Most Overrated and Underrated Players on Your Team

[yoyoboy]

I'm interested to see what fans have to say about certain guys on their favorite team. Which players do you think outside fans don't appreciate enough, and which guys do you think they tend to overrate, whom you and others in your fanbase are less fond of? I think this thread could be informative because we don't get the chance to watch a lot of other teams, except for when they play our own.

I'll go first. In order..

Cleveland Cavaliers

Overrated:
1. Timofey Mozgov - He's been utterly useless this year. I think a lot of people still see him as the same guy who "turned around our defense" last year, but for one, he's regressed tremendously on both ends, especially on offense where he no longer seems capable of catching a ball; and two, I think it's looking more like Shumpert and JR's perimeter defense, along with LeBron and Kyrie giving more effort on that end in the second half of the year, were all just as valuable as Mozgov's defensive contributions, if not more so, considering we've been able to maintain our defensive efficiency since last season despite Mozgov not doing much.
2. Mo Williams - I've seen quite a few people mention him as a solid player off the bench and a quality backup PG. Make no mistake, this guy's atrocious defense takes away any offensive impact he may have on any given night. If his shot isn't money, he can't play because he'll give up layup lines all game long. Delly is infinitely better as a backup, and his play has fortunately caused Mo to basically become glued to the bench.
3. LeBron James - I'm taking a different approach here, because while I don't think LeBron is overrated while taking a career perspective, or even in reference to the value he provides to any given team come playoff time, I believe he's overrated in the sense that people look at the Cavs' record this season and assume he's doing all the heavy lifting with little help, and if you took LeBron away, the Cavs would win like 25 games. This simply isn't true. If we're talking night in and night out performance, you just never know which LeBron you're going to get: the aggressive LeBron who dominates on both ends and reminds you how he can still play like the best player in the league, or the LeBron who passively stands in the corner instead of moving without the ball, doesn't get back on defense, and dominates the ball/makes slow decisions on the offensive end. This is the big difference between him and guys like Westbrook and Curry, who bring it every single night. Unlike LeBron in the latter Cleveland years during his last stint, plenty of our losses this season can be pinned partly on him because his effort and decision making were poor. Of course, there are also nights when he was fantastic and the other guys didn't step up, but LeBron is held to a high standard - and rightfully so.


Underrated:
1. Tristan Thompson - I think people undervalue everything he provides this Cavs team because of the lucrative $82 million contract he signed this summer. In retrospect, I think it was absolutely worth the price considering everything he brings to the table and what the Cavs would look like without him (seeing that they wouldn't have been able to sign other players anyways, being way over the cap). His ORTG this season is 127 (2nd in the league, just ahead of Curry), his RPM is +1.46, and his single-year RAPM was +2.65 in the last RAPM update January 11th, which falls at 21st in the league. And it'll probably look significantly better in the next update, because he's been playing much, much better as of late. In the first 23 games of the season he was posting: 53.6 TS%, 111 ORtg, 11.6% Offensive rebounding % (2.6 off. reb. per game). And in the last 25 games: 65.7 TS%, 139 ORtg, 15.8% Offensive rebounding % (4 off. reb. per game)... A lot of his value doesn't show up on the box score, such as his defensive versatility, with his ability to play both PF and C, along with defending guards in the PnR. And his rebounds per 36 (12.0), while good, understate his impact in that area. For one, he plays with 2 very good rebounders in James and Love, and two, he draws more under the basket loose ball fouls than anyone else I've seen. He's relentless on the offensive glass and his energy is huge for this team. Plus, he's been hitting his hook shots lately on offense and his ability to finish lobs (especially off of passes from Delly) comes in handy. Finally, he has the longest streak in the NBA for consecutive games played, at 336 straight games. That kind of durability is very valuable.
2. Matthew Dellavedova - This is another guy whose contributions can't be accurately summed up by the box score. With a +1.18, he's 13th among all PGs in RPM. His On-Off is +14.1, despite playing a lot of minutes with deadweight like Richard Jefferson, James Jones, and the underperforming Mozgov and Shumpert (to an extent). He rarely seems to throw up a negative +/- these days. His single-year RAPM was +3.29 in the last update, falling in at 13th in the entire league. His value comes in the form of the ball movement he forces, especially when LeBron and Kyrie are in their ISO phases, his fantastic decision making (great AST/TO ratio), and his pesky defense. It's also worth mentioning that the team as a whole rebounds very well with him on the floor. He's such a smart player, and he's been significantly better than Kyrie this year. Sure, that says some about Kyrie not returning fully to form yet, but I think it also shows how much Delly has come along. It's very noticeable what he provides when he misses games. We lost to Charlotte 2 days ago and ended a small 5 game winning streak, mainly because Delly couldn't play. The difference in energy and ball movement was monumental.
3. JR Smith - He gets a lot of hate, but Cavs fans really appreciate what he does for us. His spacing is really valuable, especially when LeBron drives and can trust JR to hit threes when he doesn't have a good shot opportunity, as Smith is shooting 6.3 threes a game at basically a 40% clip. Specifically, his ability to hit low percentage shots is very valuable, and I think it's something that's undervalued by a lot of NBA fans in general. A guy who can hit big shots when you're offense is struggling to get good looks is far more important than the guy who scores on the same volume/efficiency, but does it on wide open looks that could've easily been taken by any other guy. He's also been getting into the paint much more frequently, finishing with a fairly reliable floater. His RPM is at +0.83, which ranks 11th among SGs and his BPM is a solid 1.3. His RAPM is -0.11 in the last update, which is middle of the pack, but I'm willing to bet that number has improved a lot since January, considering he's been playing a lot better on both ends since then. His playing in a smaller, more defined role (with Kyrie being back and Love picking up his play) helps in that regard.

So yeah, my explanations came out a lot longer than I originally intended, but there ya go. I don't mean for this to be a discussion about the Cavs or the players I named though. Just name the guys on your team who you feel are overrated/underrated by NBA fans outside your fanbase. NOTE: Your descriptions don't have to be nearly as long as mine. Feel free to just briefly name the players if you want.

[PCProductions]

Over:

Klay: Not super reliable and is unfairly juxtaposed with Steph, making him overrated by default.

Barnes: He is not a stud who will "break out" on another team. He is a role player who excels in the role he is given here.

Hard to think of a third. I'm think Iggy simply from having been the finals MVP when it should have been Steph, but he's not wildly overrated and is a pretty well understood player, really.

Under:

Bogut: This guy really is a master of the dirty tricks. His style of play will always have him be underrated.

Livingston: He is a starting caliber PG on a normal team. Guy is a great contributor here.

Ezeli: His hands have softened and he has looked better than Bogut for a large portion of the season, which is saying a lot given the praise I just gave Bogut.

[Spintown]

Over:

Klay: Not super reliable and is unfairly juxtaposed with Steph, making him overrated by default.

Barnes: He is not a stud who will "break out" on another team. He is a role player who excels in the role he is given here.

Hard to think of a third. I'm think Iggy simply from having been the finals MVP when it should have been Steph, but he's not wildly overrated and is a pretty well understood player, really.

Under:

Bogut: This guy really is a master of the dirty tricks. His style of play will always have him be underrated.

Livingston: He is a starting caliber PG on a normal team. Guy is a great contributor here.

Ezeli: His hands have softened and he has looked better than Bogut for a large portion of the season, which is saying a lot given the praise I just gave Bogut.

iggy was rightly given the finals mvp he was the clear cut difference maker and once he was added to the starting lineup it became a wrap.

[Domejandro]

Overrated:

1. Zach LaVine: Amazing athlete, but he is not a basketball player at this point in time. He is among the worst players in the NBA.

2. Andrew Wiggins: I have no doubt in my mind he is going to be a star, he is amazingly talented; unfortunately, he is one of the lazier players I have ever seen, he needs the right coach.

3. Tyus Jones: I like Tyus, I really do, but he has to develop quite a bit. He would be better than LaVine as the back-up Point, but that is not saying much, Tyus is too weak.

Overrated by some:
1. Kevin Martin: He is negative value at this point.

Underrated:

1. Ricky Rubio: He is a top ten Point-Guard in the league when he is healthy. People knock him because of his scoring, but his defense and passing are the best in the league at his position; Minnesota only plays well when he is playing.

2. Shabazz Muhammad: He has to play with Zach LaVine, which is rough on him, but once he leaves Minnesota he will thrive.

3. Tayshaun Prince: I get frustrated given that I feel he plays too many minutes, but he is actually a very solid piece for us.

Underrated by some:
1. Karl Anthony-Towns: This one is kind of unfair given his hype, but he is already easily the team's best player, he is awesome.

[pacers33granger]

Totally agree with Thompson for the Cavs. He brings much more than most people seem to realize.

For us the underrated are:

Ellis - people seem to think he does nothing but score, but he's brought a ton more. He's not a star, but he is adequately paid.
Stuckey - basically the same thing as Ellis.


Overrated:
Budinger - he's not an NBA player, at all.
George Hill - this one is tough because I think some people still underrate him, but others have overrated him lately. He's underpaid at 8 mil, but I've seen people say he brings as much as Mike Conley, which I'd disagree with.

[jbk1234]

I agree that Delly & JR are very important to the Cavs. Perhaps you can say they're underrated. I don't think TT is overrated or underrated. He's a good role player, he's never injured, and he's a blue collar baller. If you think he's more than that, you're mistaken. If you think he's just average, you're mistaken.

I agree that Mo Williams can't defend a chair and is a streaky shooter. But he's the third string PG so I'm not sure I'd call him overrated (maybe off season fool's gold). LBJ takes plays off which is frustrating but when he's going full tilt he's still an incredible player. LBJ isn't overrated, he's just frustrating. As bad as Mozgov has been, he's still the best rim protector on the roster. There are still nights when he's the only thing between the other team and a lay up drill (as is evidenced when he doesn't play much and our defense looks like a dumpster fire). He only makes $5 million per and I can't say he's overrated. The most overrated player on the roster is the guy who consistently comes back from an injury, puts up 20 ppg and fails to make his team any better for three years running.

[ken6199]

Over: James Harden.
Under: James Harden.

This guy is such a mystery to me with magnitude of variance. On one night he can look utter trash then the next night he make you wonder 'wow how did this guy do so much?'. I never had this feeling rooting for Hakeem, Clyde, Francis, Tmac, or Yao.

[bondom34]

For OKC -

Overrated:
Augustin - was great last year, fell off a cliff this year

Kanter - that defense

Waiters by some who think that he's a decent rotation player

Underrated:
Adams - really came on offensively and improves a ton every year, just as important as Ibaka IMO

Roberson - he can't shoot, but the defensive numbers speak for themselves as does the lineup data, he makes pretty much every lineup
better

Westbrook by some - some people still think he's a chucker/doesn't pass/pounds the ball, and I can't believe it