GOOD
Kevin Durant- Not exactly the season many were expecting. He has been part of a mediocre Thunder defense, is registering more turnovers than assists for the fourth consecutive year and is either struggling (relatively) with his shot or his shot selection (34% from deep). Of course, he will finish the season as a two-time scoring champion at the tender age of 22 (he is only six months older than Blake Griffin) and has an excellent chance at winning his first playoff series as a professional. He has shown more of a spark of late and will likely wind up matching his numbers from last season's breakthrough campaign. He has not improved this year but if he performs better in the playoffs (and the Thunder win a series), this season should still be considered a success for Durant. It's not his fault expectations were more out of line than the movie executive who decided Nicolas Cage could be an action star.
Stephen Curry- At first glance, Curry seems to have improved dramatically this season. He has been more efficient even while using more offensive possessions. But Curry finished last year by posting averages of 22/5/8 after the All-Star break and has not come close to touching those numbers. He has seen a decrease in minutes (Keith Smart does not play him enough if in "foul trouble"), been plagued by ankle sprains and has taken a bit of a backseat to the Monta Ellis scoring show and fireworks extravaganza. Curry only looks like an asset defensively when paired with Ellis (who is a defensive sieve without all of that intersecting metal in the middle that does all the sieving) but continues to work hard and may eventually be considered a pesky defender at the point. As with Durant, there has been no real improvement from Curry but no reason to view his year as anything but positive (other than the whole Warriors are terrible thing) considering his age, experience and future potential.
Rudy Gay- It seems like Rudy has really stepped up his game this year but I'm not sure if that's entirely true. It may be simply that he was dealing with very low expectations for improvement following his (ill-advised) max contract extension over the summer. He is playing a ton of minutes, has a couple game-winners and the Grizzlies are threatening to make the Western Conference playoffs. So there's that. And Gay has improved his three point shooting and passing (both career highs). But he is still a volume scorer who only averages one free throw attempt every nine minutes despite excellent athleticism. His greatest strides have actually been on defense as he has helped hold opposing small forwards to a 10.7 PER rating (sensational mark) and already has established a career-high in Defensive Win Shares and defensive rating. That might be the most surprising improvement (and perhaps, the most indicative of Team USA being a positive learning experience).
BETTER
Eric Gordon- Blake Griffin leads the Clippers in dunks but he does not lead the Clippers in scoring. Eric Gordon takes that honor by chipping in 24 points per game. He also leads the Clippers in raw plus/minus rating and L.A. is 3-8 in the eleven games Gordon has missed due to injury. While Griffin is the future of the Clippers franchise and has superstar potential, Gordon is every bit as important at the moment. After a disappointing sophomore season, Gordon has improved every single aspect of his game and is already a borderline All-Star in a loaded Western Conference. He is one of the most underrated players in the league and will continue to fly under the radar until Bill Simmons spends two thousand words singing his praises (after which, Gordon will quickly become overrated before becoming underrated again and then finally, as is so often the case, properly rated in the end).
BEST
Russell Westbrook- Westbrook was the breakout star of Team USA, energizing the second unit off the bench and often looking like the second best player on the team. However, he didn't make many changes to his game over the summer. Fortunately for the Thunder, the one change he did make was becoming completely impossible to contain on the perimeter. Westbrook splits defenders on screens as well as anyone in the league and gets to the rim at will. He is top ten in the league in both FGA at the rim and FTA. Although he may always be a "scoring point guard," he is slowly (but surely) improving as a passer and is still the best rebounding PG in the league. He has carried the Thunder while Durant has been out with injury (or in a shooting funk) and is a jump shot away from (appropriately instead of irrationally) being in the always lively discussion about the best point guard on Earth. Just like the two players below him, Westbrook made the leap from star to borderline superstar, perhaps the most difficult progression to make.
Kevin Love- Pretty good for a guy who couldn't break into the starting lineup of one of the five worst teams in the league, right? As incredible as Love has been, the only truly shocking aspect of his play has been his 44% shooting from deep. That's right; Love's historically good rebounding numbers are the cause of only a small increase in his overall rebounding rate that is not unusual for a 22 year old power forward. The key to Love's numbers is that Kurt Rambis finally found a cure to his severe case of the stupids and started playing Love close to 40 minutes per game. Love is abysmal on defense but who cares (except you, lone (Timber)Wolf fan)? He deserves to be in this category for somehow taking away LeBron James' unofficial title of "player most likely to post numbers that belong in a video game." Too bad Coach K barely played him despite Love's perfect skill set for the international game. Stupid coaches and their stupid racism. Just kidding. But seriously. Nah, not really. Unless...yeah. Moving on.
Derrick Rose- I will probably spend far too much of my time over the next two months belaboring this point but I have no choice; Derrick Rose is not the MVP. He has garnered so much support that my only hope now is for LeBron to unleash a string of triple doubles and leave the writers no choice but to award the honor to the best player in basketball. If that were the case, Rose would then be free (since voters won't vote for him twice) to accept the award he deserves, Most Improved Player. Rose is not simply the beneficiary of an expanded role or more minutes. He has improved his jump shot, court vision and ability to get to the free throw line. He has completely transformed his defensive game and is now streets ahead on that side of the ball. He has admirably led his team and is a great player. He is not the MVP but he has been sensational. Learn from the absurd expectations placed on Durant and let Rose grow as a player. He is only 22, MVP can wait. MIP will do for now.
CONCLUSION
Since most of America's best players passed on the opportunity to represent their country in 2010, much of Team USA took the shape of a U-22 team. Except for Gay, all of these athletes are currently 22 years old. They represent the best and (hopefully) the brightest, the hope for the future of the NBA. They are at an age that often sees elite NBA players show dramatic statistical improvement and reach the cusp of superstardom. Kobe, Shaq (age 21), Duncan and LeBron (21) managed without any international experience so Team USA cannot take too much credit for the youth breakthrough this year. But, loathe though I am to admit, it seems that international (and Coach K coaching??) competition is an advisable summer option for American stars. Young players might find the experience particularly beneficial, the better to maximize their talent and mature into
"Grow old with me! The best is yet to come." -Robert Browning
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