kiki is not the type to give up and he has the means to inflate his stats to meet this challenge of showing all of Michigan that his talent is not substitutable. We agree on one point: the mountain to climb is very steep. Working on his shot and scratching that confidence that will take him on a course, that’s where everything will come from, at a time when time is starting to be rushed.
Mattis
Scottie Barnes. We all saw him during his rookie season, Barnes is a special creature, and only 1 year after winning the League’s best rookie trophy, I can see him going for the best progress of the year. The passing of the torch between Siakam and him will be done more quickly than expected: more responsible in the Canadian cold, Scottie will (already) pass a course and recover many minutes in the lead, highlighting his maturity and the progress made this summer. Bigger and faster than the other leaders, he will be able to dominate physically and combine power and finesse, while his shooting will have progressed alongside Rico Hines during the offseason. Siakam and VanVleet are still number 1 and 1 bis, but Scottie knocks on the door to warn that the succession in Toronto is assured. Ideal scenario since Drake becomes his best friend and invites him to the studio to make a sound, then a joint album downright so Barnes is so hot.
Gauthier
Anthony Edwards. Voters showed it last year, they’re not afraid to reward a guy who’s gone from potentially All-Star to nearly League Superstar. It was the case of Ja Morant, it will be the case for Anthony Edwards. Forget the Rudy Goberts and the Karl-Anthony Towns, even if we concede they take up space, the Minnesota franchise belongs to Anthony Edwards. He is the real superstar of this team, and he will show it this season. We have already seen snippets of it in the Playoffs, where he went from 21 to 25 points on average. If he does the same thing in the regular season, and Rudy in the paint allows him to count a few more assists, chances are that it will be enough progress level to get the place of MIP.
Jeremy
Anfernee Simmons. It’s time, Dame is back and little Anfernee Simmons will be able to play alongside the boss. In his absence, the minot also held the house well with 17.3 points per game and a nice 40.5% of the parking lot. This season, the boss is back in business and Anfernee will have to adapt to find his rhythm and understand his role within the Blazers. The example to follow seems simple and not so distant: CJ McCollum. Simmons will probably have less ball than last year, but also less pressure. As a lieutenant, however, he can have a good season. To qualify for the trophy, a slight improvement in stats is still required. Alignment of the planets, Simmons who makes string, a duo with Lillard which works, Portland which climbs in the classification… The odds are high, but even if the back of Oregon starts from afar, nothing is impossible and especially not in NBA.