Batum comes in at 52, about the average #2 man, but he's a #3 man on our team! It's clear that he's not overpaid at all by the consensus conventional wisdom.
1 Aldridge
2 Lillard
3 Batum 52 (1.7+1=2.7 vs. 3)
4 Wes 83 (2.8+1=3.8 vs. 4)
5 Lopez 92 (3.1+1=4.1 vs. 5)
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6 Blake 221 (7.4+1=8.4 vs. 6)
7 CJ 222 (7.4+1=8.4 vs. 7)
8 Kaman 237 (7.9+1=8.9 vs. 8)
9 Robinson 241 (8.0+1 = 9.0 vs. 9)
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10 Wright 269 (9.0+1=10.0 vs. 10)
11 Barton 329 (11.0+1=12.0 vs. 11)
12 Leonard 356 (11.9+1=12.9 vs. 12)
Portland Team Rankings also listed at ESPN
Forecast Panel has 210 members
Explanation of Smileys:
Suppose LBJ has the #1 overall ranking. 1/30 = .03 rounds to 0. Add 1 and get 1.0. Team Comparator: #1 on team, so it's 1.0 vs. 1.0 and he's the best #1 man in the league.
CJ had a ranking of 222, which divided by 30 is 7.4. Adding 1 gives 8.4. His comparator is as 7th man, so he should be within 7.0 and 7.9. If so, he gets a smiley. At 8.4, he's not so he gets an upside down smiley.
Blake's net ranking is 8.4 with a comparator of a 6th man. If he were between 6 and 6.9, he'd get a smiley indicating that he is indeed a 6th man. If he were between 7 and 7.9, he'd get an upside down smiley, but he's between 8 and 8.9 netting him TWO upside down smileys. He's really an 8th man, and an average one at that. It's not that there is something wrong with Blake, it's just that ESPN doesn't see him as a 6th man, or even a 7th man, but an 8th man. There is a void at those spots and you could argue that the younger players should be filling those spots but ESPN doesn't think they're ready.
Barton is the best 12th man in the league, but he's no 11th man so he gets an upside down smiley.
