The 13 players who have surprised us most

[bleedspeed]

http://espn.go.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/14425723/andre-drummond-detroit-pistons-paul-george-indiana-pacers-highlight-list-early-season-surprises-nba

LaVine turning the corner quickly

Last season as a rookie, Minnesota guard Zach LaVine posted some of the most disastrous plus-minus numbers of any player in the league. The Timberwolves were outscored by 15 points per 100 possessions when he played, but only by five when he sat, leading to an RPM of minus-6.5, the third-worst mark in the league.

This season, his plus-minus has vastly improved. He is making shots at a slightly better clip (53 true shooting percentage) while taking more shots and he's turning the ball over less, leading to a much improved RPM of minus-1.9.

Perhaps it's a stretch to say that LaVine is now "good," but in terms of "RPM Wins" (a measure of a player's total contribution to winning), he's now a positive contributor playing about 25 minutes a night. Given how abysmal his rookie season was, that qualifies as a surprise.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Zach Lavine Day!

He made Zach Lowe's "Don't like" list, but there's still praise in there...

Zach LaVine's Turnaround 3s

This is a brutally difficult shot.

You almost admire the guts. LaVine has made progress this season at both guard positions, but he jacks two or three insane shots almost every game. He's on the verge of being a dangerous offensive player, especially on the wing alongside Ricky Rubio, if he can iron some of these bad judgments out of his game.

[Monster]

Zach Lavine Day!

He made Zach Lowe's "Don't like" list, but there's still praise in there...

Zach LaVine's Turnaround 3s

This is a brutally difficult shot.

You almost admire the guts. LaVine has made progress this season at both guard positions, but he jacks two or three insane shots almost every game. He's on the verge of being a dangerous offensive player, especially on the wing alongside Ricky Rubio, if he can iron some of these bad judgments out of his game.

The level of difficulty/idiotic shots has been way down for him IMO and that's part of the "iron out some of these bad judgements" growth we have wanted to see and have seen this year. In addition he has attacked the basket at a much more acceptable rate not just settling for long jump shots.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Zach Lavine Day!

He made Zach Lowe's "Don't like" list, but there's still praise in there...

Zach LaVine's Turnaround 3s

This is a brutally difficult shot.

You almost admire the guts. LaVine has made progress this season at both guard positions, but he jacks two or three insane shots almost every game. He's on the verge of being a dangerous offensive player, especially on the wing alongside Ricky Rubio, if he can iron some of these bad judgments out of his game.

The level of difficulty/idiotic shots has been way down for him IMO and that's part of the "iron out some of these bad judgements" growth we have wanted to see and have seen this year. In addition he has attacked the basket at a much more acceptable rate not just settling for long jump shots.

I agree. I'm not seeing JR Smith on the Nuggets type of shots very often. Nothing that egregious, just some occasional "he made that shot harder than it needed to be" or "he could have gotten a better look there" type of stuff... which is completely expected for a brash, athletic 20 year old kid.

[Monster]

Zach Lavine Day!

He made Zach Lowe's "Don't like" list, but there's still praise in there...

Zach LaVine's Turnaround 3s

This is a brutally difficult shot.

You almost admire the guts. LaVine has made progress this season at both guard positions, but he jacks two or three insane shots almost every game. He's on the verge of being a dangerous offensive player, especially on the wing alongside Ricky Rubio, if he can iron some of these bad judgments out of his game.

The level of difficulty/idiotic shots has been way down for him IMO and that's part of the "iron out some of these bad judgements" growth we have wanted to see and have seen this year. In addition he has attacked the basket at a much more acceptable rate not just settling for long jump shots.

I agree. I'm not seeing JR Smith on the Nuggets type of shots very often. Nothing that egregious, just some occasional "he made that shot harder than it needed to be" or "he could have gotten a better look there" type of stuff... which is completely expected for a brash, athletic 20 year old kid.

Agreed. I would also say a good chunk of those bad looking shots he has taken were shots at the end of shot clock and quarters. Sometimes they were directly his fault and sometimes he got thrown the ball with a few seconds left on the clock because of his teammates poor decisions. Of course some of that is because Lavine is running the point and so those guys are not put in great positions in the first place but yeah. Bottom line is lately most of Zach's WTF moments are more related to getting the ball stolen from him or getting beat back door every once in a while but it's been much less egregious than we are used to which is nice.

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

Happy Festivus everyone! It's a Festivus miracle that we continue to have so much hope for this team after they've disappointed us so much the last 10 years. I won't air a lot of grievances as this an improvement thread, but just a couple.

-The Rubio debate. Can we move on please? He's here to stay.
-Sammich playing too much Martin. Please trade him now Milt

KAT's feats of strength are pretty impressive and a big surprise as to how fast he's developing

[AbeVigodaLive]

Happy Festivus everyone! It's a Festivus miracle that we continue to have so much hope for this team after they've disappointed us so much the last 10 years. I won't air a lot of grievances as this an improvement thread, but just a couple.

-The Rubio debate. Can we move on please? He's here to stay.
-Sammich playing too much Martin. Please trade him now Milt

KAT's feats of strength are pretty impressive and a big surprise as to how fast he's developing

For some... it's going on 25+ years.


[Note: With the exception of 2004.]

[JasonIsDaMan [enjin:7981157]]

Happy Festivus everyone! It's a Festivus miracle that we continue to have so much hope for this team after they've disappointed us so much the last 10 years. I won't air a lot of grievances as this an improvement thread, but just a couple.

-The Rubio debate. Can we move on please? He's here to stay.
-Sammich playing too much Martin. Please trade him now Milt

KAT's feats of strength are pretty impressive and a big surprise as to how fast he's developing

Happy Festivus, Kenny. Have an Ovaltine on me.

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

Happy Festivus everyone! It's a Festivus miracle that we continue to have so much hope for this team after they've disappointed us so much the last 10 years. I won't air a lot of grievances as this an improvement thread, but just a couple.

-The Rubio debate. Can we move on please? He's here to stay.
-Sammich playing too much Martin. Please trade him now Milt

KAT's feats of strength are pretty impressive and a big surprise as to how fast he's developing

Happy Festivus, Kenny. Have an Ovaltine on me.

Thanks Jason, hoping for another Festivus miracle that we can beat Pops and Co. tonight.

[alexftbl8181 [enjin:6648741]]

Happy Festivus everyone! It's a Festivus miracle that we continue to have so much hope for this team after they've disappointed us so much the last 10 years. I won't air a lot of grievances as this an improvement thread, but just a couple.

-The Rubio debate. Can we move on please? He's here to stay.
-Sammich playing too much Martin. Please trade him now Milt

KAT's feats of strength are pretty impressive and a big surprise as to how fast he's developing

For some... it's going on 25+ years.


[Note: With the exception of 2004.]

I'm surprised your not punching cats and spitting in babies faces from that kind of abuse