Charlotte Hornets: Best candidates for 2018-19 NBA awards
Most Improved Player: Jeremy Lamb
A pair of names come to mind for the player that could be the most improved on the Hornets roster: Cody Zeller and Jeremy Lamb. However, it remains to be seen if Zeller can make that big leap and he’s coming off an injury.
So the best Most Improved Player candidate the Hornets have is Jeremy Lamb. He’s been a steady contributor since joining the Hornets in 2015-16 despite never having a starring role. He saw over 18 minutes per game his first two seasons and played starter’s minutes last season.
With Jeremy Lamb in a starter’s role, he could improve upon his per 36 minutes numbers that have held steady over his career.
| Season | Age | Tm | Pos | G | GS | FG% | 3P% | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-13 | 20 | OKC | SF | 23 | 0 | .353 | .300 | 1.000 | 4.4 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 17.4 |
| 2013-14 | 21 | OKC | SG | 78 | 0 | .432 | .356 | .797 | 4.4 | 2.7 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 15.6 |
| 2014-15 | 22 | OKC | SG | 47 | 8 | .416 | .342 | .891 | 6.1 | 2.5 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 16.8 |
| 2015-16 | 23 | CHO | SG | 66 | 0 | .451 | .309 | .727 | 7.4 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 17.0 |
| 2016-17 | 24 | CHO | SG | 62 | 5 | .460 | .281 | .853 | 8.3 | 2.4 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 19.0 |
| 2017-18 | 25 | CHO | SG | 80 | 18 | .457 | .370 | .861 | 5.9 | 3.4 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 18.9 |
| Career | 356 | 31 | .445 | .336 | .837 | 6.2 | 2.7 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 17.6 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/30/2018.
The stars could be aligning for Jeremy Lamb. His assists were a career high per 36 minutes, and his points per 36 featured the second-best mark of his career. His 3-point shooting took a huge leap as well and was the best of his career, leaving him primed for a break out year like past MIP award winners.
In 2014-15, Jimmy Butler showed a remarkable improvement in his shooting percentage and increased his scoring from 13.1 points per game to 20.0. Paul George‘s scoring went from 12.1 points per game to 17.4 in 2012-13. Last year’s winner, Victor Oladipo had a 7.2 points per game increase.
Jeremy Lamb is in perfect position to claim the Most Improved Player award. He’s young, has a great chance at starting at the 2-guard spot, has a much improved 3-point shot that should continue to get better and has a chance to see a remarkable increase in his overall production.
Odds: Pretty good, but may not capture enough attention