Jeremy Lamb has migrated from a possible bust draft pick to a skilled, versatile scorer–from bench sitter to a 15 ppg. scorer.
Charlotte Hornets guard/forward Jeremy Lamb has quietly become one of the most versatile offensive players in the NBA. But might he also be the NBA’s Most Improved Player?
Let’s explore that possibility.
First of all, ‘most improved” typically means a player has experienced lots of growth and, perhaps, is rebounding from a rocky start. Those specs fit Lamb perfectly.
Lamb against the Blazers in November 2015 (photo by Kent Smith/NBAE via Getty Images)
Lamb had a rough his first year in the NBA (2015-2016) because he didn’t show much on the defensive end. Hornets’ coach, Steve Clifford, is defensive-minded. He felt Lamb was not ready for 20+ minutes a game.
Lamb got the message. Lamb worked on his strength and conditioning in the off-season, and that determination paid off last year. But there’s more to the story than that.
Charlotte wasn’t a playoff team last year and that situation worked to Lamb’s advantage. He started the year playing behind sharpshooter Marco Belinelli. Then, just days before the draft, the Hornets traded Belinelli and Miles Plumlee to the Hawks in exchange for Dwight Howard.
That trade created a gap at the backup two, which allowed Lamb to play more minutes. Lamb took advantage of the break and finished the year shooting 46% from the field and averaging nearly ten points a game.
Things looked good for Lamb going into this season. That’s because he got more playing time in ’16-17 and improved once again during the off-season. He looked ready to go as a quality bench player. Then fate intervened again.
Hornet’s guard Nic Batum suffered a torn ligament in his left elbow during the pre-season, which sidelined him for six weeks. Clifford called on Lamb to fill-in at the starting two. Voilà!
Courtesy: Charlotte Observer
Lamb started this season quickly by scoring 15 points in the very first game against Detroit. He followed-up that performance with eight straight games with 17 or more points, including a career-high 27 points against the San Antonio Spurs.
When Batum returned to the line-up, Lamb went back to the bench. But that didn’t curtail his productivity. Since Batum’s return, Lamb is scoring 15 fifteen points and grabbing five rebounds off the bench. Overall, he’s averaging 16.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per game and hitting 38% from behind the arc. That’s balling! He has improved defensively, too, with career-highs in blocks (0.5 ave.) and steals (0.9).
What a story, huh? Lamb has migrated from potentially a laughable, bust draft pick to a skilled, versatile scorer. And he has gone from sitting on the bench to averaging more than 15 ppg.
There’s no doubt in my mind that Lamb should be considered for NBA’s MIP. His story and stats tell it all.
#JeremyLambForNBAMIP
