The season was all but over for the Chicago Bulls after watching Derrick Rose suffer yet another knee injury, followed by the front office’s disappointing decision to trade away All-Star small forward Luol Deng for next to nothing (remember, just like Wu-Tang said: C.S.R.E.A.M, or Cap Space Rules Everything Around Me). Or so we thought. Instead Chicago rolled off a 20-9 record since the January 7 Deng trade, led by the incumbent face of the franchise, Joakim Noah.
Suddenly the Bulls are in a virtual tie for the third spot in the Eastern Conference Playoff race (with the equally surprising Toronto Raptors) and playing their best basketball as we inch closer to the end of the regular season. Which brings me to my proposal: Doesn’t Joakim Noah deserve to win the Most Improved Player award?
The MIP always rewards a player whose individual scoring numbers drastically increased from one year to the next. Case in point, the lowest scoring differential for a MIP winner in the last ten years was Paul George‘s 5.3 PPG increase last year. Noah, if he were to stay at his current pace, would only increase his scoring by .1. Right now the names most thrown out to win are Lance Stephenson, Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins and Eric Bledsoe before his injury. I would throw the Morris twins from Phoenix into the mix because a) Every time I watch a Suns game, one of them has a big night, and b) Combine them into one collective person, and they win the award hands down. Sadly, I do not see Adam Silver and friends awarding it in a joint effort, so the twins might be a long shot. All of the aforementioned players are having career years, especially when it comes to the scoring numbers. But outside of Stephenson, who for his part has upped his scoring, rebounding, assist and field goal percentage numbers dramatically, none are playing for a playoff team. Normally I lean towards rewarding players who do perform, even for sub-par teams, but in this instance doesn’t Noah deserve recognition?
Nothing against Stephenson, who will more than likely take home the award, but let’s compare lineups. Stephenson is playing with a lineup of George Hill, Paul George (All-NBA), David West (former All-Star), and Roy Hibbert (All-Star and possible DPOY winner). Noah’s top five are D.J. Augustin (cut by Toronto earlier this year), Jimmy Butler, Kirk Hinrich, and the corpse of Carlos Boozer. Let’s dig deeper.
Noah is playing the best basketball to date, averaging 12.0 PPG, 11.4 RPG, 4.8 APG, 1.4 BPG and 1.1 SPG on the year. More spectacularly is the fact that post-Deng, Noah is averaging a remarkable 13.8 PPG, 11.6 RPG, 6.8 APG, 1.8 BPG and 1.1 SPG! Noah had a career-high (and a record for a Bulls center) 14 assists this past week against the New York Knicks. That was the highest one-game assist total for a center since Sam Lacey did it way back in 1978. Over the last 12 games, Noah racked up a total of 82 assists (good enough for the seventh-highest in the NBA), trailing only six point guards. His current 4.8 APG is the highest total for a center since Brad Miller. (All I remember about Brad Miller was his cornrows… he was Riff Raff before Riff Raff was Riff Raff.)
Keep reading to see how Noah has improved his defense…
Since Deng’s departure (the moment this Chicago team became Noah’s), Noah is averaging 6.8 APG, and assisting on 28.1 percent of the Bulls points. That percentage is good for 23rd best in the NBA (with LeBron and Durant being the only non-point guards ahead of him). With none of the Bulls wing players capable of consistently getting good shots off by themselves, the offense is running through Noah. Watch a Bulls game (which would have been a punishment earlier this season), and you’ll see Noah catch the ball in the high post before dishing it to a cutting player, or handing it off and subsequently setting a screen (freeing the player for an open shot). Over the course of Noah’s improved play, a once below-average Bulls offense has actually scored at an above league average rate over the last 12 games (in which Chicago has gone 10-2). Seriously, Noah has totaled six or more assists in 21 games this season. All other centers combined for a total of 19 games.
According to SportVU, Noah averages the 13th-most passes per game in the NBA (with grunge rocker look-alike Josh McRoberts being the only frontcourt player with more per game than Noah). Kevin Love gets the most attention when it comes to a big’s passing ability, but Noah is averaging more assists per game than K-Love (4.7 to 4.1). Noah also leads the Bulls in assists. Can you name the last center to lead his team in that category? The answer is the Admiral, David Robinson in 1993-1994!
Noah is no slouch in the other facets of his game: since January 7, Noah has increased his rebounding average by 1.4 per game (from 10.2 to 11.6), and his current average of 11.6 puts him in six place. His scoring numbers are up too; since January 7, Noah is averaging 13.8 PPG (up from 10.9) all the while somehow taking less shots per game. What other star increased their scoring after losing a teammate by actually shooting less, and making more? Noah is shooting 55.7 percent since then (up from 45.8 percent before), and Noah is now the first or second option on offense–instead of being the fourth or fifth in previous years.
Noah’s greatest attribute, however, is his defense. While he may not lead the league in blocks or steals, Noah has quietly righted the Bulls defense since the trade shakeup. Since January 7, the Bulls are 16.9 points per 100 possessions better when Noah is on the floor. Before that the Bulls were actually 4.5 points better when he was on the bench.
Finally healthy, and playing the best basketball of his career, Noah is keeping the Bulls alive. His attitude has become infectious with the team, and you can see it when they play. Noah has the team playing with the trademarked intensity that coach Tom Thibodeau demands, and the results are obvious. The Bulls season turnaround has been directed under the play of Noah. Outside of LeBron and Durant, no player has had quite the impact of Noah. Certainly the Bulls MVP, Noah’s play earns him my vote for MIP.
Is Noah the league’s MIP?
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