[hobojoe]

Think hard about this question. Honestly, I think you can make a case for Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson or even Mario Kasun. Don't laugh.

Dwight Howard has improved tremendously since the beginning of the season. We all saw that in the beginning of the year he was good and had star potential. But since then, his offense in particular has vastly improved. His footwork is lightyears ahead of where it was then, he's more aggressive in the post and he has a couple moves down low that he can consistently go to and score with. He's also bulked up tremendously, which has made him tougher to guard down low.

Jameer Nelson is the most obvious choice here. He's improved his game quite a bit, but remember the huge increase in numbers doesn't necessarily mean he's improving. His playing time has dramatically increased in the past 20 games or so, and he's produced since then. With that said, I don't think he was capable of putting up even close to those numbers earlier in the season when he seemed to be more timid and less confident in his game. His jumper is the most obvious improvement in his game. He's just been money since midseason with his jumper, and even has been showing better 3-point range of late. Huge improvement here, earlier in the year I didn't think he had the potential to be our starting PG of the future, right now I'm positive that he's our guy.

Mario Kasun-- yes, Mario Kasun can have a case made for him as well. Earlier in the year when Kasun was first activated, I was calling him the worst player in the entire NBA. Since then he's proven to be a very good rebounder, a tough guy inside who's willing to bang with the big boys down low and a high energy big man off the bench when given time. Not only is he not the worst player in the NBA, I think he'll be a decent backup center for the Magic or someone else eventually.

 

[deanwoof]

to answer the question: i think howard improved. he wasn't really doing much i think at the beginning of the season, but after the allstar break, i think he went on a tear. but to think who's really surprised me, i would have to go with nelson. his playing basically FORCED management to move mobley as well as keep stevenson on the bench.

 

[magicfan187]

didnt howard start the season with like 10 straight double doubles???

i'll go with nelson here, pretty easy choice i think...

 

[JNice]

Hopefully Orlando can get Kasun in the gym and working hard this summer. With a little better conditioning and strength, and some improvement in his all-around game, he could be a good backup.

It is tough to say who improved the most. I think Jameer has improved but had he gotten more playing time early on, he probably could have produced similiarly. I think Dwight has really improved offensively over the course of the season. Pretty amazing considering how few opportunities he gets. But it seems like he has added a new move or shot pretty much every month of the season.

I'd say Cato wins the award for getting worse as the season has gone along. He was great at the beginning of the year. High energy, grabbing boards, blocking shots, starting fastbreaks, finishing with dunks ... now, he is playing like crap.

 

[MVPlaya]

Jameer Nelson. Dwight has basically been keeping his pace and putting up his numbers. Nelson didn't start out too great and then he became a player...

 

[hobojoe]

Jameer Nelson. Dwight has basically been keeping his pace and putting up his numbers. Nelson didn't start out too great and then he became a player...

Without question, Dwight has improved dramatically since the beginning of the season. It's not even close, he's made tremendous strides particularly offensively since the first game of the year. Look at what he's been doing lately, he's putting up huge numbers while still not getting the touches he deserves.