Author Topic: ESPN Player Rankings  (Read 12430 times)

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Re: ESPN Player Rankings
« Reply #45 on: October 08, 2015, 02:31:02 PM »

Offline bdm860

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Gee willikers, I'd say.  I love Marcus Smart, but ahead of Monta and Tyreke?  Dang.

He'd need to average 30+ minutes a night and put up, like, at least 12-5-5-2 on good percentages with great defense.

Do you think that's unrealistic though?  Everything but the shooting part seems optimistic but within reason to me.

He did 10/4/4/2 per 36 last year, playing 27mpg supposedly on a bad ankle for the majority of the year.  Also did 11/4/4/2 in 26 games where he played 30+mpg, where he avg 34mpg.  I hope to see an increase in minutes and production this year, that's not a huge leap.

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Re: ESPN Player Rankings
« Reply #46 on: October 08, 2015, 02:35:29 PM »

Offline PhoSita

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Gee willikers, I'd say.  I love Marcus Smart, but ahead of Monta and Tyreke?  Dang.

He'd need to average 30+ minutes a night and put up, like, at least 12-5-5-2 on good percentages with great defense.

Do you think that's unrealistic though?  Everything but the shooting part seems optimistic but within reason to me.

He did 10/4/4/2 per 36 last year, playing 27mpg supposedly on a bad ankle for the majority of the year.  Also did 11/4/4/2 in 26 games where he played 30+mpg, where he avg 34mpg.  I hope to see an increase in minutes and production this year, that's not a huge leap.

I think he can do it, especially if he drives to the rim more often and can finish there at a decent percentage.

Will he get the minutes to put up those numbers, though?

You're absolutely right that Smart put together some stretches last year where he put up pretty close to the numbers I quoted on a per-minute basis.  Get his shooting percentage up and it's within reach.

Still, Monta and Tyreke are veteran NBA players who are proven producers.  Flawed players, but they're consistent scorers who I think get underrated because neither has ever been a featured player on a great team.  Smart has what it takes to be better than them, but I'm not bold enough to say he'll get there this year.
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Re: ESPN Player Rankings
« Reply #47 on: October 08, 2015, 02:36:56 PM »

Offline bdm860

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Gee willikers, I'd say.  I love Marcus Smart, but ahead of Monta and Tyreke?  Dang.

He'd need to average 30+ minutes a night and put up, like, at least 12-5-5-2 on good percentages with great defense.

Do you think that's unrealistic though?  Everything but the shooting part seems optimistic but within reason to me.

He did 10/4/4/2 per 36 last year, playing 27mpg supposedly on a bad ankle for the majority of the year.  Also did 11/4/4/2 in 26 games where he played 30+mpg, where he avg 34mpg.  I hope to see an increase in minutes and production this year, that's not a huge leap.

I think he can do it, especially if he drives to the rim more often and can finish there at a decent percentage.

Will he get the minutes to put up those numbers, though?

You're absolutely right that Smart put together some stretches last year where he put up pretty close to the numbers I quoted on a per-minute basis.  Get his shooting percentage up and it's within reach.

Still, Monta and Tyreke are veteran NBA players who are proven producers.  Flawed players, but they're consistent scorers who I think get underrated because neither has ever been a featured player on a great team.  Smart has what it takes to be better than them, but I'm not bold enough to say he'll get there this year.

Just drink some of this homie


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Re: ESPN Player Rankings
« Reply #48 on: October 08, 2015, 03:05:47 PM »

Offline fairweatherfan

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ESPN has gone off the rails a bit with this RPM stuff.  How high will Khris Middleton be ranked?

edit:

Woah.

Marcus Smart at 84 and Jahlil Okafor, without playing a single NBA game, is ranked at 90.

This is madness.  These rankings are a mess.

Karl-Anthony Towns is still out there too. 

Agreed that they're a mess, but so is every other attempt to rank NBA players by quality.  It's just for fun.  And I think it's nice to see Smart getting that level of respect even if he probably hasn't done enough to earn it.

...oh yeah and Taj Gibson got a makeover I guess:


Re: ESPN Player Rankings
« Reply #49 on: October 08, 2015, 03:15:23 PM »

Offline PhoSita

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ESPN has gone off the rails a bit with this RPM stuff.  How high will Khris Middleton be ranked?

edit:

Woah.

Marcus Smart at 84 and Jahlil Okafor, without playing a single NBA game, is ranked at 90.

This is madness.  These rankings are a mess.

Karl-Anthony Towns is still out there too. 

Agreed that they're a mess, but so is every other attempt to rank NBA players by quality.  It's just for fun.  And I think it's nice to see Smart getting that level of respect even if he probably hasn't done enough to earn it.

...oh yeah and Taj Gibson got a makeover I guess:



I have a feeling they got a mandate to work at least one player from each team into the top 100.  Feels fan-servicey.
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Re: ESPN Player Rankings
« Reply #50 on: October 08, 2015, 03:22:48 PM »

Offline fairweatherfan

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ESPN has gone off the rails a bit with this RPM stuff.  How high will Khris Middleton be ranked?

edit:

Woah.

Marcus Smart at 84 and Jahlil Okafor, without playing a single NBA game, is ranked at 90.

This is madness.  These rankings are a mess.

Karl-Anthony Towns is still out there too. 

Agreed that they're a mess, but so is every other attempt to rank NBA players by quality.  It's just for fun.  And I think it's nice to see Smart getting that level of respect even if he probably hasn't done enough to earn it.

...oh yeah and Taj Gibson got a makeover I guess:



I have a feeling they got a mandate to work at least one player from each team into the top 100.  Feels fan-servicey.

Not sure about that - except for Portland every team has 2 or more in the top 100.  IT is still out there for us and Wiggins + Rubio are both going to be higher than Towns.

EDIT:  Oops, Brooklyn's also only got one (JJ is #102, Thad 105).
« Last Edit: October 08, 2015, 03:43:32 PM by foulweatherfan »

Re: ESPN Player Rankings
« Reply #51 on: October 08, 2015, 03:24:35 PM »

Offline PhoSita

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ESPN has gone off the rails a bit with this RPM stuff.  How high will Khris Middleton be ranked?

edit:

Woah.

Marcus Smart at 84 and Jahlil Okafor, without playing a single NBA game, is ranked at 90.

This is madness.  These rankings are a mess.

Karl-Anthony Towns is still out there too. 

Agreed that they're a mess, but so is every other attempt to rank NBA players by quality.  It's just for fun.  And I think it's nice to see Smart getting that level of respect even if he probably hasn't done enough to earn it.

...oh yeah and Taj Gibson got a makeover I guess:



I have a feeling they got a mandate to work at least one player from each team into the top 100.  Feels fan-servicey.

Not sure about that - except for Portland every team has 2 or more in the top 100.  IT is still out there for us and Wiggins + Rubio are both going to be higher than Towns.

So you're saying they have a mandate to put at least 2 from each team in the top 100.

:P


Rubio in the top 100?  Really?  Wow.  What has he done at this point in his career that makes anybody sure he's a good NBA basketball player?

I thought the SI list was a little squirrelly but this one is just a laugh.
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Re: ESPN Player Rankings
« Reply #52 on: October 08, 2015, 03:24:38 PM »

Offline sofutomygaha

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yeah it's bizarre every year, particularly placing rookies and aging or injured stars. I think the notion of ranking players based on expected contribution in the upcoming season just isn't something that voters can wrap their heads around or stick to.

Don't sweat it.

Re: ESPN Player Rankings
« Reply #53 on: October 08, 2015, 03:31:36 PM »

Offline PhoSita

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yeah it's bizarre every year, particularly placing rookies and aging or injured stars. I think the notion of ranking players based on expected contribution in the upcoming season just isn't something that voters can wrap their heads around or stick to.

Don't sweat it.

Yeah, in general going around making lists of players is just a silly indulgence -- we care about how good the teams are, not the players, ultimately -- but as a lover of lists I guess I'm a sucker for "What the heck are the criteria for this list?!" conversations.
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Re: ESPN Player Rankings
« Reply #54 on: October 08, 2015, 03:42:47 PM »

Online Roy H.

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Rubio in the top 100?  Really?  Wow.  What has he done at this point in his career that makes anybody sure he's a good NBA basketball player?

Weird.  This is a guy who has never scored 11 points per game, who has never shot above 38.1% from the field or 34% from 3PT, who has never had more than 8.8 assists per game, who has missed 25+ games in three out of four seasons (including 60 games last year), and who has been the floor leader on an absolutely terrible team.

Yet he's in the top-85, and Rondo is #223?


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Re: ESPN Player Rankings
« Reply #55 on: October 08, 2015, 03:48:08 PM »

Offline PhoSita

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Rubio in the top 100?  Really?  Wow.  What has he done at this point in his career that makes anybody sure he's a good NBA basketball player?

Weird.  This is a guy who has never scored 11 points per game, who has never shot above 38.1% from the field or 34% from 3PT, who has never had more than 8.8 assists per game, who has missed 25+ games in three out of four seasons (including 60 games last year), and who has been the floor leader on an absolutely terrible team.

Yet he's in the top-85, and Rondo is #223?

Yup.  That's why I think this list is fan-service.  Gotta find a spot for at least two T-Wolves. 

Why not put Kevin Martin in that spot?  At least he scored some points last year.
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Re: ESPN Player Rankings
« Reply #56 on: October 08, 2015, 04:02:52 PM »

Offline fairweatherfan

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It seems inflated for sure.  I mean, how many players really deserve to be in the top 100 in a typical year?  70?  80 tops.   ;)

Re: ESPN Player Rankings
« Reply #57 on: October 09, 2015, 05:47:57 PM »

Offline PhoSita

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I noticed that, as expected, the Celts lead the league in players falling in the 100-200 range.  They have eight.

The next closest team is the Trail Blazers with seven.  The Trail Blazers and the Nets are the only two teams with just one player in the top 100.

The Celts are among a number of teams with just two.
You’ll have to excuse my lengthiness—the reason I dread writing letters is because I am so apt to get to slinging wisdom & forget to let up. Thus much precious time is lost.
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Re: ESPN Player Rankings
« Reply #58 on: October 09, 2015, 07:20:35 PM »

Offline Celtics18

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85 is definitely a bit of a stunner for Marcus, but I believe in that kid, and wouldn't be at all surprised to see him live up to--and even surpass--those lofty expectations this season.
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Re: ESPN Player Rankings
« Reply #59 on: October 09, 2015, 07:56:52 PM »

Offline PhoSita

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85 is definitely a bit of a stunner for Marcus, but I believe in that kid, and wouldn't be at all surprised to see him live up to--and even surpass--those lofty expectations this season.

I could see it happening.  I just think ranking him ahead of Tyreke and Monta is borderline outrageous.  Those guys are not stars but at this point they're both veteran scorers who are actually kind of underrated.  Smart has a long way to go to be able to produce on offense like those two, and as a guard he can only do so much defensively to make up the difference.
You’ll have to excuse my lengthiness—the reason I dread writing letters is because I am so apt to get to slinging wisdom & forget to let up. Thus much precious time is lost.
- Mark Twain