Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images

On Friday, Ryan Anderson became the fifth player for the Orlando Magic to win the Most Improved Player award in the franchise’s 23-year history (the other four players? Scott Skiles in 1991, Darrell Armstrong in 1999, Tracy McGrady in 2001, and Hedo Turkoglu in 2008).

Except there’s one problem. Anderson didn’t deserve to win the award.

That statement has nothing to do with Anderson’s struggles against the Indiana Pacers in the Magic’s first round playoff series, either. The Pacers have gameplanned against Anderson, almost always accounting for him while he’s roaming on the perimeter as well as using their collective length to disrupt him offensively (and using that length to limit his effectiveness on the offensive glass). Head coach Frank Vogel and Indiana’s coaching staff is well aware that, with Dwight Howard out, Anderson is Orlando’s best player and they have done everything in their power to contain him — something they’ve done successfully in the first four games of the series so far.

That speaks to the level of respect that coaches and players around the NBA have for Anderson. It says something about the voting contingent, too, that they voted for him as the league’s Most Improved Player.

Anderson is a very good player. The problem is that it seems like people are just realizing Anderson is a very good player, perhaps because the Magic have been on national TV quite a bit this season, Anderson himself participated in the 2012 NBA Three-Point Shootout during All-Star Weekend in Orlando, and he’s taken on a more prominent role as a starter. In other words, Anderson’s national profile has grown over time, which certainly helps in being considered for a major NBA award as more of the media is aware of who he is.

The reality is that Anderson has been a very good player, not just this season but last season as well.

During the 2010-2011 season, after Rashard Lewis was traded to the Washington Wizards, Anderson became a permanent fixture in head coach Stan Van Gundy’s rotation as a reserve and these are the numbers he put up.

I noted in my player evaluation of Anderson, after Orlando lost to the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the 2011 NBA Playoffs, that it could have been argued — quite strongly I might add — that he was the team’s second-best player after Dwight when comparing his production to the rest of his teammates. What made Anderson a unique player was his ability to shoot three-pointers with proficiency while also being an effective rebounder. It also helped that he didn’t turn the ball over very often, which aided in his ability to be an efficient player on offense.

Those “poor man’s Kevin Love” comparisons you’ve been reading or hearing this season associated with Anderson?

Anderson was already emerging as that type of player in 2011.

So what changed for Anderson in the 2011-2012 season?

Playing time.

With the departure of Brandon Bass in an offseason trade executed by general manager Otis Smith, in which the Magic received Glen Davis and Von Wafer in return, Anderson became the de-facto starting power forward. In turn, these are the numbers that he put up.

Anderson’s production flatlined. Yes, Anderson led the league in three-point shots made (166) and attempted (422) but that’s not improvement. That’s getting more opportunities. Anderson’s three-point percentage in 2011 and 2012 was identical at 39.3 percent. It’d be one thing if Anderson became an improved three-point shooter by way of a percentage increase. But Anderson saw a spike in his three-point makes and attempts from 2011 to 2012 because of a spike in his minutes per game. The correlation is undeniable.

Anderson’s “improvement” revolves one thing — an “improvement” in minutes per game. That’s it. Did he become a better offensive rebounder this season (note the increase in offensive rebound percentage from 2011 to 2012)? Yes, he did. Did he become a better defender this season? Tougher to say. But, ultimately, Anderson in 2012 was almost no different than the player he was in 2011, sans a change in role from reserve to starter. That change in playing time influenced a change in his per game averages but not in his per minute averages or advanced stats.

This is the lens that the voting contingent likely was looking through.

This is the reality.

At the end of the day, Anderson’s case is a classic example of voters looking at a player through a broken prism. Per game averages tell a misleading story. For example, this season, Anderson and Kenneth Faried both averaged 7.7 rebounds per game. The difference? Anderson played 32.2 minutes per game to reach that number. Faried? 22.5 minutes per game. However, if you compare their rebounding totals per minute, Faried averaged 12.2 rebounds per 36 minutes while Anderson averaged 8.6 rebounds per 36 minutes. And that makes sense. If Faried averaged the same amount of playing time as Anderson, he’d average more rebounds per game.

Here’s another way to look at it. Faried’s total rebound percentage this season was 19.8 percent. Anderson’s percentage was 13.8 percent. That explains why Faried averaged the same number of rebounds per game as Anderson despite playing almost 10 less minutes per game. Faried rebounded the basketball at a higher rate than Anderson.

Looking at a player’s stats per minute makes more logical sense than looking at it per game. Research has shown that a player’s per minute numbers will likely remain consistent even if his playing time goes up or down, unless the player’s role changes significantly.

Advanced stats like total rebound percentage are no different. The rate (or percentage) by which a player produces matters a great deal more than his per game averages because playing time has to be taken into account. The rebounding numbers of Anderson and Faried are a prime example of a better way to look at a player’s production.

If Anderson improved as a shot creator and developed a post game, then that’s a story.

When ascertaining whether or not a player has improved from one season to the next, per game averages are probably the last thing to look at. Again, an increase in per game averages from year-to-year doesn’t necessarily gauge improvement as so much it marks an increase in minutes played.

None of this is meant to be a knock on Anderson, by the way. It’s a recognition of a player that’s been this good for two seasons now.

Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images

BOX SCORE

With 8:14 left in the fourth quarter, the Orlando Magic were down by 19 points with the score at 82-63 in favor of the Indiana Pacers.

The Pacers, just like in Games 2 and 3, used a strong third quarter surge (outscoring the Magic by 10 points in the period) to increase their lead to double-digits heading into the fourth quarter. And early on in the period, it seemed like Indiana was going to blow Orlando out of the water and put them out of their misery.

Staring at a 19-point deficit and also a 3-1 series deficit, things were looking bleak for the Magic. But instead of rolling over, head coach Stan Van Gundy — ever the fighter — didn’t give up. Coming out of an official timeout, Van Gundy made an adjustment that sparked a 26-7 run to end the fourth quarter, culminating in Nelson getting a chance to win the game on Orlando’s final possession in regulation.

What adjustment was that?

With Ryan Anderson continuing to get bottled up by the Pacers in Game 4, just like in the first three games of the series, Van Gundy went small and rolled the dice with a 5-man unit of Nelson-Redick-J. Richardson-Turkoglu-Davis. It’s a lineup that played a total of one minute together in the regular season.

So you can forgive head coach Frank Vogel for not being prepared and expecting that lineup to take the floor for the Magic.

That small-ball unit for Orlando rolled off 14 consecutive points, to cut their deficit to five points with the score at 82-77, before Indiana responded with a basket of their own. At that point, the Magic — echoing the fighting spirit of Van Gundy — made it clear that they weren’t going to go down without a fight.

Which brings things back to Orlando’s final possession of the fourth quarter with the ball in Nelson’s hands. The Magic had burned their final timeout on the previous possession so after they forced a shot clock violation on the Pacers, Van Gundy could not call a timeout to draw up a play on the ensuing possession. That can be seen as a good or bad thing depending on your crunch time philosophy.

Nelson took Leandro Barbosa off the dribble, dribble penetrated into the lane, stopped on a dime (which made it tough for Barbosa to contest the shot), and hoisted up a fadeaway jumper that fell way short.

Could Orlando have gotten a better shot?

Maybe. It’s always easy to second-guess in retrospect.

Let’s fast-forward to overtime. After Hill’s two free-throws, which came after Nelson reached in as Hill dribble penetrated into the lane and tried to kick the basketball out to the perimeter (a foul was the correct call), the Magic had the ball with 2.2 seconds left with a chance to tie or go for the win.

Orlando tried to get the basketball to Redick off a double screen set by Anderson and Davis at the top of the key, but Indiana defended it perfectly. Davis simultaneously slipped the screen but the Pacers were prepared for that, too. Ultimately, Davis got the ball at the right elbow and hoisted up a fadeaway jumper over Paul George that missed short. It’s hard to say the Magic could have gotten a better shot on that possession.

So here we are. Orlando trails 3-1 in their first round playoff series against Indiana with elimination looming in Game 5 on Tuesday. No matter what happens, whether the Magic win or lose that game, they should be commended for fighting throughout the series. It speaks volumes to how the players have played hard for Van Gundy.

In turn, Orlando (the city and the franchise) should be proud.

MVP (Most Valuable Player)

David West was the standout performer for the Pacers in Game 4, doing most of his damage in the third quarter (scoring 12 of his game-high 26 points in the period) while also chipping in offensively during the overtime session.

Defining Moment

Hill drew a reach-in foul on Nelson with 2.2 seconds left in overtime with the Magic in the penalty, making both free-throws to give Indiana a 101-99 lead. That proved to be the game-winning sequence for the Pacers.

That Was … an Instant Classic

Orlando was down by as many as 19 points in the fourth quarter, yet rallied and forced overtime thanks to a 26-7 run. The Magic ultimately fell short after Davis missed a game-tying fallaway jumper with time expiring.

• Teams: Indiana Pacers at Orlando Magic
• Date: May. 5, 2012
• Time: 2:00 p.m.
• Television: ESPN
• Arena: Amway Center

Records

• Pacers: 42-24
• Magic: 37-29

Probable starters

Pacers:

• George Hill
• Paul George
• Danny Granger
• David West
• Roy Hibbert

Magic:

• Jameer Nelson
• Jason Richardson
• Hedo Turkoglu
• Ryan Anderson
• Glen Davis

Advanced stats

Pacers:

• Pace: 90.7 (19th of 30)
• Offensive Rating: 106.7 (7th of 30)
• Defensive Rating: 103.1 (9th of 30)

Magic:

• Pace: 89.0 (29th of 30)
• Offensive Rating: 105.0 (15th of 30)
• Defensive Rating: 104.1 (12th of 30)

Read about the Pacers

Eight Points, Nine Seconds

Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Via an Orlando Magic press release:

Ryan Anderson of the Orlando Magic is the winner of the 2011-12 Kia NBA Most Improved Player Award, the NBA announced today. The annual award is presented to a player who has made a significant improvement from the previous season.

Anderson received 260 of a possible 605 points, including 33 first-place votes, from a panel of 121 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Ersan Ilyasova of the Milwaukee Bucks (159 points, 21 first-place votes) and Nikola Pekovic of the Minnesota Timberwolves (104 points, 10 first-place votes) finished second and third, respectively. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third place vote received.

Anderson established career highs in scoring (16.1 ppg), rebounds (7.7 rpg), field goal percentage (.439) and free throw percentage. He also paced the league and established personal bests in three-pointers made (166) and attempted (422). He increased his scoring from the previous season by 5.5 ppg and his rebounds by 2.2 rpg. Orlando averaged 107.5 points per 100 possessions with Anderson on the court, compared to 94.1 points with the 6-10 forward on the bench.

Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images

The single biggest argument any chump on the street has that gives him the decisive edge in an “anti-LeBron James” argument is the fact that LBJ has no rings. Why, then, do we not use that same logic when talking about non-superstars who also have rings?

Maybe some do, but you don’t hear it often. If winning championships is the end-all rubric of your standing in the NBA, then what about the NBA champions who aren’t in the MVP discussion?

Does the “if you win championships, you’re better than the guys who don’t win championships” logic only work for top five players? Put differently, is Jason Terry better than James Harden? Or is just once you have passed a certain amount of years? Maybe we can only compare players who have been playing for more than five years?

My answer is no to each of those questions, but it’s tricky to know when to draw the line when we make the “but he’s a champion” argument. Glen Davis is an NBA champion. In fact, he’s the only NBA champion in the Magic locker room. It’s astounding to see people so taken aback by his playoff performance thus far considering his pedigree.

By now you know his team-leading playoff numbers. Davis is averaging a playoff career-high 18.7 points and 9 rebounds a game so far, a clip that outdoes his previous postseason career-best of 15.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game in the 2008-2009 NBA season (the year after the Celtics won the championship). Though Davis is performing inefficiently on offense in the playoffs this season, with a True Shooting percentage of 46.5 percent with a usage rate at 28.2 percent so there’s that to take into account.

Obviously the injury to Dwight has put Glen in a position to play more and score more, but if players automatically “get theirs” the moment a big centerpiece hits the bench, then why aren’t we seeing the same production from the other Orlando bigs?

I would argue it’s because we’re talking about the difference between an NBA champion and a civilian player. If you’re going to use that argument against LeBron James, then you should give some consideration to the fact that Glen Davis’ effort and output for the Magic has been good, but it’s not unbelievable. This is what we should expect from a champion.

Don’t forget, Davis was not just a wallflower in that 2008 Celtics championship. He hit big shots, made big defensive plays, and was a perfect piece to that Boston puzzle.

Moreover, there is clear evidence that players, even if they are good pieces, don’t get the playing time and respect on a team simply because they don’t understand the system. Look at Ronny Turiaf in Miami. He has playoff experience and decent playoff numbers to go with that experience. One key reason he doesn’t get time in Miami, though, is his lack of comfort in the system.

So even considering Davis’ struggles early on this season, it should be understood that jumping into a new system takes time to adjust to.

The most telling sign that Davis is a champion is his willingness to adapt. In his last season with Boston, as noted earlier this year, Davis got most of his point from plays with his back to the basket. MySynergySports showed that a majority of Davis’ points were post-up plays (more than 20 percent).

This season, however, Davis is getting more than a quarter of his points in the pick-and-roll (26.3 percent). Look at Orlando’s Game 3 loss against Indiana. Davis scored many of his points in pick-and-rolls. Aside from a few free-throws, many of his buckets — when he wasn’t spotting up or isolating — came from either a pick-and-roll or pick-and-pop.

For Davis to come from a championship team to Orlando, spend an entire season being scrutinized for being “worse than Brandon Bass,” and then to limp in to the playoffs to play some of his best personal basketball ever is a terrific story. More than that, though, it helps strengthen the argument that NBA champions play like champions everywhere they go if you give them space to do so.

There aren’t many Glen Davis apologists in Orlando, but you’re reading one of them now.

After spending some time with Davis after a few games in January, I knew that this year would be rocky. He was having a tough time working his way in the system and, in the meantime, was not playing well and being lambasted by everyone around Magic camp.

Don’t call this a comeback. Davis just found the formula, played within Van Gundy’s program, filled in for Dwight, and is calmly boasting 18 and 9 despite the fact that few other Magic players came to play in Games 2 and 3.

So don’t be blown away by Davis. Don’t tweet about how you can’t believe his output. Don’t act like this is a third-string chump just brought up from the D-League. Glen Davis is a champion. He has a ring sitting at his house that he was a huge part of earning for his team. Now the proof is in the pudding, so hopefully it’s time to give Davis his due respect.