Hedo Turkoglu eanred a well-deserved nod for the NBA's Most Improved Player. Surprisingly, Mike Dunleavy's incredible improvement this year went unnoticed by plenty of folks around the league with a vote.
I figured Dun would finish third and could make a strong case for second. I guess it all depends on how the voters interpret the MIP criteria. According to the NBA , the criteria is as follows:
The annual award is presented to a player who has made a dramatic improvement from the previous season or seasons.
Bruno's latest Caught in the Web takes issue with the slights of not only Mike Dunleavy but Danny Granger as well. Granger finished 30th behind Shaq. Bruno's gripe is the inclusion of top draft picks in their second year simply developing as expected. Fair point, but with the open criteria the improvement is in the eye of the beholder.
Maybe all those folks ripping Dunleavy over the past couple of years just couldn't admit to themselves that maybe they were wrong. Dun should just take it as a compliment that his improved numbers weren't considered noteworthy. Instead they must've been expected.