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NBA Quarter Pole Awards: Early season MVP and more

By Corey Rausch

PHILADELPHIA, PA - JANUARY 20: Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics passes the ball against Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center on January 20, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 76ers defeated the Celtics 117-109. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JANUARY 20: Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics passes the ball against Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center on January 20, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 76ers defeated the Celtics 117-109. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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NBA (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
NBA (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images) /

Most Improved Player – Jaylen Brown

Honorable Mentions: Jerami Grant, Collin Sexton

For an award that usually does not generate much interest, there are a number of candidates for Most Improved that deserve consideration. The fact that Christian Wood and Chris Boucher did not make the honorable mentions is telling.

Jaylen Brown is the answer for now. It is one thing to make the jump from a solid player to a potentially great player. It is quite another to take the step from a great player to a transcendent player. Jaylen Brown has taken the sort of leap that sees players make All-NBA teams and he has never even made an All-Star game.

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Last season he averaged a respectable 20.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals on shooting splits of .481/.382/.724. This season, with increased opportunity (and responsibility with Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker) he has jumped up to 27.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.5 steals with shooting splits of .528/.438/.769.

Brown is a no-brainer All-Star and leading the charge for a Boston Celtics team destined for a home-court playoff seed. That gives him the edge. Jerami Grant has been far more than anyone could have imagined when he signed his contract this offseason with the Detroit Pistons and has scored 20 points in 15 of his 17 games this season. He is performing to a similar level of Brown (24.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.3 blocks on shooting splits of .444/.388/.860) but if you combine the statistical gap with the fact that teams are more likely to take the night off against the Detroit Pistons and Brown gets the slight edge.

Collin Sexton has been great and if there were two more weeks of games he may be atop this list. He has finally started to showcase the defensive potential he exhibited in college and is scoring in bunches (24.8 per game). If the Cavaliers stay competitive and Sexton keeps having moments like he did against the Brooklyn Nets he will gain ground quickly.