Who's our 4th best player?

[Rastapopoulos]

I'm honestly not sure. I think it will be Collins eventually, but right now? SHOULD be Turner, if size of contract settled the issue. There's a case to be made for Aminu because of his top-20-in-the-entire-league DRPM. And if today's game settled the issue, it'd be Harkless. Your choice?

 

[Rastapopoulos]

I WANT it to be Harkless. If he could be consistent, he could be the Batum-replacement we need. (Of course, if he stayed inconsistent, he'd be a Batum-replacement in the bad way...)

 

[Strenuus]

I wanted to vote other and write you as the 4th best player for not putting Meyers on this list and trolling us.

 

[Scalma]

Turner for now.

Swanigan soon.

 

[Boise Blazer]

Nurk, he's THAT good

 

[Trackjack]

Overall game I think Turner but Harkless is closing in though. Future Collins for sure.

 

[e_blazer]

I wanted to vote other and write you as the 4th best player for not putting Meyers on this list and trolling us.

He’s always there, even if it’s camouflaged:

1. Evan Turner
2. Mo Harkless
3. Caleb Swanigan
4. Zach Collins
5. Al-Farouq Aminu
6. Ed _avis

 

[rotary111]

It's gonna vary from game to game, or maybe week to week and that's a good thing! Hark and Turner will be good, but I think Zach and Caleb will take it from time to time.

Can we just start the season now?

I voted Hark for the poll though.

 

[KingSpeed]

It's Aminu. Not close. We were awful without him last season. He is severely underrated. We played one must win game last season. Aminu showed up big.

 

[ripcityboy]

Harkless is separating himself from the rest of the pack. I think the upcoming few weeks will show major improvement.

 

[Schilly]

I think Collins is better than Swanigan right now but the hype has been about Caleb.

 

[theprunetang]

This is a tough call, and that is a good thing. We have 3 star level players and the rest of the guys (aside from scrubs and the Elf on the shelf) all offer something. I went with Harkless in the poll because of his 2 way status. He will certainly never be a star, but he provides offense and defense. Like @Scalma noticed, Moe's post game is starting to look legit and that was a point of emphasis for him in the off-season. It is showing. I didn't get to watch the Clips game, but he was everywhere on defense during the Toronto game. I couldn't count how many deflections he caused during that game. Hopefully he can match or better his 3 point shooting from last season.

Both of the rookies look really good for the inexperience and youth, and either one of then could grow into being the 4th best on the team, but they aren't there yet. Caleb needs to work on lateral movement on defense and add a couple of crafty moves in the post to prevent getting stuffed. Collins has great defensive instincts but needs work on limiting fouls on defense and slowing down on offense. He hasn't quite figured out how to use his arsenal of post moves on taller nba defenders.

 

[Natebishop3]

Right now I think our top 5 are:

Dame
CJ
Nurk
Harkless
Collins

And.... that would be my starting five.

 

[Boise Blazer]

4th best is different than 4th most valuable but setting that aside given equal minutes I bet Collins would be the 4th best. I don't know if he will get those minutes right away but hopefully he will by the end of the year.

 

[theprunetang]

Right now I think our top 5 are:

Dame
CJ
Nurk
Harkless
Collins

And.... that would be my starting five.

That's my starting 5 as well. I like Caleb's hustle, offensive game, and rebounding off of the bench. Our starting line-up has enough offensive punch.

 

[illmatic99]

Talent wise, it's ET. But when you consider fit and chemistry, it's Moe. I just wish Moe would bring his effort consistently. He has so much physical ability to be more than what he is.

 

[BrianFromWA]

this is a great question for us. But I feel that for most of the country, they see the rankings like this...

 

[rotary111]

this is a great question for us. But I feel that for most of the country, they see the rankings like this...

The "Round Mound of P Town!"

 

[OSUBlazerfan]

What am I missing? How can people really say ET is the 4th best player? Wasn't he atrocious last year? I think he's like the 7th best player on the team.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

What am I missing? How can people really say ET is the 4th best player? Wasn't he atrocious last year? I think he's like the 7th best player on the team.

I think the argument is that he has a lot of skills/talent, but isn't necessarily the best fit on this squad, so while he might actually be the 4th-best player on the team, he can't show it effectively in these surroundings.

Definitely not an argument I'd make, but it is an argument...

 

[e_blazer]

Does it matter who the 4th-best player is? I'd say our 4th through 7th or 8th are all pretty equal in terms of what they bring to the team. I think that's probably a good thing.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

I'm honestly not sure. I think it will be Collins eventually, but right now? SHOULD be Turner, if size of contract settled the issue. There's a case to be made for Aminu because of his top-20-in-the-entire-league DRPM. And if today's game settled the issue, it'd be Harkless. Your choice?

I'm really not sure either, and I think the definition of the question is at issue as well. Are we saying, "Which player outside of the big 3..."

• ...would be most capable of leading his own team? (Napier?)
• ...will be most productive on this squad? (Harkless?)
• ...has the best overall combination of skills? (Turner?)
• ...will probably have the best career? (Collins?)
• ...is most likely to contribute to a team's victories? (Aminu?)
• ...is best suited to be a starter (this season) on a contender? (Swanigan?)

I think it's arguable that you could have a different answer for each of these, and any of those answers would be debatable.

 

[OSUBlazerfan]

I think the argument is that he has a lot of skills/talent, but isn't necessarily the best fit on this squad, so while he might actually be the 4th-best player on the team, he can't show it effectively in these surroundings.

Definitely not an argument I'd make, but it is an argument...

I mean, lets be honest, he was pretty trash for the Celtics too, so maybe he's the piece that doesn't fit, not the team

 

[rotary111]

ET's skills should fit really well with Nurkic in the lineup. He very well could become the distributor and playmaker we need, making him the 4th best player...possibly. I know it's a stretch. But I don't know if we HAVE to have a legitimate 4th best.

Deeper is better. Say's Mrs HCP.

Dammit! Sorry HCP, I don't have enough posts to make that comment.

 

[Natebishop3]

The "Round Mound of P Town!"

Dude.... that's money.

 

[Denny Crane]

this is a great question for us. But I feel that for most of the country, they see the rankings like this...

 

[Pinwheel1]

I mean, lets be honest, he was pretty trash for the Celtics too, so maybe he's the piece that doesn't fit, not the team

Are you serious with this? I am pretty sure Brad Stevens would disagree with that. Top 5 in the 6th man of the year vote might not be that impressive, but if you read any of the articles when he was a Celtic, you would know that he was not viewed as "trash" by them.

 

[Denny Crane]

Are you serious with this? I am pretty sure Brad Stevens would disagree with that. Top 5 in the 6th man of the year vote might not be that impressive, but if you read any of the articles when he was a Celtic, you would know that he was not viewed as "trash" by them.

I mentioned in the Zach Lowe thread that ET had his worst PER since 2012-13 season for us. He's certainly not "trash" but he does need to be used properly and find his niche here. I have no doubt he's a really good player.

 

[handiman]

Does it matter who the 4th-best player is? I'd say our 4th through 7th or 8th are all pretty equal in terms of what they bring to the team. I think that's probably a good thing.

So, you're saying our roster is a mirror image of the Western Conference?

 

[OSUBlazerfan]

Are you serious with this? I am pretty sure Brad Stevens would disagree with that. Top 5 in the 6th man of the year vote might not be that impressive, but if you read any of the articles when he was a Celtic, you would know that he was not viewed as "trash" by them.

Career high 13.6 PER... yea, he's really good.