Not so much a ranking as a grade of what they are producing versus what we expected going in. LaMarcus Aldridge - Team leading 22ppg with career high 9.3 rebs. Shooting at 48% from the field but hasn't cracked 70% from the FT line yet. Still the Blazers most reliable option that also forces a double team. Also still, not good at putting the ball on the floor and finishes off the wrong foot as often as not. B+ Damian Lillard - 20 points and almost 5 rebounds and 6 assists. Almost 40% from '3' but barely over 40% from inside the arc. A/T rate almost 2.5-1. Better defense but still needs work on his shooting percentage. B Wes Matthews - 15 pts/5 rebs on over 50% shooting from both the field and the 3-pt line. Still under 2 assists but from a shooting standpoint, not sure what more you could ask for. Still no handles other than in a straight line drive to the hoop but finishing better on those drives. A- Nic Batum - 14 ppg, 6.4 rebs, 5.3 assists and third on the team in blocks. Nic is the widest range stat stuffer but still is battling consistency. His scoring comes in bunches and then you won't hear from him for two quarters. Passing up open shots seeming to try and get assists. With Wes's tenacity, he'd be a terror. B- Robin Lopez - 8 points, 7 rebounds and 1.4 blks per game. His presence has added a bit of toughness to the roster and everyone else's rebounding rate is up. Not exactly clocking up the middle but provides some intangibles that have been very valuable so far. B+ Mo Williams - Honestly was surprised to see almost 5 assists per game for as often as he goes 'black-hole'. The Blazers desperately need his playmaking ability and his nack for making shots on his own. Has had some big scoring nights but is taking a lot of shots to do it on some nights. After an abysmal start from the arc, is up to almost 35% from 3-pt range. A much needed scorer off the bench that also gives Dame a break. B+ Thomas Robinson - We knew he could rebound and he is over 10 rpg/per 36 mins. He has controlled his tornado forays into the lane and kept to mostly higher percentage shots even if they don't go in. Great energy and athletic ability still looking for an offensive go-to move. C+ Dorell Wright - 5 points and 3 rebounds in just 14 minutes shooting almost 45% from 3-pt range. Heady player who can pass, rebound and hit the big 3. A calming influence on the court with T-Rob, Freebird and the offensive minded Mo Williams. A- Joel Freeland - For someone that many Blazer fans wanted gone in last summers 'You Be the GM' poll on OregonLive, Joel dedicated himself to becoming the Blazers version of Nick Collison with added rim protection. His modest stats of 3.6 pts/3.6 rebs don't tell the whole story of his contributions off the bench as a defensive improvement over what the Blazers had last season. B+ The Rest - Meyers Leonard, Will Barton, Victor Claver and Allan Crabbe have combined for a total of 28 minutes all season so 'incomplete' would be generous. Sadly, lottery pick Leonard looks as lost as ever even thought he's only missed 1 shot so far. Offense isn't his problem. Incomplete but not looking good so far. Coaching - Stotts seems like the 'Mad 3-pt Scientist' but it is working so far on the offensive end. They really haven't played many tough teams so it will be interesting to see what happens when they start playing more quality competition. The points-in-the-paint problem is one of monumental disbelief but for the most part they have hit enough 3's to cover up that large deficit. Cover it up but certainly not make it go away. B- Given an 8-2 start, which most fans if they are honest did not have the Blazers at, there is reason for optimism even if it is just a matter of beating weaker competition for the most part so far.
I agree with the A- on Wright. I haven't seen more than 1 shot that I scratched my head. I think Stotts is doing what he can with what he has. B- is fair for him.
LMA and Lillard are having career years, yet neither rate an 'A'. Meanwhile, Robin Lopez gets the same grade as LMA, and a higher grade than Lillard? Are these grades based on what are expected of a player, or on an objective scale?
Mo has keeps us going in every 1st half. A- Wright makes no mistakes because he plays even more conservatively than Batum. B-
Most importantly, the team as a whole is 8-2. Going .800 over the first ten games of the regular season is pretty awesome for a team that completely overhauled its bench, and added a new starter. I'll give the team, overall, an A-. Can't give them a straight A, without some tougher interior defense. I'm not sure the Blazers with the current lineup will ever be among the league's toughest teams. The team's leader is LaMarcus Aldridge, and as much as I like LA, no one's going to mistake him for Charles Oakley.
Mo and his 11.9 PER on 21 USG gets a B+? I'll give him a B- right now, and hope he can become more efficient as he sees increased minutes. He's playing OK, but so far he's not at the level of a Batum, LMA, Lillard, or even Matthews, IMO. His 3-point shooting has been mediocre, but I do like that he's finding lanes and throwing up Crawford jumpers at times. That sort of thing is actually necessary at times.
The way Aldridge has been rebounding should have him a higher grade. I'm a public Aldridge homer, so I didn't want to argue 5% points.
It's all a matter of expectations. I think outside of Nic, LA and Dame, everyone has played well above what I expected of them. And a lot of them will probably regress to the mean sooner or later. haha Wes won't shoot 50% from 3 for much longer given the amount of shots he takes. And Nic's drives looks great these days btw. That slick move he pulled to posterize Jonas last night was not something he could have done a few years ago. And tbh, I don't mind him passing up shots this year as much as last because his teammates are actually making those this year.
I think plays like this is what will shut haters up. This is what Batum should be doing for our ball club. He is really stepping up to be what I expected from him. If he keeps playing like this, you will hear no complaints from me.
PapaG....yes, based more on expectations than objectively. From a talent/production standpoint, of course there is no way Lopez is in LA's neighborhood. LA is one of the best shooters in the league but yet under 50% because he shoots from the outside so much...room for improvement. Lillard may be having a career year but is still only shooting 41% from the field so far so certainly not 'A' material yet for me. Don't get me wrong, both are having very solid starts and LA is basically who he is while most of us think Lillard can still improve. Then again, I'm a tough grader and think A grades go to players like LeBron, Kobe etc.
Of course not for Kobe since he has been out but players "like" that. That said, if you don't want to give LeBron an 'A' so far for this season, I'm wondering who exactly would get one? 27 points, 7 assist, 5+ rebs on 62% shooting from the field and 52% from the arc. That seems pretty lofty.
Don't know how much more one can expect out on Nic. He has had an impact on every game this season. Posters talk about consistency with Nic and so far he has been exactly that. He may not score big every night, he may not get boat load of assists every night . . . but he has come to play every night getting involved one way or another. Figuring out ways to win night in and night out . . . give the team an A for the way they started the season.
I guess if you're using the entire NBA spectrum of players to make your curve your grades make some sense. I mean, if LeBron is the baseline for an A then I think having our best grade an A- makes sense. OTOH, the Blazers are off to their best start in 14 years so it seems a little odd to think that nobody gets an A for their effort.
