3 Blazers in sbnation's NBA Top 100 in 2017

[SlyPokerDog]

Aldridge placed No. 21.

I'm not going to lie: I was a little surprised to see that Aldridge was already 28 when we were making the list. He's only 14 months younger than Chris Bosh! Just like his fellow Dallas native, Aldridge's game might be more suited to being the No. 2 player on a good team. If he can get himself in a situation where he's the No. 3 player (*cough* Houston) on a great team, he'll have a chance to win multiple championships, too. He's not flashy and his rebounding stats have always been a little low, but a 6'11, 240-pound player with his size, athleticism and shooting touch will be an excellent player for a very long time. - Jonathan Tjarks
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Lillard placed No. 42.

There are two major things to remember about young players and, specifically, rookies. One is that players tend to be better at age 27 than age 22. The curve is a bell in most cases. Players peak in their late 20s. In theory, having an awesome 21-year-old is better than having an equally awesome 23-year-old, because history says that when the 21-year-old is 23, he'll be more awesome than the 23-year-old had been.
But the other thing is that the rookie season is just about every player's most difficult. There's a huge learning curve between college or international ball and the freaking NBA. It's even bigger for players coming from lower conferences or leagues: You go from playing against future insurance agents to future Hall of Famers.
That Damian Lillard had such a spectacular season facing that learning curve -- despite being further along the age curve (22) than other elite young point guards -- says something. In conclusion, Dame! - Tom Ziller
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Batum placed No. 61.

He needs to become more efficient, and he needs to finally put those defensive tools to use and become that lockdown guy on the perimeter. But if he can do those things -- and I don't think either is out of the question -- he'll be a really nice player for a long time. He's not yet 25, and for whatever reason, I think he still has a lot of potential. He's never going to be an all star, but if his defensive ability catches up to his physical tools, he'll be pretty good. -Conrad Kaczmarek


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http://www.sbnation.com/2013/8/19/4615826/top-100-nba-players-2017-list

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[JfizzleBlazer]

Re: 3 Blazers in sbnation's NBA Top 100

Can you name 100 players better than Mo ?

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Oops, updated title. The top 100 NBA players in 2017.

 

[JfizzleBlazer]

Gotcha. Disregard my comment on Mo

 

[BigGameDamian]

42. Damian Lillard
Damian Lillard facts
Age in 2017: 27
Current Team: Portland Trail Blazers
2012-13 PER: 16.4

Perfect! No. 42 is the meaning of life in Hitchhiker's Guide. Without Lillard, the Blazers' life has no meaning right now. They'll hitchhike a ride as far as he'll take them.

-Dave, Blazer's Edge

There are two major things to remember about young players and, specifically, rookies. One is that players tend to be better at age 27 than age 22. The curve is a bell in most cases. Players peak in their late 20s. In theory, having an awesome 21-year-old is better than having an equally awesome 23-year-old, because history says that when the 21-year-old is 23, he'll be more awesome than the 23-year-old had been.

But the other thing is that the rookie season is just about every player's most difficult. There's a huge learning curve between college or international ball and the freaking NBA. It's even bigger for players coming from lower conferences or leagues: You go from playing against future insurance agents to future Hall of Famers.

That Damian Lillard had such a spectacular season facing that learning curve -- despite being further along the age curve (22) than other elite young point guards -- says something. In conclusion, Dame! -ZILLER

TJARKS: Serious question: Is he that much better than Jeff Teague? He's already 23, so he's much closer to his ceiling than your average rookie. He took six 3-pointers a game last season, which seems like a lot if you aren't Steph Curry. I think he'll be a good point guard in the NBA for a long time, but there are a lot of good point guards these days.

ZILLER: Uh, Jeff Teague is two years older than Lillard and had lower numbers across the board last season. (Lillard was even more efficient as a rookie than Teague was as a fourth-year.) So yes, Damian Lillard is that much better than Jeff Teague. Furthermore, the fact that Lillard can take that many threes at age 22 and shoot them so well (37 percent, or the equivalent of shooting 55 percent on two-pointers, which is difficult if not impossible for most guards) is a boon for the Blazers, not a burden.

FLANNERY: We're all guilty of playing the age game on this list, but guys like Teague didn't have the kind of season Lillard had at his age. The dude can play, and while I agree that others project higher, I think the pendulum has swung too far on Lillard.

 

[Mediocre Man]

So in 2017 Lillard will only be the 42nd best player? That would be bad for the franchise.

 

[illmatic99]

1. Who is TJARKS?
2. Tobias Harris > Dame

Really?

 

[illmatic99]

Oh boy, made the mistake of scrolling further in the list.

Beal, Barnes, Noel (!), Rubio, Monroe, Jrue all ahead of Dame. Gimme a break. These fools project that Dame will not only plateau, but that these other players won't? Don't work both ways

 

[BlazerCaravan]

So in 2017 Lillard will only be the 42nd best player? That would be bad for the franchise.

Trade him and draft high next year.

 

[illmatic99]

Trade him and draft high next year.

I think Dame is ranked around 40 in the league right now. Pretty ridiculous to think he won't improve from that ranking in 4 years.

 

[Draco]

Before last season I thought it was a year at a crossroad. We had a sure bet in Aldridge, some role players and a bunch of question marks. If none of those question marks developed to have stud potential I figured the team should look at trading LaMarcus and doing a complete rebuild. Well we far exceeded my expectations with a ROY performance from Dam. Two studs are exponentially easier to build a contender around than one. Now we are looking for only a 3rd piece; we are over half way towards building a contender.

Now if Damian peaks as the 42nd ranked player that changes things. A player at that level is not going to be a major piece to a title. If that becomes evident from our play over half a season we can explorer trading LaMarcus and committing to years of tanking. In that case we might follow the 6ers path and explorer trading a middling talent like a 42nd ranked Lillard.

I believe it is more likely our team is well in the playoff hunt next season and Lillard rises far up this list. If the Blazers had a better record Damians accomplishments wouldn’t be discounted as good stats on a bad team. If the Blazers make the playoffs Lillard will get far more exposure.

 

[Natebishop3]

42 by 2017 is just stupid.

 

[Draco]

Oh boy, made the mistake of scrolling further in the list.

Beal, Barnes, Noel (!), Rubio, Monroe, Jrue all ahead of Dame. Gimme a break. These fools project that Dame will not only plateau, but that these other players won't? Don't work both ways

Jahlil Okafor who just finished his junior year of HIGH SCHOOL is ranked at #29 almost even with LaMarcus and far above Damian. What a bunch of crap. Top high school prospects flop all the time. Damian will be in his prime by then. There is almost no chance some kid comes in and dominates like that his first few years. How long did Garnett or Kobe and other hall of famers need to become all-stars? More than two years. And they were the studs that exceed expectations. This kid is just as likely to be a Darko or Kwame.

This is definitely a joke, it’s just some guys list of his favorite 100 younger players.

 

[mook]

I bet there are a few lists from 2006 that said Greg Oden would be a top 3 player in the league by now.

 

[VanillaGorilla]

What the fuck is sbnation and is it run by retards?

 

[santeesioux]

Isn't that Ziller guy pretty notorious for hating the Blazers?

 

[SlyPokerDog]

I thought it was interesting how hard they're swingin' off Blake Griffin's nut sack. Ranking him the 10th best player in 2017 saying he'll be "an evolutionary Barkley."

 

[KingSpeed]

Lillard will be top 10 in four years. Stupid list.

 

[jlprk]

#15 Dwight Howard
#10 Blake Griffin

Well, we know that Los Angeles dominates NBA media. They hate Howard.

 

[Denny Crane]

42 is 2nd best player on more than half the teams in the league. Is he 2nd best on the Blazers behind LMA now?

 

[Natebishop3]

42 is 2nd best player on more than half the teams in the league. Is he 2nd best on the Blazers behind LMA now?

Now? Probably.

By 2017 Aldridge might not even be a Blazer. I think it's reasonable to assume that Dame could be our best player in 2017, so our best player won't even be in the top 30?

 

[Denny Crane]

Now? Probably.

By 2017 Aldridge might not even be a Blazer. I think it's reasonable to assume that Dame could be our best player in 2017, so our best player won't even be in the top 30?

In theory, the Heat have 3 guys top 30. So 2 teams can't have their best player be in the top 30, as the math works out.

 

[Natebishop3]

In theory, the Heat have 3 guys top 30. So 2 teams can't have their best player be in the top 30, as the math works out.

By 2017 the Heat probably won't have three guys in the top 30.... just sayin.

 

[Denny Crane]

By 2017 the Heat probably won't have three guys in the top 30.... just sayin.

Some other teams will. I think that's the reasoning.

All this will change if Lillard steps up his game and clearly becomes a top 15 player in the West.

Just sayin.

 

[Draco]

42 is 2nd best player on more than half the teams in the league. Is he 2nd best on the Blazers behind LMA now?

Why does this one rookie have to be ranked that high today? 4 year vets are significantly more effective players than rookies.

 

[Draco]

Some other teams will. I think that's the reasoning.

Wouldn't the rookie of the year have a good chance of being one of those players? This isn't a ranking of today's players its four years from now. A ranking of #42 for Damian is a joke.

 

[Boob-No-More]

Andre Drummond the 3rd best player in the world in 4 years, behind only Durant and LeBron? Really? Yes, he's big and has potential, but he's played a total of 60 games at 20 MPG. And, forget Shaq and Wilt, Chris Dudley was a better FT shooter.

BNM

 

[Denny Crane]

Wouldn't the rookie of the year have a good chance of being one of those players? This isn't a ranking of today's players its four years from now. A ranking of #42 for Damian is a joke.

If you say so.

What's his ranking now? Top 100? If so, to move to #42 is a big jump, eh?

Peoples' rankings may well change after another season if Lillard shows a nice upward progression as a player. If he sticks at a ~16 PER, #42 might be too high. If he puts up a PER over 20, I think #42 or better.

 

[BigGameDamian]

Where is Wes Mathews on the list? I thought he was a top ten SG?

 

[Draco]

If you say so.

What's his ranking now? Top 100? If so, to move to #42 is a big jump, eh?

Peoples' rankings may well change after another season if Lillard shows a nice upward progression as a player. If he sticks at a ~16 PER, #42 might be too high. If he puts up a PER over 20, I think #42 or better.

So you think there were nearly 100 players better than Lillard last year? Well obviously #42 is a great improvement by that metric I guess you’re a Lillard lover.

Lillard clearly was the Blazers second best player and arguably had a better 2013 season than all-star LaMarcus. With the worst bench in NBA history Portland should feel lucky to have a better record than any team. They had a record of 20-15 at one point; and 33-36 in late March, quite amazing indeed.

There were only 29 players who put up a 20+ PER. It includes players such as Andray Blatche, Anderson Varejao, Brandan Wright, Al Jefferson, and JaVale McGee. Hopefully with a lot of hard work in four years Lillard can improve so he’s as good as those guys.