Players Playing Surprisingly Well at the 1/4th Mark of the Season

1) carmelo anthony - i didn't think he would be this good of a scorer and this consistent (yes, i know he was great in the playoffs last year). but until tonight, he has scored over 20 pts in EVERY game so far. that's just great consistency. he's definitely in my top 3 for MVP candidates so far.

2) brook lopez. next year, he's going to challenge dwight howard for best center in the league. dude is a stud.

3) chris kaman is finally realizing his potential of a 20-10 player. he has slowed down a little bit, but he has looked great so far.

4) zach randolph - i can't believe that i'm saying this: BUT HE'S PLAYING TEAM BALL. he isn't jacking up stupid shots like he has before and memphis has played extremely well in their last 7 games.

5) carl landry - i can't believe you forgot about our best rocket player this year

6) brandon haywood - dude is a defensive stud. he blocked chris bosh TWICE on 2 straight possessions right in his face. and he's posting a double-double. i thought he sucked before, but he has played well this year, despite the wiz underachieving.

this is not a list, so don't take offense to the order. but these guys have really impressed me this year personally.

for the most disappointing: it has to be derrick rose. i thought he would take the step to become a 20+ppg, and 9+apg type player this year. i guess that ankle injury took a toll on him to start, but he has played better the last few weeks though the bulls are struggling mightily.

 

Melo
Landry

 

Gerald Wallace has been a beast on the boards

 

Andrew Bynum is quietly having a monster year. There are some unholy things I would do to planet Earth in order to get him on the Rockets. That's all I'll say.

 

Marc Gasol is averaging a double double and doing it at a very efficient rate. Very impressed with his improvement.

 

Brook Lopez > Bynum

 

Ick. He's a good player but can disappear and is a whiner. I'd take Brook Lopez over him anyday.

 

I agree with Gasol having a great year so far as well. Others who have really impressed me so far are:

Steve Nash: Can't believe he hasn't been mentioned yet. Dude doesn't age and is like an assist machine right now.

Melo: I knew he was going to be good, but I didn't think he was going to average close to 30 ppg so far.

Jennings: He's calmed down a bit in terms of putting up massive numbers, but he's still playing extremely well. Front runner for ROY for sure.

 

Jamal Crawford. Channing Frye.

 

tyreke evans has been better (more consistent, more all-around, better defense). jennings has more hype right now though. but tyreke has been the better player.

 

Hey, i'd take Lopez over Bynum too just by virtue of him being a year younger, less of a headcase and without a history of knee injuries. All the same, it doesn't mean Lopez is the better player.

As for the Jamal Crawford mention, he's doing what he's done his entire career with the difference being he's on a much better team now. He's sort of like the new Jason Terry (or at least I hope, as a Hawks fan).

 

Don't forget about Joey Crawford. Kobe Bryant's nuts.

 

Greg Oden but then he got hurt.

 

Yeah I heard Brandon Jennings say that Tyreke Evans is the front runner for ROY.

 

Frye, I think, is more of a case of suddenly learing to shoot the 3 pointer.

 

still wasn't impressed by him. 5 fouls per game in only 20 minutes played.

 

Good call. Dave Berri had a great article on his season after the injury happened.

 

Jennings, Landry, and Josh Smith are my favorites so far.

of those not mentioned, Lou Williams was having a solid year before going down--but he is a streaky guy. Marreese Speights has improved a lot. (I'm not a Philly fan...it's random)