ESPN top 100 players list

Norm2953 · Post #1 » by **Norm2953** » Tue Sep 24, 2019 6:03 pm

What does everyone think about the ESPN top 100 players list?

Seems nuts to me guys like Zion who haven't played one game are ranked in the top 50 players in the
league ahead of Klay Thompson (49) who was up for all NBA teams. Nurk (83) is the only Blazer
mentioned so far.

Dzon Dilindzer · Post #2 » by **Dzon Dilindzer** » Tue Sep 24, 2019 6:12 pm

nurk and klay thompson are way down due to their injuries

Norm2953 · Post #3 » by **Norm2953** » Tue Sep 24, 2019 6:20 pm

Zion played in one SL game and was out of shape and ranked one spot beyond LA who was on all NBA
teams. Those injuries to Nurk and Klay are not career threatening and they should recover fully.

It'll be interesting to see where Durant finished on the list for he's coming back from a ruptured
Achillies

BNM · Post #4 » by **BNM** » Tue Sep 24, 2019 6:56 pm

Brandon Ingram at 56 is a complete joke. Using their own prediction algorithm, they have him projected to have -.04 RPM Wins (please note the negative sign). So, they have a guy who they, themselves, expect to actually cost his team wins as the 56th best player in the entire NBA. GTFOH!!!

Wizenheimer · Post #5 » by **Wizenheimer** » Wed Sep 25, 2019 5:05 pm

what do you expect...it's ESPN

I got half of what ESPN stands for...Especially Stupid....give me the P and N

BNM · Post #6 » by **BNM** » Wed Sep 25, 2019 7:15 pm

Lol, C.J. @13. I'm a huge C.J. fan, but that's insane.

zzaj · Post #7 » by **zzaj** » Wed Sep 25, 2019 11:45 pm

Wizenheimer wrote:what do you expect...it's ESPN

I got half of what ESPN stands for...Especially Stupid....give me the P and N

Especially Supid Prat Network?

Wizenheimer · Post #8 » by **Wizenheimer** » Thu Sep 26, 2019 12:23 am

zzaj wrote:
Wizenheimer wrote:what do you expect...it's ESPN

I got half of what ESPN stands for...Especially Stupid....give me the P and N

Especially Supid Prat Network?

prat as in prattle? sure

Especially Stupid Prattle Nincompoops

JRoy · Post #9 » by **JRoy** » Thu Sep 26, 2019 5:58 am

That list is garbage.

I like CJ but 13?

There are probably 13 guards better than him.

d-train · Post #10 » by **d-train** » Thu Sep 26, 2019 8:51 pm

CJ at 13 is far from the worst ranking on that list.

The problem with these lists is there is rarely an apples to apples comparison. For example, CJ is usually the 3rd (sometimes the 2nd) option in Blazers offense. So, when you compare him to other top players in the NBA you are comparing him to players who are usually the 1st option on his team's offense. LeBron James is probably still the best NBA player and he is always the 1st offensive option on his team. Do you think LeBron would be as good a player if he was the 3rd option on his team? LeBron wouldn't be as good because he wouldn't have the opportunity to help his team as much as he can when he is the 1st option. Westbrook is going to be a different player in Houston where he isn't going to have a green light to run his team's offense. Westbrook for the first time in his career will most likely have to play off Harden rather than being his team's primary decision maker.

It's not necessarily easier to be good as a 1st option than as a 3rd option. It depends on the player and his skills. Regardless, it's always better for a player when he has good teammates. And, it's magnitudes better when a player has good teammates that understand and stay within their role. In the case of the Blazers, it's better when Lillard takes the lead and it's easier for Lillard when he plays a 2-man pick-n-roll with a big man. It's a simpler offense for Lillard to run against defenses that put a lot of pressure on the ball. That leaves CJ as Blazers 3rd offensive option. There's not many players that can get 20 good shots as their team's 3rd offensive option. CJ succeeds in the Blazers system because he is very good at getting a good shots regardless how much time is on the shot clock and how deep the team is into their offense.

How do you compare a player who is his teams 3rd option to a player who is his team's 1st option? The guy who is 3rd option might be better if he was a 1st option, but he is doing what is best for his team. The guy who is 1st option might be better if he was a 2nd or 3rd option, but he is doing what is best for his team. How do you compare a big player to a perimeter player? Big players are more dependent upon their teammates because the offense rarely starts with the ball in the big players hands.

Basically, these lists are BS. But, no more BS than when people try to compare players on different teams using statistics.

Goldbum · Post #11 » by **Goldbum** » Fri Sep 27, 2019 2:40 pm

It’s funny to me that Dame was number 9. I had him at 7. Oh well eye of the beholder I guess since I would of put CJ around 17.

DusterBuster · Post #12 » by **DusterBuster** » Fri Sep 27, 2019 10:37 pm

Top anything lists are dumb.

GreenRiddler · Post #13 » by **GreenRiddler** » Sat Sep 28, 2019 9:50 pm

Nice to see McCollum getting some respect from the media. If he is healthy and we play well I can easily see him making his debut as an all-star.

Especially with Klay out.

GreenRiddler · Post #14 » by **GreenRiddler** » Sat Sep 28, 2019 9:56 pm

People just underrated McCollum so much LeBron and KD put it well recently. In GS they have an offense that eventually you can't rely on and in the playoffs you need top end scorers that just go out there and Win you games and make something out of nothing play after play after play.

CJ does that Dame does that maybe 10-14/15 or so other players can do that in the playoffs but that's it. McCollum did that in a huge way for us in that Denver series. It's nice being on tv almost exclusively and performing very very well has got him more respect.

Post #15 » by **Moonbeam** » Mon Sep 30, 2019 10:15 pm

Surprised to see CJ up there at 13 - his big playoff moments (especially in Game 7 of the Nuggets series) must have done wonders for his reputation around the league. I'm happy for him, even if I wouldn't quite put him that high.