RealGM Top 25 Player Poll-#14 2022-23 TIEBREAKER!

[ElectricMayhem]

Ties abound!

We had a two-way tie for 14th place (Booker & George) and a three-way tie for nominations (Irving, Garland, and Mitchell). Please choose one from each category.

[babyjax13]

v: George
I'm sorry, but he has taken worse teams to the playoffs. Phoenix with Booker and Paul > LAC with only PG.

n: Mitchell
The Jazz were a bit soulless this past season, but I think people forget that Mitchell had a dramatic improvement that he sustained even under nonideal conditions. He's one of the best scorers in the league and he can elevate his game in big moments. Assuming Kyrie remains Kyrie, Mitchell is the 'better' player in the combination of talent + availability. Garland is really excellent, but I don't think he is quite as good as the other two.

[FreeThrowLine]

Peoples dislike of Kyrie the person is clouding their judgement of Kyrie the player

This should be about the quality of basketball when they play, not how often they play or their political views. Ridiculous he’s coming last, he’s the best player on that list

[yoyoboy]

I am so confident Garland will have clearly better impact metrics than Mitchell on the same team this season. I’m not surprised people are voting Mitchell because of some of his high scoring series in the playoffs, but DG is just the player who contributes to winning games more and he has more room for improvement as well. He’s a much better playmaker than Mitchell, he’s got more off the ball ability, he’s the better defender, and I think guys like playing with him to a greater degree. Mitchell is a better pure scorer, but even then, DG scores at a slightly higher efficiency.

[MelTurpin]

Peoples dislike of Kyrie the person is clouding their judgement of Kyrie the player

This should be about the quality of basketball when they play, not how often they play or their political views. Ridiculous he’s coming last, he’s the best player on that list

How often they play has to factor into it. It did for Kawhi and AD.

Kyrie just doesn't want to play 82 games. That has to be considered as part of his value as a player.

[Jadoogar]

Peoples dislike of Kyrie the person is clouding their judgement of Kyrie the player

This should be about the quality of basketball when they play, not how often they play or their political views. Ridiculous he’s coming last, he’s the best player on that list

Nah availability matters. We dinged Kawhi and AD for injuries, you have to ding Kyrie for craziness. How do we know he won't decide to take January off again?

[longtallbrad]

George and Irving for me. I expect they still will bring most value to their teams as long they each can manage to play 55-60 games and be ready for the playoffs.

[bisme37]

Yeah I don't know how availably/durability/reliability doesn't factor into player rankings. Especially in a tie-breaker situation. We are projecting the best NBA players for the 22-23 season and you can't be one of the best in any profession if you don't actually perform the job with some regularity.

[BobbyPortisEyes]

I'm much a bigger fan of Paul George's game.. but can't bring myself to vote for the 32 year old who has played in only 54% of the games (less than Anthony Davis) the past 3 seasons.

Vote: Booker
Nominate: Irving

[Duffman100]

Peoples dislike of Kyrie the person is clouding their judgement of Kyrie the player

This should be about the quality of basketball when they play, not how often they play or their political views. Ridiculous he’s coming last, he’s the best player on that list

Nah, you have to factor in availability.

If someone plays 1 game a year, should we have them listed as a top 20 player? I'd say no.

[giberish]

Peoples dislike of Kyrie the person is clouding their judgement of Kyrie the player

This should be about the quality of basketball when they play, not how often they play or their political views. Ridiculous he’s coming last, he’s the best player on that list

Nah, you have to factor in availability.

If someone plays 1 game a year, should we have them listed as a top 20 player? I'd say no.

Agreed.

In the last 5 seasons, how many times has Kyrie been a top-25 player in terms of overall helping his team win games during the season and the playoffs?

One? Zero?

That's why I don't expect him to be a top-25 player this season (it's not like he's young where you'd expect him to be better than the past several seasons either).

This isn't (or IMO certainly shouldn't be) about who has the best 1 on 1 skills. It's about contributing to winning NBA games.

[kanersen]

Peoples dislike of Kyrie the person is clouding their judgement of Kyrie the player

This should be about the quality of basketball when they play, not how often they play or their political views. Ridiculous he’s coming last, he’s the best player on that list

Kyrie Irving the player hasn't played much of anything the last 3 years with a grand total of 103 games played largely due to his own doing. I'd argue that he doesn't even deserve to be mentioned in the top 25 in large part because being relevant should be determined by actually you know...playing basketball at a high level instead of 'potential' which at age 30, I don't know how much he actually has instead of what he is perceived to have.

Que the Simpson's mystery box gif. Amazing people still fall for it.

[cupcakesnake]

Vote: George
Nominate Garland

Booker has been more durable and more tenacious on offense. But Paul George is a way better defender and not substantially much worse than Booker offensively. I think the NBA has been overvaluing scoring 2-guards (who don't do other things at a high level) since MJ retired.

Garland I'm huge on for 2023. He's about to become the best combination of passing and shooting since Steve Nash. Jarrett Allen gives him an elite finisher, and Spidey gives him an elite perimeter threat that can play catch & shoot and keep the defense from being able to guard Garland well.

Kyrie has to show us all he's serious about NBA basketball before he deserves to be listed above any player with similar talent. Mitchell doesn't have Garland's upside as a passer (and I actually think Garland is the slightly better defender until Mitchell turns it up a notch). I think the offense will be in the hands of Garland and it will feel a bit off the credit Mitchell as being better unless some defensive gap opens.