NBA: Most overrated/underrated players?..

[racm]

Vasquez is the perfect PG alongside a ball-dominant SG in Gordon and a budding big man in Davis, IMO... also helps to have a size advantage over most guards, he's a PG in an SG/SF frame...

Now Rondo, he's overrated

but he's a triple double threat!
Sure, but like Kidd he's not a threat if you take away his supporting scorers.
but he plays defense!
Steals != defense. Irving lit him up for 40.

[KaiRMD1]

Jamal Crawford is proving how underrated he is this season, hands down.

[ffadicted]

Blake Griffin for overrated, Jrue Holiday for underrated though I think peepz recognize him now tbh

[rayjayjohnson]

Derrick Favours, David West, Nic Batum are way underrated.

Aldridge, Rondo, Bradley etc all too overrated

[HarlemHeat37]

There's no argument for Blake Griffin being overrated, tbh..

[SpurSwag]

underrated: holiday, david west, parker, ginobili, jarrett jack, carl landry
overrated: marc gasol, roy hibbert, aldridge, rondo

[mathbzh]

I had already spelled out I was talking about height and jumping ability. Read it again. I apologize if going shorthand and putting "unathletic" confused you. I guess I should have retyped what I said a couple sentences earlier, fwiw.

I believe he can't jump "by design". To me it looks like he never put effort in it.
Even when in the air, his game his about horizontality.
A lot of people of Parker size with (IMHO) half of Parker's athleticism can dunk with ease. I see no reason why Parker couldn't.

[scanry]

underrated: holiday, david west, parker, ginobili, jarrett jack, carl landry
overrated: marc gasol, roy hibbert, aldridge, rondo

Marc Gasol is an old school type of center who hardly gets any recognition. He's actually underrated tbh.

[callo1]

Agree 100% on Jack and Conley. Both way underrated.

[racm]

I believe he can't jump "by design". To me it looks like he never put effort in it.
Even when in the air, his game his about horizontality.
A lot of people of Parker size with (IMHO) half of Parker's athleticism can dunk with ease. I see no reason why Parker couldn't.

TP could dunk but why should he? Why dunk when he can throw up a pretty teardrop?

Agree 100% on Jack and Conley. Both way underrated.

They should split the 6th man of the year award between Jack and Carl Landry. Conley's the Grizzlies' third best player IMO.

[ffadicted]

There's no argument for Blake Griffin being overrated, tbh..

Kid is an athletic freak and a human highlight reel, but as far as skill around the basket, he's far behind quite a few PFs (timmy, mgasol, randolph, to name a few). He has quite a lot of work in that area, but his handles are nice so I think he can get there, but he's not. He's also improving on his jumper, but I'd refrain from calling it reliable. Great player, all-star and lots of potential, but the combination of those points makes him hard to be a go-to player, especially late.

Meanwhile a vast majority of the less knowledgeable basketball fans act like he's the next coming of jesus christ with wings, that he's god in human form based on espn highlights served from christopher, that he has the best big man handles (wut lol), that he's the best PF in the league... when in reality ancient 36 year old Duncan is a better player still this season. Blakey boy is definitly good, he's a "great but ppl think he's god" kind of overrated... you'd never build a contender around him, he's not a franchise player... he's just a fantastic piece in a contending team.

[Clipper Nation]

His jumper has improved infinitely from the start of his career, and it looks damn good when he doesn't hesitate (which he still does too many times)...

Statistically, in terms of PPP, Blake is a top-20 post scorer in the league, not bad for someone with supposedly "zero post game"...

His handles and passing skills are really impressive, and he's mastered the most efficient shot in basketball (the dunk)... he's athletic for sure but that's only part of his game.... and the thing is, he's only getting better and adding more to his game with each passing year, so I'd say yes, you can build a contender around him....

[ffadicted]

tbh I never said he has no post game at all, just said it's not top-level lol And you just kind of reiterated the same things in a nicer way, that he has tons of potential but still needs a lot of improvement.

We do disagree on his ability to be a franchise player though

[da_suns_fan]

Overrated:

3) Deron Williams - used to be number one but now most people seem to realize how terrible he is

2) Russell Westbrook - despite all of his crazy "athleticism", it doesnt help him put the ball in the basket (which is literally the name in the game) with any type of efficiency. Likewise his assist/turnover ratio is below average.

1) Carmelo - "YAY POINTS!" thesis. It doesnt matter that his shooting percentage is average and he does literally nothing else well. All pundits care about is that he scored a lot of points (nevermind that he took A LOT of shots).


Underrated:

3) Kenneth Faried: Shoots a great percentage, rebounding MACHINE, never turns it over. Probably the greatest "hustle" player Ive ever seen.

2) Chris Paul - Dude averages a 4:1 assist/turnover ratio, gets almost 4 steals/40 minutes, shoots 52% from two etc. Its just ridiculous

1) Tyson Chandler - You'll never hear him mentioned as one of the best centers because hes not as "talented" offensively as others. Yet hes shot almost SEVENTY percent from the field the last two years. A lot of people would say "because he only takes easy dunks etc". Ok...a lot of big men have no offensive game yet dont shoot anywhere near that mark. Last year he had a PPS of 1.97. Throw in that hes a fantastic rebounder and defender.

[Killakobe81]

As far as All-Stars who are still underrated:

It is a homer pick but Parker is definitely underrated. Even Spurs fans don't really like him (they'd trade him in a second for a "pure passing, ball dominant point guard" even though that type of point guard doesn't win championships). But there aren't many point guards out there that can win games basically by himself. Hugely underrated passer and ballhandler and when he's trying, he's an underrated defender (Westbrook destroyed everyone in the playoff last year other than him). Considering he's short (for NBA standards) and can't jump (by any standards) his ability to dominate at times is pretty amazing. The cherry on top is he might be the most coachable player in NBA history; whatever Pop tells him to do, he does without hesitancy or second thought. (All that said, he's too small and unathletic to truly be the alpha dog on a championship team, unfortunately. He needs someone else playing at his level or better.)

I think Tyson Chandler is underrated. He got the DPOY and he plays in the biggest media market in the world but somehow he still doesn't get enough credit. His defense is legitimately great -- especially in pick-and-rolls. He's the rare bigman that can defend his space and about a ten foot radius around him. On offense, even though he doesn't have much skill or touch, he's still a major plus because he sets great screens, makes the right pass and doesn't shoot bad shots. When it comes to actually influencing wins, he's probably top ten in the league.

Paul Pierce is underrated. He's easily better than Rondo or KG ... and has been the whole time since 2008. If he were born in French Lick and Larry Bird were born in Inglewood, Paul Pierce would be regarded as the best Celtic ever and a top 15 player of All-Time, tbh. Great scorer who picks and chooses his spots. He doesn't rack up a ton of filler/trash points (glances at you know who). Can play with the ball or off the ball. Very good passer. Gets to the line a ton. Can play lockdown defense when needed. Can play huge minutes without getting tired when needed. Rarely gets injured or takes games off. Doesn't care if he's viewed as first, second or third banana. He's slowing down now but he had a damn great career.

And finally, LeBron is underrated. He's so got damn good that people are starting to get immune to it. Best complete athlete in the game when you consider size, speed, agility, jumping ability, quick reactions, quick feet, etc. On top of that he's amazingly skilled. Maybe someone like Chris Paul has more skill but it's debatable. Top it off with elite court vision and a newfound clutchness ... and, shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii, his peak right now is probably closer to Jordan than most of us want to admit.

I co-sign. I do think Paul and few others have more skill but none in a smilar package. Lebron has a ferrari engine in a SUV body without taking out the HEMI ...

I have been saying for years he has a slim chance at GOAT and people here Laker and Spur fans snickered now everyone is starting to re-evaluate. I also said once he starts winning it would be hard to stop. Dude is the most physically gifted player since Shaq. And now that he no longer defers (for the most part) we are seeing maybe, just maybe the GOAT. Needs more rings thoughI dont care what yall say. But if gets 4 or 5 a strong case could be made for Lebron>MJ ...

[stretch]

Paul Pierce is underrated. He's easily better than Rondo or KG ... and has been the whole time since 2008. If he were born in French Lick and Larry Bird were born in Inglewood, Paul Pierce would be regarded as the best Celtic ever and a top 15 player of All-Time, tbh. Great scorer who picks and chooses his spots. He doesn't rack up a ton of filler/trash points (glances at you know who). Can play with the ball or off the ball. Very good passer. Gets to the line a ton. Can play lockdown defense when needed. Can play huge minutes without getting tired when needed. Rarely gets injured or takes games off. Doesn't care if he's viewed as first, second or third banana. He's slowing down now but he had a damn great career.

Pierce always has been and always will be underrated. Not a very flashy player, but always gets the job done when they need him to.

[DAF86]

KG > Pierce the year they won the championship and it wasn't all that close, tbh.

[DMC]

Overrated:

3) Deron Williams - used to be number one but now most people seem to realize how terrible he is

2) Russell Westbrook - despite all of his crazy "athleticism", it doesnt help him put the ball in the basket (which is literally the name in the game) with any type of efficiency. Likewise his assist/turnover ratio is below average.

1) Carmelo - "YAY POINTS!" thesis. It doesnt matter that his shooting percentage is average and he does literally nothing else well. All pundits care about is that he scored a lot of points (nevermind that he took A LOT of shots).


Underrated:

3) Kenneth Faried: Shoots a great percentage, rebounding MACHINE, never turns it over. Probably the greatest "hustle" player Ive ever seen.

2) Chris Paul - Dude averages a 4:1 assist/turnover ratio, gets almost 4 steals/40 minutes, shoots 52% from two etc. Its just ridiculous

1) Tyson Chandler - You'll never hear him mentioned as one of the best centers because hes not as "talented" offensively as others. Yet hes shot almost SEVENTY percent from the field the last two years. A lot of people would say "because he only takes easy dunks etc". Ok...a lot of big men have no offensive game yet dont shoot anywhere near that mark. Last year he had a PPS of 1.97. Throw in that hes a fantastic rebounder and defender.

I agree with TC. I never understood why people didn't see that. OKC turned him away, bet they regret that. Dallas should have kept him. He brings a swagger to the teams they don't have without him and he's a presence in the paint.

[Grit and Grind]

I also think he doesn't have the mentality to run a championship/contender squad. For example, last night he was called for a 5 second inbound violation. The referee was right beside him counting 1-5 and Conley was zoned out. I've never seen any legitimate Point Guards making this mistake.

LOL What about CP3

[Thread]

^Still wandering in the winds trying to find his game in the trace amount of time left after his antics with the officiating....tick tock, tick tock, tick tock...

[FkLA]

Overrated: Dirk-HOF player, world champ, etc but calling him the 2nd best PF of all-time is just dumb. Or thinking hes Top 15 all-time.

[HarlemHeat37]

not sure how da_suns_fan thinks Parker is overrated, but claims Chris Paul is underrated..

Chris Paul gets more hype than any other player I've ever seen, amongst players that have accomplished virtually nothing of importance during their careers, tbh..

[Thread]

not sure how da_suns_fan thinks Parker is overrated, but claims Chris Paul is underrated..

Chris Paul gets more hype than any other player I've ever seen, amongst players that have accomplished virtually nothing of importance during their careers, tbh..

It's a black thing. Paul is black and Parker is French. The distinction is convenient for Media. And so easy. They can't get hurt. And they know it.

[HarlemHeat37]

Bump..

The Mike Conley fulfilling the potential that Harlem saw in him, tbh..I'm so proud..

[midnightpulp]

Kevin Martin. Serge Ibaka.