<object width="388" height="394" classid="clsid27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" id="ep"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="movie" value="http://i.cdn.turner.com/nba/nba/.element/swf/1.1/cvp/nba_embed_container.swf?context=rockets&videoId=teams/rockets/2010/03/24/brooksHighlights2Mbcopymov-1269378" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#000000" /><embed src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/nba/nba/.element/swf/1.1/cvp/nba_embed_container.swf?context=rockets&videoId=teams/rockets/2010/03/24/brooksHighlights2Mbcopymov-1269378" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" bgcolor="#000000" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="388" wmode="transparent" height="394"></embed></object> This season's highlights, short vid. Lock/Merge if posted. Thanks dingaaa :grin:
Out Of The Shadows Aaron Brooks making strong case as NBA's most improved player Jason Friedman Rockets.com Houston - Exciting, electric and fearless. Breathtakingly fast, blindingly quick with unlimited range. When Aaron Brooks is the subject, those are the adjectives and characteristics most often used to extol the virtues of his burgeoning game. All are accurate of course but they only serve as a starting point of sorts because to truly appreciate Brooks’ talents one must see him in person – assuming your eyes are quick enough to catch him, that is. Now in his third season in the NBA and first as a full-time starter, the 6-foot point guard from Oregon has burst onto the scene as a fan favorite thanks to his dazzling skill set and big-time performances. Monster scoring nights, lights-out shooting, game winners – you name it, chances are Brooks has delivered the goods. Building upon his breakout postseason a year ago, AB has helped the Rockets exceed expectations this season, leading the team in several statistical categories while providing the sort of quiet, steady leadership which bears witness to his growth both on and off the court. Once considered little more than a largely unknown, late first-round draft pick, Brooks has not only solidified himself as a capable starter but a key building block of the Rockets’ future as well, showing off All-Star potential and an innate ability to rise to the occasion in big moments. In other words, the secret is out: Aaron Brooks has emerged from the shadows of obscurity. He is ready for his well-deserved turn in the spotlight. He is living proof that good things come in small packages. He is a star on the rise. AB4MIP. WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ABOUT AARON BROOKS: MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES' ZACH RANDOLPH: “Brooks is an All-Star. He killed us and he really hurt us. He got snubbed as an All-Star. He doesn’t surprise me what he does on the court. He was pulling up and hitting 3’s once he was crossing mid-court.” MAVERICKS' JASON KIDD: “He’s playing great. He plays very hard, is extremely quick and shoots well behind the three-point line. He is a big part of their success this season.” MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES' MIKE CONLEY: “Brooks is a great player. He’s very quick and extremely talented." CLIPPERS' STEVE BLAKE: “He is extremely quick and very good with the ball in his hands. You really can’t lay off him because he shoots the 3-pointer so well. He is a tough cover.” AARON BROOKS BY THE NUMBERS (stats as of 3/23/2010 - to be updated weekly) • If using the minimum qualifier for league leaders in points per game for 2008-09 (70 games played or 1,400 minutes at the end of the season), Brooks has made the biggest jump of any qualifying player in the NBA from 2008-09 to 2009-10: Player 2008-09 2009-10 Increase: • Aaron Brooks 11.2 19.8 +8.6 • George Hill 5.7 12.1 +6.4 • Carmelo Anthony 22.8 28.9 +6.1 • Trevor Ariza 8.9 15.0 +6.1 • Brook Lopez 13.0 18.8 +5.8 • Of players who even saw at least 1,000 minutes played in 2008-09, Brooks again stands first in points per game (+8.6) improvement to 2009-10. • Among players with at least 70 games played or 400 assists last season, Brooks (+2.2) stands as one of just two players in the NBA with an increase of two assists per game from 2008-09 to 2009-10: Player 2008-09 2009-10 Increase: • Russell Westbrook 5.3 7.9 +2.6 • Aaron Brooks 3.0 5.1 +2.1 • Trevor Ariza 1.8 3.7 +1.9 • Rajon Rondo 8.2 9.6 +1.4 • Steve Nash 9.7 11.1 +1.4 • Brooks registered a career-high 43 points (14-30 FG, 6-9 3FG, 9-12 FT) in a 120-114 3OT win vs. Minnesota (1/13/10), while setting career bests in field goals made (14) and field goals attempted (30). Brooks became the first Rockets player to reach the 40-point plateau since Tracy McGrady scored 41 points back in 2007-08 vs. New Orleans (3/8/08). • Brooks, who has 33 20-point performances and nine outings of 30 or more points this season (through 3/23/10), stands as the first Rockets point guard to reach at least 20 points in 20 or more games since Steve Francis’ 42 20-point performances in 2002-03. • Brooks recorded 10 20-point performances during the month of Dec. 2009. To put that in perspective, Brooks entered this season with 11 20-point games over his first two seasons combined with the Rockets. He also had a run of 20-point performances in eight of 10 outings (11/29/09-12/18/09). • Brooks made at least one 3-pointer in a franchise-best 39 consecutive games (12/22/09-3/17/10), which surpassed Luther Head’s previous team mark of 37 straight (11/4/06-1/13/07). Brooks became the first player in the NBA to reach 39 in a row since Orlando’s Rashard Lewis hit at least one trey in 56 straight contests (11/12/08-3/9/09) in 2008-09. • Brooks has set a new career single-season best with 173 3-pointers made on 442 attempts (113 3FGM in 2008-09), which stands first in the NBA in 3-point makes (through 3/23/10). • Brooks marked the first time in his career to register four straight 20-point games, accomplishing this feat three times already this season (12/13/09-12/18/09, 1/27/10-2/2/10 and 3/1/10-3/7/10). His only consecutive 20-point outings prior to 2009-10 stood at two games (20 on 3/24/09 and 21 on 3/28/09). • Brooks reached double-figure scoring in a career-high 40 straight games (12/23/09-3/21/10). His previous best was double-digit point totals in just seven consecutive contests (3/9/09-3/20/09 and 10/27/09-11/10/09). • Brooks set both his career high in treys and the Rockets single-game record for most 3-pointers made without a miss (7-7 3FG) vs. Memphis (3/17/10). He broke the prior team mark that Shane Battier (6-6 3FG) set at Milwaukee (2/17/10).
These poll choices are terrible. First of all, Randolph already won the MIP in 03-04, and second of all, Durant's gonna be in MVP voting, not MIP...
The only person from that list that stands a chance is Marc Gasol. Lakers fans don't even like Vujacic, Bogut is from too small a market to get any national recognition whatsoever (even with the emergence of Jennings, who's stealing the spotlight), and Josh Smith has been legit for several years now. Even if Brooks doesn't win it, he's going to get some rec as the guy who was the "biggest snub" from MIP voting. He's played himself into a very good situation. I hope he doesn't get traded in a couple months...
Brooks is incredible. He's still consistent and some parts of his game are still a work in progress, but what's amazing is not just how much he's improved this season, but how much room he has left to improve even more. Future star! :grin:
AB4MIP ------ 09-10 season known for his speed, 3s and his improvement this year....... MY FAVORITE NBA AND HOUSTON ROCKETS PLAYER BY FAR by the way: dingaaa i was gna post it but i dno how to post a video
It's hard to vote against Kevin Durant. The guy turned himself into one of the best scorers in the league while playing the same amount of minutes that he did last season. Now, if he could just bring his 3-pt shooting back up next season, he'll be over 30 ppg. But, with that, Durant will be looked at as a MVP candidate, which I would probably put him at second in that race. With that being said, I think Brooks will win simply because of that 8 ppg difference between this season and last season.
I don't think Durant is a strong candidate for MIP, though he should take second for MVP. Durant has only improved by 4 points per game and his efficiency has gone down in some areas. It's mostly just that his usage is higher this season--he's getting the ball more often and taking more shot attempts than before.
Poll is terrible and flawed. My voting for everyone proves the latter. Andrew Bogut is the favorite for the award and isn't even on the list.
Vujacic? I hope that's a joke. But yeah, the other three are good choices, too. You could toss Corey Brewer in there, even though the Wolves stink. AB should still win it over all those guys. Smith is the biggest competition since the better your team is, the more likely you'll get votes (see: Coach of the Year).
Well in that case, that's hilarious one of my laker friends used to yell out "THE MACHINE!" every time Vujacic would try to take over a game like he was Kobe and jack up ridiculous shots. It was all he could do to keep himself from crying haha My bad, I'm obviously still not familiar with everyone's style being so new to the boards, and that combined with internet sarcasm is a lethal ignorance inducing combo
Much man luv for AB, however, I'm very concerned with his PnR defense, which is atrocious at best. He sticks to screens set by defenders like glue. This kills us when we need a stop. Image needing a stop to go to the NBA Finals and they team runs a PnR with Yao and AB in the game. You guessed it.. bucket and we lose by 2. I don't think Rick and his staff could improve his defense if their lives depended on it.
