ESPN .....Top 10 Backcourts....

[THE HCP]

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/9683995/nba-houston-rockets-nba-top-10-backcourts

#1 Rockets
#5 Lakers

and look who made #10

 

[Mediocre Man]

This is probably the one time I agree with all the Blazer lemmings

Portland and GS both deserve to be ahead of Minnesota, Dallas and Denver

 

[Draco]

Don't see how Rockets could be #1. Harden is not the best guard in the NBA and Lin is a below average starting PG. Clippers, Warriors, Nets are all much better.

 

[THE HCP]

1-Houston-Lin,Harden,Beverly

2-San Antonio-Ginobli,Parker,Green

3-Miami-Wade,Chalmers,Allen

4-Clippers-CP3,Crawford,Reddick

5-Lakers-Kobe,Nash,Meeks

6-Indy-George,Hill,Watson

7-Denver-Lawson,Robinson,Fournier

8-Dallas-Calderon,Ellis,Harris

9-Minny-Rubio,Martin,Barea

10-PDX-Lillard,Mathews,Williams


11-OKC
12-Golden State
13-Brooklyn
14-Wiz
21-Chicago

 

[Draco]

This is probably the one time I agree with all the Blazer lemmings

Portland and GS both deserve to be ahead of Minnesota, Dallas and Denver

Yeah it would be disappointing if our backcourt was worse than those teams. Unless Rubio becomes an all-star and Kevin Martin scores 20+ppg.

The odd thing is I feel like our forwards might be better than our guards. Heat, Spurs, OKC, Indy, Brooklyn are have superior forwards; Aldridge and Batum pair are probably better than Dallas, Clips, or Bulls so that would make our forwards the 6th best group.

Don't see how people could think we are only a borderline playoff team. Either I'm way overrating our players or this Blazer team is flying far under the radar. One reason I'm very excited for this season; either this team shocks a lot of the league and wins a good amount of games. Or they disappoint and management begins blowing up a few things to retool or rebuild. Should be fireworks one way or the other.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

This is probably the one time I agree with all the Blazer lemmings

Portland and GS both deserve to be ahead of Minnesota, Dallas and Denver

Golden state especially. If they're considering paul George part of Indy's backcourt, then Iguodala should be part of the Warriors'. Curry/Iggy/Thompson should be top three at worst.

 

[Draco]

My backcourt ranks:

4-Clippers-CP3,Crawford,Reddick
12-Golden State
13-Brooklyn
2-San Antonio-Ginobli,Parker,Green
6-Indy-George,Hill,Watson
11-OKC
10-PDX-Lillard,Mathews,Williams
3-Miami-Wade,Chalmers,Allen
1-Houston-Lin,Harden,Beverly
21-Chicago
9-Minny-Rubio,Martin,Barea
5-Lakers-Kobe,Nash,Meeks
7-Denver-Lawson,Robinson,Fournier
8-Dallas-Calderon,Ellis,Harris
14-Wiz

Wow I really don’t understand how ESPN can come up with theirs. Miami is very average overall team without Lebron. If you had switched him with the best player on any other playoff team LeBron wins the title. Lin and Beverly are poor rotational players. Harden is a stud but so is Derrick Rose. Kobe hasn’t been one of the elite NBA players for half a decade.

 

[Rhal]

WARP is such a wierd stat. When it comes into play it always seems to not coincide with the "eye test" .
I personally disagree with these rankings but they are based not on that guys personal opinion but on WARP.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Pinwheel1]

Can't say I am overly impressed by anyone's back court. I mean there are some good ones, but not much separation from the pack. I agree with those who think GS's should be near the top.

I would think Cleveland's would be up there too. They must not think much of Waiters. But Irving and CJ Miles might be decent. (With Jack in the mix)

Bottom line for me: The Blazers are not far behind

 

[Masbee]

Don't see how Rockets could be #1. Harden is not the best guard in the NBA and Lin is a below average starting PG. Clippers, Warriors, Nets are all much better.

Who, pray tell, is better than Harden?

At this point, I would put Harden just about even with (a healthy) CP3.

 

[Masbee]

Golden state especially. If they're considering paul George part of Indy's backcourt, then Iguodala should be part of the Warriors'. Curry/Iggy/Thompson should be top three at worst.

George is a SF. Don't know why they have him in the guard list.

 

[santeesioux]

How is old ass Nash and broken down, also old ass, injured Kobe in the top ten?

 

[Draco]

Can't say I am overly impressed by anyone's back court. I mean there are some good ones, but not much separation from the pack. I agree with those who think GS's should be near the top.

I would think Cleveland's would be up there too. They must not think much of Waiters. But Irving and CJ Miles might be decent. (With Jack in the mix)

Bottom line for me: The Blazers are not far behind

Ahh I did forget about Cleveland. Irving is a stud I'd probably rank them 11th or so.

 

[Draco]

Who, pray tell, is better than Harden?

At this point, I would put Harden just about even with (a healthy) CP3.

Well you could make a great case for Harden. But he hasn't performed well in the playoffs. I'd rather have Steph Curry, CP3 or Tony Parker. Deron, Westbrook, Rose, Rondo, Wade, Irving are all similarly talented. The difference is most of those players have superior sidekicks in the backcourt. Harden isn't a superstar talent like LeBron or Durant that on his own can elevate his teams talent above the rest of the field.

 

[Boob-No-More]

The Lakers #5 ranking is 100% dependent on two very old players remaining healthy all season - like they couldn't do last year.

BNM

 

[illmatic99]

Kobe hasn’t been one of the elite NBA players for half a decade.

I hate the guy as much as any other respecting POR fan, but this is straight wrong.

 

[THE HCP]

The laker hate around here cracks me up sometimes. It clouds common sense. You are saying that THIS player hasn't been one of the better players in the NBA over the past 5 seasons? #PLEASEGETTHEFUCKOUTOFHERE

 

[Draco]

I hate the guy as much as any other respecting POR fan, but this is straight wrong.

Gasol and Bynum a few years ago were the best big man tandem in the NBA. Lamar Odom wasn't hitting the crack pipe yet, he was one of the most versatile talents winning 6th man awards. Phil Jackson was coaching. Many guards could have won a title when paired with that group. Kobe was definitely an all-star but he was not a top 5 NBA player. He is living off his past reputation. He's got defensive team votes for the last decade while being far below average on that end of the court. He has chocked in the clutch of multiple playoff games, to have guys like Artest bail him out. Dwight Howard, LeBron, Dirk, Durant and CP3 have been more valuable on the court for many years now. Kobe is in the next rung of talents with guys like Melo; still very good but he has not been a top5 player for a long time.

 

[BlazerBeav]

I hate the guy as much as any other respecting POR fan, but this is straight wrong.

He still gets the calls of an elite player - and they can set him apart from the rest.

 

[Boob-No-More]

Gasol and Bynum a few years ago were the best big man tandem in the NBA. Lamar Odom wasn't hitting the crack pipe yet, he was one of the most versatile talents winning 6th man awards. Phil Jackson was coaching. Many guards could have won a title when paired with that group. Kobe was definitely an all-star but he was not a top 5 NBA player. He is living off his past reputation. He's got defensive team votes for the last decade while being far below average on that end of the court. He has chocked in the clutch of multiple playoff games, to have guys like Artest bail him out. Dwight Howard, LeBron, Dirk, Durant and CP3 have been more valuable on the court for many years now. Kobe is in the next rung of talents with guys like Melo; still very good but he has not been a top5 player for a long time.

So, are there only 5 "elite" players in the league at any one time?

BTW, over the last five seasons (half a decade). Kobe Bryant has scored 9998 points. Only Durant (10,634) and LeBron (10,392) have scored more. Wade is 4th, but he's more than 1000 points behind Kobe. Melo is 5th, over 1400 points behind Kobe and Dirk is 6th, over 2000 points behind Kobe.

Here's a list of all players that have scored 5000, or more, points over the last 5 seasons. Nice to see LaMarcus Aldridge at #8.

Not sure how you define "elite", but I'd say the guy who is third in scoring, has won two rings and is the two-time finals MVP in the last five seasons qualifies. If you look accomplishments over the past half decade, I'd say LeBron (scored slightly more, also has two rings and two finals MVPs) is the only player who has accomplished more. Durant has scored more, but has zero rings to show for it. Wade has two rings over that span, but is clearly the 2nd banana on his own team.

I hate the prick, but history is on his side in this case. His accomplishments speak for themselves.

BNM

 

[Boob-No-More]

Of course, I know there is more to being an "elite" player than scoring.

Kobe is also 17th in total assists over the last 5 seasons. LeBron, Wade and Andre Iguodala are the only other non-PGs in the top 20.

He's also 58th in total rebounds, highest of any guard.

He ranks 7th overall in PER over the last five seasons, trailing only LeBron, DWade, CP3, Durant, Dwight Howard and Tim Duncan.

There have been only three players over the last five seasons that have scored > 8000 points, handed out > 1500 assists and grabbed > 1500 rebounds. They are LeBron, Kobe and DWade.

Last season, at the age of 34, Kobe was only one of two players in the entire NBA to score over 2000 points hand out over 400 assists and grab over 400 rebounds. The other was LeBron.

Still sounds pretty "elite" to me.

And, I still hate him...

BNM

 

[SlyPokerDog]

The laker hate around here cracks me up sometimes. It clouds common sense. You are saying that THIS player hasn't been one of the better players in the NBA over the past 5 seasons? #PLEASEGETTHEFUCKOUTOFHERE

It's my right and privilege as a Blazer fan not to have any common sense when it applies to the Lakers, their players and their fans, and to hate them openly and most passionately.

 

[KeepOnRollin]

The Blazers posted this on their facebook page:

With the caption; "Is there a better trio of guards in the West?"

 

[Boob-No-More]

The Blazers posted this on their facebook page:

With the caption; "Is there a better trio of guards in the West?"

Yeah, there is. The Clippers with CP3, Crawford and Reddick. Still, we are at least in the conversation for one of the top 5 guard rotations in the West.

BNM

 

[handiman]

Yeah, there is. The Clippers with CP3, Crawford and Reddick.

I'm not sure that's clear cut. Mo is a bit better than Crawford, Wes is a bit better than Reddick, and I don't think CP3 is enough better than Lillard to make that an easy call.

 

[Draco]

I'm not sure that's clear cut. Mo is a bit better than Crawford, Wes is a bit better than Reddick, and I don't think CP3 is enough better than Lillard to make that an easy call.

Hmmm maybe this what mediocre man was talking about. The Blazers have the best guards in the NBA hahaha

 

[dviss1]

Golden state especially. If they're considering paul George part of Indy's backcourt, then Iguodala should be part of the Warriors'. Curry/Iggy/Thompson should be top three at worst.

I think Iggy will start at SF. We'll see how that works out though. GSW may want to start Barnes.

 

[Boob-No-More]

I'm not sure that's clear cut. Mo is a bit better than Crawford, Wes is a bit better than Reddick, and I don't think CP3 is enough better than Lillard to make that an easy call.

Seriously?

CP3 alone makes their backcourt better than ours. I LOVE Lillard, am thrilled we drafted him and think he had a GREAT rookie season, but he's not even close to the same class as CP3 at this point. CP3 had a PER = 26.4 last season. That was 3rd highest in the league, trailing only LeBron and Durant and a full 10 points higher than Lillard. And, PER isn't a true measure of Chris Paul's value. It's amazing that a player who only averaged 16.9 ppg had such a high PER (as PER heavily favors scoring). Paul's true value is that he makes his teammates better. HUGE advantage Clippers.

I love Mo Williams and think he was a great pick up. However, Jamal Crawford averaged 16.5 ppg and had a PER = 16.8 coming off the bench for the 56 win Clippers while Mo Williams averaged 12.9 ppg with a PER = 14.4 as a starter for the 43 win Jazz. Advantage Crawford.

Not that it really matters at this point, but I'll call Reddick (PER = 14.7) vs. Matthews (PER = 14.1) a tie. Advantage no one.

The Clippers 3 guard rotation is definitely an entire level better than the Blazers. But again, ours is MUCH better than it was a year ago. So, I'm happy we are moving in the right direction.

BNM

 

[handiman]

Play a 3-on-3 tournament between the two back courts and I think you'd find that the stats don't tell the whole story.

 

[magnifier661]

Who, pray tell, is better than Harden?

At this point, I would put Harden just about even with (a healthy) CP3.

Harden is the best 2 in the NBA right now. Even better than Kobe.