Rank our starters.

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Schilly

Schilly

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Just curious how people think our starters ranks per position compared to the rest of the NBA.

Example
Damian top 3 PG
Lamarcus top 3 PF
Batum top 15 SF
Wes top 8 SG
Rolo top 10 C

I think overall our starters rank pretty well individually. Batum has really slipped for me this year but on the flip side Wes has climbed.
 
The odd thing to look at is the WS and DWS. The players are crazy low, yet the team is extremely high in wins, efficiency and defense. It just proves our team isn't about individual stats, but "team oriented"
 
yeah, i wouldn't worry too much about individual win shares or rankings. we're like the spurs - our players have willingly become a part of a system designed around the sum being worth more than the individual parts, not unlike the seattle seahawks (another paul allen joint). yes lamarcus is probably the best PF in the league and yes damian is a top 5 PG, but that doesn't mean squat. this team is about championships, and because of that, they might not get the big headlines now... but they'll invariably go down as legends.
 
StumptownHoliday said:
yeah, i wouldn't worry too much about individual win shares or rankings. we're like the spurs - our players have willingly become a part of a system designed around the sum being worth more than the individual parts, not unlike the seattle seahawks (another paul allen joint). yes lamarcus is probably the best PF in the league and yes damian is a top 5 PG, but that doesn't mean squat. this team is about championships, and because of that, they might not get the big headlines now... but they'll invariably go down as legends.
Click to expand...

Well said bro!
 
Lillard #4 (Parker, Curry, Cp3)
LaMarcus #2 (Duncan)
Batum #5 (James, Durant, Leonard, Pierce)
Wes #4 (Wade, Harden, George)
Rolo Top 15.

I tried to factor in playoff performance, historical value, and current performance. I didn't give this hours of thought and I'm sure I would make amendments with more consideration.

It's hard to rate rolo and a lot of the guys because of the way the team plays. I don't think rolo would look nearly as good as he does outside of the system. It's hard to rank these guys because the system makes them look good. I either ranked Wes too high or too low. I hope I don't have to find out the answer to that because it would require him to leave Portland. For the sake of the ratings I think Wes would be a better #1 option than Harden but had to give harden the nod because of how much he does for his team.

Everyone forgets about the Spurs players and while it might not be the case right now Duncan is one of the best PFs to ever play the game. Likewise you have to look at how big TP has been for the Spurs in the playoffs when they have won the championship.

Likewise with Wade. He has shown he is big when it matters.
 
Fonzthecpt1 said:
Lillard #4 (Parker, Curry, Cp3)
LaMarcus #2 (Duncan)
Batum #5 (James, Durant, Leonard, Pierce)
Wes #4 (Wade, Harden, George)
Rolo Top 15.

I tried to factor in playoff performance, historical value, and current performance. I didn't give this hours of thought and I'm sure I would make amendments with more consideration.

It's hard to rate rolo and a lot of the guys because of the way the team plays. I don't think rolo would look nearly as good as he does outside of the system. It's hard to rank these guys because the system makes them look good. I either ranked Wes too high or too low. I hope I don't have to find out the answer to that because it would require him to leave Portland. For the sake of the ratings I think Wes would be a better #1 option than Harden but had to give harden the nod because of how much he does for his team.

Everyone forgets about the Spurs players and while it might not be the case right now Duncan is one of the best PFs to ever play the game. Likewise you have to look at how big TP has been for the Spurs in the playoffs when they have won the championship.

Likewise with Wade. He has shown he is big when it matters.
Click to expand...

There ain't no arguments from me about Duncan being the best ever. And seriously look at the history of the league. There aren't many "PFs being the #1 option and the team wins multiple championships".

I don't know if I can say he's the best currently, because he's so much older. He's still the smartest, most fundamental player now though. I just don't think his body is allowing him to dominate like he's done in the past.
 
the sum is greater than the pretty great parts, but yeah

TOP 1
 
StumptownHoliday said:
yeah, i wouldn't worry too much about individual win shares or rankings. we're like the spurs - our players have willingly become a part of a system designed around the sum being worth more than the individual parts, not unlike the seattle seahawks (another paul allen joint). yes lamarcus is probably the best PF in the league and yes damian is a top 5 PG, but that doesn't mean squat. this team is about championships, and because of that, they might not get the big headlines now... but they'll invariably go down as legends.
Click to expand...

Let's get that first one. But I totally agree with your reply.

We'll see sooner than later just how special this system is and the effects of it on the players running it.
 
magnifier661 said:
There ain't no arguments from me about Duncan being the best ever. And seriously look at the history of the league. There aren't many "PFs being the #1 option and the team wins multiple championships".

I don't know if I can say he's the best currently, because he's so much older. He's still the smartest, most fundamental player now though. I just don't think his body is allowing him to dominate like he's done in the past.
Click to expand...

I don't think he is. LA is the top PF in the league IMO.
 
magnifier661 said:
I do too, but I try not saying it too much. He's my favorite player ever, so my homerism may through my judgement. AD is making a strong case though
Click to expand...
AD is #3 in my book and he might be #1 before aldridge retires.
 
magnifier661 said:
I do too, but I try not saying it too much. He's my favorite player ever, so my homerism may through my judgement. AD is making a strong case though
Click to expand...

I still see AD as a center. He plays more like a center.

And I'm not the only that feels that way.
 
OneLifeToLive said:
I still see AD as a center. He plays more like a center.

And I'm not the only that feels that way.
Click to expand...

The current NBA doesn't have many centers. But if we are talking about centers, AD and Boogie are #1 and #2. Then I would put Robin Lopez 3rd.

Edit: Wtf was I thinking?!?!

1.) AD
2.) Gasol
3.) Howard
4.) Boogie
5.) That guy from Toronto that owned us in the post last night
6.) Robin Lopez
 
Last edited:
Lillard = Top 10
Wes = Top 5
Nic = Top 5
LMA = Top 10
Rolo = Top 10
 
blue9 said:
Lillard = Top 10
Wes = Top 5
Nic = Top 5
LMA = Top 10
Rolo = Top 10
Click to expand...
You sure about LMA's ranking? Might be a little high for an inefficient jumpshooter.
 
PtldPlatypus said:
You sure about LMA's ranking? Might be a little high for an inefficient jumpshooter.
Click to expand...

Seems about right. Didn't actually put deep thought into who ranks ahead of each of our players, so there might be a +/- of a couple spots.
 
Lillard is 4th on average, but #1 in crunch time.
Aldridge is 1st. No buts, no cuts, no coconuts.
Batum is probably 15th to 29 other teams but he does exactly what we need.
Lopez is 1st in the area we need from him: rim protection
Matthews is probably 3rd or 4th, but again, tops in his role: 3 and D.

That's why we are so successful: the starters have roles and they are really, really good at those roles.
 
That's it totally this team is a sum of the parts but the players in their rolls have each arisen pretty high in individual value. Wes and Roll in particular.
 
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This doesn't directly answer the question, but look at the point guards for potential playoff teams in the West. Current order:

Golden State - Curry/Livingston
Portland - Lillard
Memphis - Conley
Houston - Beverly
Dallas - Rondo
LA Clippers - Paul
San Antonio - Parker/Mills
Phoenix - Dragic/Bledsoe/Thomas
New Orleans - Holiday
Oklahoma City - Westbrook/Jackson

I feel confident in Lillard going up against anyone at this point, but it's tough to get a clear advantage with any of those match-ups. Beverly is the weak link, being the only one that hasn't garnered all-star consideration, but he's also the guy you least want defending you.
 
StumptownHoliday said:
yeah, i wouldn't worry too much about individual win shares or rankings. we're like the spurs - our players have willingly become a part of a system designed around the sum being worth more than the individual parts, not unlike the seattle seahawks (another paul allen joint). yes lamarcus is probably the best PF in the league and yes damian is a top 5 PG, but that doesn't mean squat. this team is about championships, and because of that, they might not get the big headlines now... but they'll invariably go down as legends.
Click to expand...

Mmm, not really. The Blazers are far more reliant on their top two players than the Spurs are with theirs.

The Spurs can take teams down to the wire using only second/third stringers. Can you really picture the Blazers doing that?
 
handiman said:
This doesn't directly answer the question, but look at the point guards for potential playoff teams in the West. Current order:

Golden State - Curry/Livingston
Portland - Lillard
Memphis - Conley
Houston - Beverly
Dallas - Rondo
LA Clippers - Paul
San Antonio - Parker/Mills
Phoenix - Dragic/Bledsoe/Thomas
New Orleans - Holiday
Oklahoma City - Westbrook/Jackson

I feel confident in Lillard going up against anyone at this point, but it's tough to get a clear advantage with any of those match-ups. Beverly is the weak link, being the only one that hasn't garnered all-star consideration, but he's also the guy you least want defending you.
Click to expand...

Dude if you are going to put patty mills then you have to include Steve blake. Screw it, you need to include blake regardless, dude is straight up ballin for us this year!
 
BlazerCaravan said:
Lillard is 4th on average, but #1 in crunch time.
Aldridge is 1st. No buts, no cuts, no coconuts.
Batum is probably 15th to 29 other teams but he does exactly what we need.
Lopez is 1st in the area we need from him: rim protection
Matthews is probably 3rd or 4th, but again, tops in his role: 3 and D.

That's why we are so successful: the starters have roles and they are really, really good at those roles.
Click to expand...

Agreed with this 100%. So much of our success is based upon fit. For as much as people complain about Batum, it's not like getting a 20+ppg scorer at SF would make much sense for our team. I'm not a big fan of Batum, but he does fit well. With that said, flipping him for multiple reliable bench options would be reasonable to me. Not saying it should happen, but would be reasonable.

With that said, my rankings based off of average performance thus far (not peak or potential or individual 1v1s):
Lillard: Top 3 (Curry's having an amazing season, Westbrook/Paul are also doing damage)
Matthews: Top 5 (My favorite player in the league, homer goggles aside there are few more valuable at SG)
Batum: Top 15 (weak position, inconsistent performances thus far this year)
Aldridge: Top 2 (depends on where you slot Davis)
Lopez: Top 8 (I value his defense and ability to be in the game in crunch time more than most I think)
 
LameR said:
Agreed with this 100%. So much of our success is based upon fit. For as much as people complain about Batum, it's not like getting a 20+ppg scorer at SF would make much sense for our team. I'm not a big fan of Batum, but he does fit well. With that said, flipping him for multiple reliable bench options would be reasonable to me. Not saying it should happen, but would be reasonable.

With that said, my rankings based off of average performance thus far (not peak or potential or individual 1v1s):
Lillard: Top 3 (Curry's having an amazing season, Westbrook/Paul are also doing damage)
Matthews: Top 5 (My favorite player in the league, homer goggles aside there are few more valuable at SG)
Batum: Top 15 (weak position, inconsistent performances thus far this year)
Aldridge: Top 2 (depends on where you slot Davis)
Lopez: Top 8 (I value his defense and ability to be in the game in crunch time more than most I think)
Click to expand...

I think Batum is an important piece to our puzzle. I'm not concerned about his points, but the efficiency and aggressiveness. He's gotta be at least a 35% three point shooter.
 
I'm ranking in simpler fashion here
1. Lamarcus
2. Dame
3. Wes
4. Rolo
5. Nico
 
Fonzthecpt1 said:
Dude if you are going to put patty mills then you have to include Steve blake. Screw it, you need to include blake regardless, dude is straight up ballin for us this year!
Click to expand...

I knew someone would mention Blake, but I was trying to stay true to the spirit of the our starters thread and just list all the guys Lillard will have to face in the playoffs. Let's not forget, Mills played like an all-star in last year's championship run.
 
All of them have greater trade values than what we used to get them.
 
Lillard Top 3
Wes Top 5
Batum Top 15
LMA Top 2
Lopez Top 10
 
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