OT NBA Player Rankings: B/Rs Top 15 Centers Entering 2018-19 Season (No Nurkic?)

https://bleacherreport.com/articles...op-15-centers-entering-2018-19-season#slide11

15. Nikola Vucevic, Orlando Magic

14. Kelly Olynyk, Miami Heat

13. DeAndre Jordan, Dallas Mavericks

12. Jonas Valanciunas, Toronto Raptors

11. Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies

10. Myles Turner, Indiana Pacers

9. Steven Adams, Oklahoma City Thunder

8. Clint Capela, Houston Rockets

7. Andre Drummond, Detroit

6. Al Horford, Boston Celtics

5. Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves

4. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

3. Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz

2. Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers

1. Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans

 

Opps wrong side of the forum. Mods please move!

 

In before @BlazerWookee :

Lol, Blecher Report...

Seriously, they are strongly favoring offensive efficiency over defense. If you sort all NBA centers by DPM, Nurk was solidly in second behind only DPOY Rudy Gobert:

http://www.espn.com/nba/statistics/rpm/_/sort/DRPM/position/9



Even accounting for Nurk's offensive inefficiency, if you sort by WINS, he was the 9th best center in the league last season:



Where WINS is the product of RPM (which is ORPM + DRPM) and possessions played. Nurk's defensive impact more than offset any offensive inefficiency.

And, of course, anyone who actually watched him play (i.e. not Bleacher Report), knows his offensive efficiency greatly improved over the course of the season. He was horrible for the first two months and constantly improved after that. This rating is supposed to be for the 2018-19 season. So, Nurk's performance over the last 4 months of the 2017-18 season should count much more than his performance over the first two months of last season.

BNM

 

Even if you just look at PER, which heavily favors offense over defense, Nurk had the 9th highest PER for starting centers, and the 6th highest for centers that played at least 2000 minutes.

And that's an offensive heavy stat for a season he got off to a terrible start.

He needs to become more consistent, but just based on last year's performance alone, his first as a starter, he should be somewhere in the 10 - 15 range.

BNM

 

These MFers sleep man...

I saw a column on ESPN a couple days ago that said Nurkic wasn't a rim protector... Can't remember which one but it's ridiculous.

 

Asinine, just like this Ranking.

 

That's bullshit! Nurk IS one of the top 15 centers in the league.

 

He's top 10.

 

People who say shit like that don't realize there is more to rim protection than blocking shots.

They also think guys like JaVale McGee and Bismack Biyombo are great rim protectors because they block a lot of shots. They are actually shitty defenders because they leave their man and try to block every shot within 15 feet of the basket. Out of 58 centers, McGee ranked 49th in DRPM and Biyombo was 57th. Plus, Nurk blocked more shots than both of them. Fucking idiots.

BNM

 

He's one of the top centers in the NBA. I think that's the key point there. You should make a video about how undervalued Nurk is by the league.

 

It's not the league, it's the media. Most, so-called journalists these days are just flat out lazy.

BNM

 

I do find it interesting that fans rag on Davis for his weak play-off performance, but give Nurk a pass.

Nurk has to become more consistent in the regular season and drastically improve in the post-season before he deserves to be called a top 10 center.

 

By league I meant league media.

 

Nurk averaged 18 pts/36, 12.3 reb/36, 1.9 blk/36 and 2.3 stl/36 with a PER = 23.0 in that series.

Ed averaged 5.6 pts/36, 16.2 reb/36, 0.5 blk/36, 0.0 stl/36 with a PER = 6.1

BNM

 

This thread full of quality BNM posts is the reason i come here for the real take instead of those other shitty sports sites.
THey are just like politcal news. Twist it to fit thier agenda. Large media just sucks. Period.

 

It's because of the TPA. Nurk's is 8.40, while the other centers are much higher.

https://nbamath.com/2017-18-nba-tpa/

 

He also struggled to stay on the floor and had no actual impact on the outcome. IMHO, reliability/consistency are part of being considered a top player at your position. YMMV.

 

Pardon my ignorance - but what is "TPA"? Total points allowed?

 

I was just comparing him to Ed. Dame also had no actual impact on the outcome of that series, either. It doesn't mean he's not a top 15 PG.

I personally think Terry didn't play Nurk enough, and used him wrong when he did. When Ed was in the game, Anthony Davis was free to leave him and focus solely on trapping Dame before he could even initiate our offense. He should have played Nurk more and parked him under the basket. Forget the high pick and roll with Dame and Nurk, it just played right into NOP's defensive strategy.

BNM