Why We Should Expect Improvement From Ryan Anderson

Yardbarker.com

Over a year ago, Ryan Anderson was considered nothing much more than a throw-in in the deal that netted Orlando Vince Carter. The Magic sent Carter and Anderson to the Nets in exchange for Tony Battie, Rafer Alston and Courtney Lee (None of those players remain with New Jersey).

Anderson quickly proved this theory wrong. With starting Power Forward Rashard Lewis suspended for the first 10 games, Anderson was inserted into the starting lineup and got off to an outstanding start. Through the first six games of the season, Anderson was averaging 15 points and 5 rebounds per game and shot at least 50% from the field in every game but one.

Unfortunately for Anderson, during the sixth game of this hot streak, a 110-103 victory over Detroit, Anderson sprained his ankle after just 19 minutes of play and would miss the next four games.

When Anderson returned, Lewis, an All-Star during the 2008-09 season, was back and reclaimed his starting job. Anderson came back with consecutive 12-point games and showed brief flashes throughout the season but never really found that same rhythm during the first six games.

It was tough for Anderson – he never knew just how much he was going to play. Sometimes, Lewis went nearly the entire way. Other times, Marcin Gortat stepped in at the Four, and at other times Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy even inserted Brandon Bass into the rotation instead of Anderson. When you never know when you’re number is going to be called, it’s tough to get into a groove, especially when a big part of your game revolves around the way you shoot the ball.

Still, there is reason to expect improvement from Anderson. He turned just 22 years old in May and despite those problems, he still averaged 7.7 points and 3.2 rebounds per game while shooting 43.6% from the field and 37.0% from beyond the arc.

After the jump, we’ll take a look at Anderson’s numbers over his first two season.

Let’s take a look at Anderson’s numbers from the 2008-09 when he was a rookie with the Nets.

Now let’s take a look at his numbers last season with the Magic.

As you can see, nearly all of Anderson’s numbers improved despite seeing a significant dip in his minutes. However, he did see an increased role in terms of usage, which also helps explain his improvement.

Anderson’s rebounding numbers took a bit of a tumble but that should be expected when at times, you are playing next to the best rebounder in the NBA.

As Anderson further develops his game, becomes further acclimated with his teammates and with Stan Van Gundy’s system, we should expect nothing less than continued improvement over the next several years.

(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger, a contributor on the Fansided Front Page, and co-host of CB Sports Radio from 5-7 pm week days (1420sports.com). Subscribe to his RSS feed, add him on Twitter to follow him daily. You can download the HTD app here).