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roddy boobwah.......the next american idol!
Okay, so this is going to be a pretty subjective definition of the word, but outside of Durant, LeBron, Duncan, Kobe, Wade, Melo, Paul, Deron, Dirk, Howard, and Gasol, who are the best young players in the NBA right now?
Among players under 30...
Who do you have in your top 3 for guards?
Who do you have in your top 3 for big men?
I'm curious to know if anyone thinks a player will make a dark horse run to get into the top 5 in MVP voting this year outside of the usual suspects.
Side questions: How will John Wall do this year? Are there any players in college right now in your opinion that are ready to move to the pros and be a big time starter?
roddy boobwah.......the next american idol!
Kobe is not young
neither is Dirk
Darren Collison
Goran Dragic
Aaron Brooks
Paul Millsap
David Lee
Brook Lopez
John Wall will be fun to watch and explosive up until the ASB. After that, he may hit a wall. What will determine his greatness is whether or not he will completely fizzle by the ASB or he will change his game to accommodate the pace and length of the NBA game like Brandon Jennings
Westbrook
Bynum, when his knees can hold his weight
He may be bordering on s om... Not supers om, but s om... But that is a good one...
Top 3 PGs not in mentioned group under 30
1. Derrick Rose (Age 21) 20.8 PPG, 6.0 APG, 3.8 RPG
Reason: Derrick Rose is the best young PG in this group because of his elite mid-range jumper, elite end to end explosiveness and scoring ability. Although he only has a TS% of 53.2%, it is due to his inept 3 point range which will hopefully change next season. He has stated that he is improving his range. Who in the NBA can guard this man one on one? He is the best at scoring when it comes to everything within the arc. The one time all-star would continue his devastation upon the league next season.
2. Rajon Rondo (Age 23) 13.7 PPG, 9.8 APG, 4.4 RPG
Reason: Regular season stats do not do Rajon Rondo justice. Rondo's impact on the Celtics are immeasurable. The intangibles he has shown throughout the playoffs and his dominant command of Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett as a young PG made me a believer. I found myself supporting Rajon Rondo throughout the playoffs as I was captivated by his play and leadership. The triple double threat may not have a jump shot, but the way he impacted the game through whatever way possible made him number 2. His steals and defense of course were one of the reason he is number 2.
3. Tony Parker (Age 28) 16.0 PPG, 5.7 APG, 2.4 RPG
Reason: As undesirable as his play was last season as compared to 2009, he still made my top 3 here. It was a really tough choice. I chose Parker out of Brooks and Westbrook. He was better efficiently and that bought me over. A healthy Parker would hopefully be better next season.
Top 3 Shooting Guards under 30 not in mentioned group
1. Brandon Roy (Age 25) 21.5 PPG, 4.7 APG, 4.4 RPG
Reason: Brandon Roy had a sub-par season this past season. A lot of people blame this on Andre Miller not fitting in with Roy. To the contrary, Brandon Roy was able to work with him well. Roy was hampered by a hamstring issue this past season which affected his play, not Andre Miller. The three-guard lineups also skewed things for Roy out of his favor sometimes. Despite all that, he is still the best consensus number 1 on my list because he is just so damned good.
2. Joe Johnson (Age 28) 20.2 PPG, 4.6 APG, 4.4 RPG
Reason: I couldn't consider him young, like Parker, he is reaching 30 soon. However, he is the clear cut second after Roy in this ranking. He is the easiest guy to hate outside of LeBron James this summer because he is paid the most out of all FAs this season. Putting him here seems fair for him.
3. Tyreke Evans (Age 20) 20.1 PPG, 5.8 APG, 5.3 RPG
Reason: Tyreke Evans, coming off a 20/5/5 rookie season, and ROY award, is entrenched at 3 on my list. It wasn't that hard of a pick. His team sucked and he got some flack for it, he would be second here if not for his team record. Give me some more Tyreke next season, I look forward to his improvement.
Top 3 Small Forwards not included in the list
1. Danny Granger (Age 26) 24.1 PPG, 2.8 APG, 5.5 RPG
Reason: Clearly the best along with Iguodala out of all under 30 not included under the list of names. If not for the weird injuries like food poisoning and all that this past season, we might have seen a Danny Granger break-out season. Elite 3 point shooter and gets to the line, what is not to like?
2. Andre Iguodala (Age 26) 17.1 PPG, 5.8 APG, 6.5 RPG
Reason: I love me some Iggy. Awesome defender and all-around player. I have him as a forward, not a guard. There is nothing he can't do on the basketball court. I have seen him come up in the clutch, play defense and put up some nasty posters. Hopefully, he gets to be that number 2 guy I always want to see him be. He is most efficient that way and can show off his passing ability, another one of his best traits as a forward.
3. Josh Smith (Age 24) 15.7 PPG, 4.2 APG, 8.7 RPG
Reason: I struggled with myself here. The 3rd spot has always been a difficult choice for me doing these rankings. Although some people see Smith as a 4, I see him as a tweener and just slotted him as a small forward. Elite help defender, stealing the ball, blocking it from the weakside, ridiculously good passer this seaosn and learnt not to take stupid shots. Things are looking up for Josh Smith!
Top 3 Power Forward not included in the list given
1. Chris Bosh (Age 25) 24.0 PPG, 2.4 APG, 10.8 RPG
Reason: One of the most hated objects this off-season. I know his stats will drop but no one can doubt that talent. 24 and 10 is not easy to get. Although his team sucked at defense last season, and he deserves some of the slack, you can't say that the team was built around him to be even average defensively. That crew just sucked. He was also top 5 in offense in a list I saw that Solid D provided.
2. Amar'e Stoudemire (Age 27) 23.1 PPG, 1.0 APG, 8.9 RPG
Reason: Slotted him below Bosh, obvious pick. Most dangerous pick and roll finisher in the NBA and excellent mid-range jump shooter. Amar'e is the perfect player you want in a fast paced offense. He ain't good defensively, bu what did you expect anyway?
3. Zach Randolph (Age 28) 20.8 PPG, 1.8 APG, 11.7 RPG
Reason: Dominant offensive rebounder and good touch around the rim. Although he is a below the rim guy, I like watching him gobble down offensive rebounds and putting it back in. His game is not to post-up or shoot jump shots and I know his defense sucks. You cannot doubt 20/11 though. All-star this year too. Great year for Zach.
Top 3 Centers not included in the list given
1. Andrew Bogut (Age 25) 15.9 PPG, 1.9 APG, 10.2 RPG
Reason: Made the elite jump to top interior defender outside of Howard. Drew charges and blocked shots at a high rate while being one of the little offensive options this past season. Showed the entire package for a center in the modern era. Hope he recovers and shows us some more.
2. Al Horford (Age 23) 14.2 PPG, 2.3 APG, 9.9 RPG
Reason: The NBA made a joke out of Al Horford as he fell short of a double double season finishing with 9.9 rebounds per game. The league has become an absolute joke when it comes to centers. The only reason why Horford is here at number 2 was because there wasn't a choice.
3. Andray Blatche (Age 23) 14.1 PPG, 2.1 APG, 6.3 RPG
Reason: I cheated because the centers sucked and Blatche could have played this position better than them. Don't look at those raw stats. They don't do Blatche justice at all. When Blatche started, he has averaged 20.8 PPG, 3.5 APG and 8.2 RPG. Blatche would continue to showcase his talent next season. Remember the Wizards-Celtics game in the regular season? Blatche made Garnett his little , making him got 0 for 7 or something, showing his defensive potential, although Garnett is washed up, he is still quite good.
1. Tyreke Evans
2. Westbrook
3. O.J. Mayo/Jennings
1. Brook Lopez
2. Andrew Bogut
3. Marc Gasol
I think the rook thats going to surprise many is DeMarcus Cousins, the Kings have a lot of good pieces with Tyreke Evans, Carl Landry and Omri Casspi now add Run DMC (DeMarcus Cousins) they are my Dark horse to make the playoffs next season.
How do you include a guy like Blatche on your center list while leaving off a guy like Brook Lopez? The guy plays like a young Tim Duncan. Look at the stats.
Lopez 18.8 ppg. 8.6 rebs (3.3 offensive), 1.7 blks, .499 FG% and 81% FT
How about you look at Blatche's stats when he was starting at center. Way better than Brook Lopez. I could have slotted in Greg Oden at number 3 for his defensive and rebounding capabilities. Brook Lopez is overrated.
My future superstars are:
PG Derrick Rose
SG Tyreke Evans & Brandon Roy
SF Danny Granger
PF Josh Smith & Andrea Bargnani (Who else is gonna score on that team?)
C Brook Lopez
Blatche played heavy minutes on an injury depleted Wizards team and the end of the year. No one else could come close to putting the ball in the basket for them. He won't put up numbers like that this year when you have guys like Arenas, Wall, and Josh Howard taking all the shots. He's the 4th option at best 12ppg TOPS!
The guy is 6-11 and couldn't even shoot 50% from the field. Case in point: His last game he shot 10-24 for 24 pts and 4 turnovers in 36 minutes....
And Brook Lopez is better than him because he played on a 12 win team which had no one to put the basketball in for him? And Blatche is the Wizards' best offensive threat in the post and is their best playmaker in a half court setting.
Not for MVP, but I see Steph Curry as a darkhorse for top 5 in scoring this year
Cmon now, not this Bynum crap again. He's a bum and you know it. Moron has Kobe and Gasol on the team and yet i have that feeling that he doesn't want to pass the ball. He's always been a cancer on the Offensive end. Does anyone else notice that besides me.
I'll say this, once PJ retires, Bynum will become a team cancer and i won't surprised if the Lakers trade him. You need a hard a$$ coach to straighten this kid out and even PJ can't do it..
Huh? The kid has been plagued by injuries. Go look at Bynum's numbers in '08, '09, and '10 before the injuries...for a 20-21-22 y/o kid with limited touches, they've been outstanding
Marcus Thornton
When your other 4 starters are Shaun Livingston, Nick Young, Fabricio Oberto, and Mike Miller, you BETTER score 20+ppg or your team will get beat by 30 every night.
Lopez got 18.8ppg in only 13.8 shots per game and got to the line 5.1 times per game.
Blatche got worse the longer he started. Besides averaging less than 4 FTs per games as a starter, in February he shot 55% on 16 FG attempts, March: 47% on 18.6 attempts, and by April he was shooting 43% on 19.4 attempts(all starts). Those are Jermaine Oneal type of shooting percentages! In the same months his turnovers per game went from 2.3, 3.3 and 3.8 by April.
He is no SUPERSTAR in the making...., he just got to shoot the ball 20 times a game on a DEPLETED TEAM. Only 6 guys averaged more than 19 shots a game in the NBA last year:
Monta Ellis, Carmelo Anthony, Bryant, Durant, James, and Wade. He is not in those guy's league.
In April, Blatche got more shot attempts per game (19.4 #9 in the NBA in April))than guys like Dirk, Amare, Tyreke Evans, Joe Johnson, and Deron Williams.
Lopez's best month was February and he only got 13.2 shots per game and averaged 19.8 pts on 58% shooting.
The Wiz have upgraded offensively from last April, while the Nets haven't gotten nearly as much help. Don't see how you can claim Blatche will be a superstar before Lopez will.
Good job comparing Blatche's worst month as a starter and comparing it to Lopez's best month. Blatche is better than Lopez at defense and passing as well, with most of the other things equal.
I showed Blatche's best month when he first became a starter as 55% in February in 7 starts, but nice try in trying to deflect from the argument.
Most team's hadn't scouted Blatche yet in February, but as the season went on he got worse statistically when teams game planned for him culminating in him shooting 43% as a CENTER in April taking 19.4 shots a game.
If that is how he'll perform as "THE MAN" than he's NOT superstar material.
And Lopez is the better shot blocker and offensive rebounder, by far, and turns the ball over less.
Blatche 0.9 blks and 2.3 O Rebs as starter w/ 3.3 TOs
Lopez 1.7 blks and 3.3 O Rebs as a starter w/2.5 TOs
Did I mention Lopez was 5th in the NBA in Offensive Rebounds per game?
This defensive stalwart Brook Lopez had a defensive rating of 110 while Andray Blatche had a 106. I admit Blatche is not on Lopez's level when it comes to scoring efficiently. You add those weapons the Wizards have next season, and his efficiency would improve. I don't see why Blatche wouldn't be better than Brook Lopez down the road. I prefer Blatche's extra dimension is finding the open player and playing solid man to man and team defense.
You keep pointing out how the Wizards are but somehow Blatche keeps carrying them and keeping them in games all while outplaying most of his counterparts.
He HAD to keep them in games; hence him averaging 19 shots a game (more than Dirk, Amare, etc). I already listed his starting lineup, none of which would start for 90% of the NBA teams out there in 2010, with the exception of MAYBE Mike Miller who is nowhere close to the Mike Miller from his Grizzlies days.
Lopez's team wasn't good either, but he had passable starters playing with him like Devin Harris (who actually got more shot attempts than Lopez when he wasn't injured) and Courtney Lee who came on in the 2nd half of the year after a poor 1st half.
Seem pretty close in defensive rating to me, a far cry from Blatche being WAY better defensively than Lopez, like you make it out to sound...
And Blatche did a better job at keeping that Wizard crap compe ive as opposed to Lopez for the Nets. And somehow Blatche managed to have his assists numbers higher than Lopez despite having terrible options beside him. He made them look passable.
The Nets looked terrible even with their young talent, which speaks volumes about the way Lopez and Blatche carried their squads respectively.
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