Bill Simmons' New NBA Untouchable Rankings Out

[Big Ticket]

He's done this list the past few years and it's one of his annual articles that I actually really enjoy reading.  Here's the new list:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/090212

Rondo at #26
Pierce at #14
KG at #11

[Truck Lewis]

i actually agreed with most of his rankings this year and it makes you think just how impressive duncans career has been

[Redz]

I liked this one:

Jeff Green: Great teammate, tough as nails, gives a crap, does whatever you need. He's the anti-Beasley. What frightens me is that The Team That Shall Not Be Named somehow has become my favorite non-Boston team to watch. Love the Durant-Green-Westbrook foundation, love Scotty Brooks (who knew???), love the spirit of their crowds, love their style of play (attack off every miss, which is exactly how the Bulls should play). It continues to be cruel and unfair that this couldn't have happened in Seattle.

He was killing on Beasley pretty bad throughout.

[Big Ticket]

I wasn't a big fan of this section:

Simmons, Oct. 24: "Loved him in the Olympics, loved him in the preseason, love him for a monster comeback season that will be the athletic equivalent of 'Still D.R.E.' I'm thinking something like 29.4 ppg., 6.2 rpg. and 5.8 apg. and a slew of 'D-Wade is back and better than ever!' stories starting in late November. You watch."

Wade, Feb. 12: 28.4 ppg., 7.0 apg., 5.0 rpg. for a 27-24 Miami team.

(Note: I'd like to apologize for being one point, one rebound and one assist off. I'm better than that.)

I'm not exactly why I'm supposed to be impressed, as he seems to think we should be, that he "predicted" Wade's stats would be close to identical to his 2006-2007 season.  The entire world saw that he was healthy in the Olympics, and the team makeup alone suggested an obvious increase in shots/points for Wade... so Bill, what's so special about that?  This would be like predicting Tim Duncan to put up 20-10-4 next year if he turned his ankle today and missed the next 20 games.

[ManUp]

I have to say I agree with just about everything on that list.

Nice work from Simmons.

[LarBrd33]

KG is slipping down that list

Ray Allen is irrelevant now, huh?

[Big Ticket]

KG is slipping down that list

Ray Allen is irrelevant now, huh?

KG's gettin' old.  I am actually quite surprised Ray Allen wasn't mentioned anywhere, even in the "just missed" section, but he's getting up there in age and is making a ton of money, so I can understand.

[LarBrd33]

KG is slipping down that list

Ray Allen is irrelevant now, huh?

KG's gettin' old.  I am actually quite surprised Ray Allen wasn't mentioned anywhere, even in the "just missed" section, but he's getting up there in age and is making a ton of money, so I can understand.

It's interesting that he mentions he had Big Al ranked #9 prior to his injury... and now lists KG #11.   Obviously nobody can say that trade last year was too lopsided.  We got our title out of it, but Big Al (assuming he comes back healthy) is going to be a big time player for years to come and probably had more trade value than KG prior to the injury.

[Edgar]

KG is slipping down that list

Ray Allen is irrelevant now, huh?

KG's gettin' old.  I am actually quite surprised Ray Allen wasn't mentioned anywhere, even in the "just missed" section, but he's getting up there in age and is making a ton of money, so I can understand.

It's interesting that he mentions he had Big Al ranked #9 prior to his injury... and now lists KG #11.   Obviously nobody can say that trade last year was too lopsided.  We got our title out of it, but Big Al (assuming he comes back healthy) is going to be a big time player for years to come and probably had more trade value than KG prior to the injury.

well to be honest Bills oppinion is biased in this one as a Cs fan.

[Big Ticket]

KG is slipping down that list

Ray Allen is irrelevant now, huh?

KG's gettin' old.  I am actually quite surprised Ray Allen wasn't mentioned anywhere, even in the "just missed" section, but he's getting up there in age and is making a ton of money, so I can understand.

It's interesting that he mentions he had Big Al ranked #9 prior to his injury... and now lists KG #11.   Obviously nobody can say that trade last year was too lopsided.  We got our title out of it, but Big Al (assuming he comes back healthy) is going to be a big time player for years to come and probably had more trade value than KG prior to the injury.

That is pretty interesting, I didn't think of that.  Some of these are definitely tough.  Example... I probably would give Deron Williams a slight edge over Rose right now... and I am as high on Rose as anyone.  It just comes down to who is rating a young player's potential.  But between Al's great age advantage and his very attractive contract, I don't think it's much of a stretch to say he has (...had) more trade value than KG.

[Fafnir]

KG is slipping down that list

Ray Allen is irrelevant now, huh?

Simmons love of Duncan for some reason forces him to criticize KG. As if they both can't be all time great power forwards. Though Duncan has become a Center over the past few years, something KG hasn't so the comparison isn't straight apples to apples.

[ACF]

This part (Al Jefferson) was the best
one. It literally made my day  

"(He's my favorite non-Celtic, hands down, nobody else comes close. Durant is second, Duncan is third, Ginobili is fourth, Brandon Roy is fifth ... and Sasha Vujacic is last.)"

[Fafnir]

i actually agreed with most of his rankings this year and it makes you think just how impressive duncans career has been

I think Rose and Yao Ming are too high up the list. But he does a pretty good job overall. The criteria he has of age and contract mattering makes it hard to rank players. Because how to you compare title contention (KG, Pierce, Duncan, Kobe, etc) as less than potential due to youth? He does that a lot though.

[Big Ticket]

KG is slipping down that list

Ray Allen is irrelevant now, huh?

Simmons love of Duncan for some reason forces him to criticize KG. As if they both can't be all time great power forwards. Though Duncan has become a Center over the past few years, something KG hasn't so the comparison isn't straight apples to apples.

I don't think he's criticizing KG.  Duncan's career has been one of maximum efficiency... he's not a leaper, he's not a sprinter, he's not running all over the court on both sides of the ball, and he's a big unathletic player without being too big to his own detriment.  In other words, he gets a lot done without having to do "a lot".  KG is the exact opposite.  Duncan's playing style is obviously more conducive to a longer career.

[Hoops]

KG is slipping down that list

Ray Allen is irrelevant now, huh?

Simmons love of Duncan for some reason forces him to criticize KG. As if they both can't be all time great power forwards. Though Duncan has become a Center over the past few years, something KG hasn't so the comparison isn't straight apples to apples.

I don't think he's criticizing KG.  Duncan's career has been one of maximum efficiency... he's not a leaper, he's not a sprinter, he's not running all over the court on both sides of the ball, and he's a big unathletic player without being too big to his own detriment.  In other words, he gets a lot done without having to do "a lot".  KG is the exact opposite.  Duncan's playing style is obviously more conducive to a longer career.

I hadn't thought too much about that, but it's true. It surprises me to say it, but I guess it shouldn't be surprising to think that Duncan could still be playing 7 or 8 years from now. I doubt Garnett has more than 5 left.