Who's your surprise player this year??

[JoMal]

For me, that player on the Kings has been Maurice Evans.

A 6'5" guard, he is replacing Bobby Jackson off the bench for that needed lift. Not the prolific scorer that Jackson is, he has been cleaning up around the rim by getting there with outstanding atheleticism and finishing. Last night at the Garden, his contributions and defense on Marbury were probably the difference in bringing about one of the rare wins the Kings have had in New York since moving to Sacramento, who is now only 2-18 in the Big Apple.

Evans was never drafted by an NBA team out of Texas in 2001, but was invited to the Timberwolves camp in 2002. He became a star in the European League, however, earning the MVP of the Italian League All Star game in 2004, the same year his team, Benetton Treviso, won the Italian Cup.

His apparent reason for not sticking with an NBA team before now? At 6'5", he is considered undersized for a shooting guard in today's NBA. He has a decent jump shot, is very strong and atheletic, and has excellent jumping ability.

Since he is replacing the 6'1" Bobby Jackson off the bench, I suppose his added 4 inches don't look so undersized to opponents right now.

Elsewhere, my choice for the surprise player goes to Miami's third prong of their new attack offense - Damon Jones.

Undrafted out of Houston in 1998, his NBA journey has taken him to NINE NBA TEAMS in seven years. Until this year, when his scoring average has been 11.3, he never was on the floor enough to get more then 7 points a game. Last year in Milwaukee, his assists per game reached 5.8, a career best.

Van Gundy has put him on the floor as his starting point guard and has been rewarded with some clutch shooting, decent point guard work, and a three point average of 42.9, which ranks 10th in the League, though he shoots more three's then anyone listed above him.

Not too bad for a classic "Who's He??" guy.

[WayOutWest]

As far as guys I see on a regular basis, I'd have to say Bobby Simmons.  Since the Clips let Q walk and replaced him with a no-show in Kittles, Magette has been moved to the SG and Bobby has been the starting SF all season.  His stroke is sweet and deadly accurate when he sets.  He's a decent defender and hard worker, the kind of no-nonsense guy you love having on your team.

Dwane Wade has exploded since the playoffs and he continues to sizzle.  He's now talked about in the Bryant, T-Mac and LeBron company and rightly so, although Kobe's D puts him above the rest.

Diggler has surprised me in that he's still flourishing without Nash, Nash has also surprised me and moved into the best PG slot, with Wade a close second.  We'll see what Kidd has to say about that when he gets healthy.

Yao has surprised me in a negative way, he seems to have regressed this year but I'm still hopefull he'll turn it around this year.

Sam Cassell is another negative surprise, he's way off the pace, as are the Wolves, from last years' run.

[ziggy]

First of all Jomal, Good topic!!!

For the Blazers the biggest surprise to me has been Sebastian Telfair.  For a 19 year old high schooler, he has shown me a lot.  He will be a very good NBA player.

For the league the list of players to me would have to be
Kyle Korver  (3rd in the league in 3's, averaging 11.5 pg)
Damon Jones  (#1 in 3's, assist to TO of 4.1 to 1)
Eddie Griffin  (dropped off a bit, but 10.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.4 bpg, 40% 3pt)
Dwight Howard  (9 double doubles, 15th in rpg)
Jeff McInnis  (45% FG%, 25th in 3's, 80% FT, 15 ppg, 5.6 apg, 2.8 a/t)
Luke Ridnour  (16th apg, 42% on 3's, 3.65 A/T, 94% on FT)
Andre Igoudala  (tremendous all around game)
Nazr Mohammad  (13 double doubles)

The biggest surprise to me is Eddie Griffin.  Considering he was just a few steps from a prison sentence, and out of the NBA all last year, I did not see this coming.

[westkoast]

On the Lakeshow?  Caron Butler.....I really didnt think he would be playing as well as he has.  Hes been making the right decisions on offense.  He is trying to improve on the defensive end, which I think he is making progress.  Plus he is a hard worker.  Ive never seen him give up on a play this year.  Couldnt ask for too much more from Caron.  Except maybe step into the #2 scoring roll since Lamar is more focused on rebounding and ball movement.

Its nice to see players do things like let a defender fly over you so you can take a few steps in and shoot an open jumper and fake passes.  Yea I know guys, its not that great but its small tricks like this that alot of players dont use anymore.  Butler is excellent at using those little tricks to get himself to a higher % shot.

[Guest_Randy]

Well, Westkoast has already covered the Lakers so how about I cover a team that doesn't have any fans here (at least I don't think they have any fans here):

Washington Wizards - Larry Hughes
  Okay, while his FG% is nothing to get excited about (43.5%), it is a career year in that department for him -- in addition to career years in steals (2.9), and assists (5.0) -- he almost has career years in rebounds (5. and points (20.7) as well.  
I certainly didn't think he would fare this well and Hughes is a BIG part of why the Wizards are playing over .500 ball (that and the fact that they play in the EC).

Also, I think that Yao himself does deserve some negative criticism based on his lack of drive and aggressiveness -- he is wayyyy too tentative on the court.  His conditioning also hurts him a great deal.  However, TMac isn't a distributor of the ball and JVG couldn't run an offense to save his life!  JVG deserves MORE of the criticism than Yao does, IMO.

[Laker Fan]

Agree with Koast on Butler, he is a slick player that takes you back to the day when finesse was worth something.

Biggest surprise, is Wade, not that he wasn't decent last year, but his numbers, particularly assists and points are up dramatically. The knock on him will be he has the advantage of Shaq in the middle, true, but nevertheless this cat is playing really good ball right now. I will get some flack for this but I think Kobe is more than answering his critics, at least on the floor. His numbers are up, (unfortunately, that includes his turnovers) and he is distributing the ball very well, even more than his assists indicate. I totally expected him to whither under the pressure to produce and the fact that he spends half his time back peddling on stupid comments and extracting his foot from his mouth, hasn't happened, and I don't think it will.

Dissapointment type surprise? The Jazz, Kirilenko going down hurt more than I thought and exposed the one dimensional coaching abilities of Sloan, who while he has earned my grudging respect over the last couple of years, it doesn't change what I've always thought about him, that his one dimensional style and maddeningly boring and limited set plays on offense worked perfectly when you had talent like Malone, Stockton, and Honicek, with this group of kids it is more stifling than productive and you take Kirilenko's creativity, hustle, and athleticism out of the mix and they are all of a sudden very, very, ho-hum. Add to the disappoinment specifically, Carlos Arroyo is tanking big time.

[Lurker]

Biggest surprise on Spurs:  Beno Udrih.  Spurs first round pick this year (28th) has stepped in and filled the biggest hole they had...a backup pg.  He is among league leaders in 3 pt % and shoots above 50% from the floor.  Sees the floor well and knows how to pace the game.

Biggest surprise in the league:  I would have to go with Wade also.  Same reasons as already mentioned.  Honorable mention:  Grant Hill - he has held up well and is putting up respectable numbers on a team with two ball hogging guards (Francis & Mobley).

Biggest disappointment:  Collapse of the Twolves and Grizzlies.  Twp teams that I expected to pick up from where they left off last year.  Minny seems to be struggling to find any consistancy outside of KG.  Memphis seems to be recovering under the Czar but the jury is still out.

[jn]

Lots of good names you guys have brought up.  I'd top the list with Ridnour, Grant Hill (I thought he was done fore) and Damon Jones on the positive side, Cassell and Yao on the downside.  

Biggest team surprises: Lots of nominees here as well.  Seattle, Orlando and the Wiz on the upside.  The Wolves on the downside.  

[Joe Vancil]

There's no doubt to me that the surprise of the year for the league is Bobby Simmons.  The guy is putting up really good numbers, and actually helping give meaning to a Clippers season.

Surprise team of the year is Seattle.  I'm thrilled for Nate McMillan.

Biggest negative surprise for player is Ron Artest - suspensions and stupidity were expected, but not on the scale he's given us - and for team, it's Minnesota - making few changes to their roster, they were in the best position to build on the success of last year, but instead, Sprewell and Cassell are whining.  Last year, I called Sam Cassell a cancer, and this year just proves I was right.  He's a SLOW cancer, but a cancer nonetheless.

As for the Jazz, my biggest surprise was our start, and how McLeod was playing during that stretch.  However, since Arroyo has come back, McLeod has acquired some of Arroyo's bad habits - specificially, over-dribbling, which to me seems like the real reason Utah is suffering.  When people make cuts, Arroyo simply isn't ready to pass, whereas the Jazz system is that you make the pass with the confidence that your teammate is going to make the cut.
 

[Reality]

Bobby Simmons.  He is night and day compared to last year.

Antoin Jamison.  Not a surprise to me but it's time he gets props.  Radio interview today he didn't think too highly of Dallas/Don Nelsons flexibility or rather inflexibility.  Still he kept quiet and accepted his 6th man role.  Result?  6th man of the year.

Yao concur W.O.W. but what is he supposed to do in a Van Grunty suppressed offense?  He also seems to get a lot of ticky tack foul calls from the refs.  That will all change once he becomes a Flamer in L.A.

Damon Jones.  Wade agree, knew he'd be better but not this much.
Howard kid looks solid.