2006 called, they want their thread back... Unless by local media you mean the Indianapolis Star. BNM
Here's how the players have changed from last year to this summer: We're currently at #30 - Lowest ranked #1 man, but a #1 man nevertheless. The ranking of Damian Lillard is basically an admission that they were wrong about him, and expect great things from him this year. ------- LaMarcus Aldridge: 2012=20, 2013=x, improvement = ?Damian Lillard: 2012=211, 2013=30, improvement = +181Nicolas Batum: 2012=63, 2013=57, improvement = +6Robin Lopez: 2012=169, 2013=128, improvement = +41Wesley Matthews: 2012=109, 2013=130, improvement = -21Mo Williams: 2012=125, 2013=169, improvement = -44Dorrell Wright: 2012=182, 2013=200, improvement = -18 Thomas Robinson: 2012=215, 2013=204, improvement = +11Meyers Leonard: 2012=330, 2013=255, improvement = +75
ESPN projects Damian Lillard as the worst overall 1st man in the league, slightly better than the best 2nd man. Big 3 Average: +0.55/position (with LMA not included yet) Starter Average: +0.13/position Bench Average: +.74/position 3rd Stringers Average: -.98/position Update (To 30): Blazer's 1st man: xx, Average 1st man: xx >>>>> Net: +xx Blazer's 2nd man: 1.0, Average 2nd man: 1.5 >>>>> Net: +0.5 Blazer's 3rd man: 1.9, Average 3rd man: 2.5 >>>>> Net: +0.6 Blazer's 4th man: 4.3, Average 4th man: 3.5 >>>>> Net: -0.8 Blazer's 5th man: 4.3, Average 5th man: 4.5 >>>>> Net: +0.2 ------- Blazer's 6th man: 5.6, Average 6th man: 5.5 >>>>> Net: -0.1 Blazer's 7th man: 6.2, Average 7th man: 6.5 >>>>> Net: +0.3 Blazer's 8th man: 6.7, Average 8th man: 7.5 >>>>> Net: +0.8 Blazer's 9th man: 6.8, Average 9th man: 8.5 >>>>> Net: +1.7 Blazer's 10th man: 8.5, Average 10th man: 9.5 >>>>> Net: +1.0 ------- Blazer's 11th man: 12.3, Average 11th man: 10.5 >>>>> Net: -1.8 Blazer's 12th man: 12.6, Average 12th man: 11.5 >>>>> Net: -1.1 Blazer's 13th man: 13.7, Average 13th man: 12.5 >>>>> Net: -1.2 Blazer's 14th man: 14.1, Average 14th man: 13.5 >>>>> Net: -0.6 Blazer's 15th man: 14.7, Average 15th man: 14.5 >>>>> Net: -0.2 :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 1st man LaMarcus Aldridge (xx) is ranked as xxth man 2nd man Damian Lillard (30) is ranked as 1.0th man 3rd man Nicolas Batum (57) is ranked as 1.9th man 4th man Robin Lopez (128) is ranked as 4.3rd man 5th man Wes Matthews (130) is ranked as 4.3rd man ------- 6th man Mo Williams (169) is ranked as a 5.6th man 7th man C. J. McCollum (185) is ranked as 6.2th man 8th man Dorrell Wright (200) is ranked as 6.7th man 9th man Thomas Robinson (204) is ranked as 6.8th man 10th man Leonard (255) is ranked as 8.5th man ------- 11th man Watson (370) is ranked as a 12.3rd man 12th man Barton (379) is ranked as a 12.6th man 13th man Crabbe (412) is ranked as a 13.7th man 14th man Claver (422) is ranked as a 14.1st man 15th man Freeland (441) is ranked as a 14.7th man
When you exclude 3-4 teams (Heat, Clips, Spurs, and maybe Nets) that are likely to dominate the top twenty spots, Lillard probably rates close to middle of the pack among 1st men on the remaining teams, say #15-20 of 25. Fun with statistics!
The Heat will be the only team with 3 players in the top 30 (no surprise there). The Spurs only have 2 in the top 30, but their 3rd is 34 and that doesn't even include Manu. The teams you mentioned (and the Thunder and Lakers) will have 2 players in the top 30 and their top 2 will be rated higher than our top 2. And Memphis will only have 1 top 30 player (Marc Gasol), but 3 players in the top 35 (Conley at 32 and ZBo at 35). Still considering where we were at this time last year, I'm very pleased to have 2 top 30 players and 3 in the top 60. That doesn't make us elite, but we're a lot better off than half the teams in the league. We knew our starters were good last year, but we had a horrible bench. This year our starters will be even better and we now have a really good bench. We won't be title contenders, but I'm confident we will make the playoffs. Can't wait for the season to start! BNM
Before we get too excited about our players' rankings, keep in mind the Lakers had 4 players in the top 19 last season: Dwight - 3 Kobe - 6 Pau - 15 Nash - 19 and barely made the playoffs. While this is a superstar driven league, basketball is still a team sport and sometimes the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, and sometimes it's not. Of course, injuries play a part, but that's hard to predict. BNM
Oh, I'm not saying I agreed with those rankings (I thought Nash at 19 was ridiculously high). Just pointing out that these rankings are 100% subjective, and therefore, bound to be inaccurate. It's a fun list to discuss, but I wouldn't put too much stock in it. I also think the voters are only looking at individual performance and not fit. I always thought Nash was a horrible fit with Kobe. Nash's biggest strength is he's a great distributor who creates shots for his teammates. But, he can only do that if he has the ball in his hands. Take the ball out of his hands and he becomes a rich man's Steve Blake. Kobe is a great individual creator and needs the ball in his hands to breakdown the defense and get his own shots. So, two players who are at their best when they have the ball, but only one ball. Putting them together in the same starting back court was bound to cause problems, and given Kobe is the stronger personality, Nash's performance was bound to be diminished. 19 would have been too high if Nash had stayed with the Suns. On the Lakers, 50 would have been too high. BNM
If I were the L*kers, I'd put the ball in Nash's hands and let him create. Get it to Kobe with :06 left and let him score when the plays aren't working. Let Kobe dominate the ball when Nash needs a breather. I don't think they were very good with just Kobe doing his thing.
Did Jordan ever have a Steve Nash type point guard? I thought he mostly ran with guys like Steve Kerr or Ron Harper.
