Did anyone see Kareem the other day when they asked him who the 5 players in the league he enjoyed watching most were and Josh Howard was on the list!!
Najera is in the top 20 as far as intangibles and hustle plays as far as I'm concerned.
That guy has more heart on the court than almost anybody I've seen play. Ronie Turiaf is another guy like that, but he's not a vet.
My team is obviously the Nuggets. But I do like the Pistons, Warriors, Bulls (although I don't really like their coach), Suns, Mavs, Wizards (when they are all healthy), and the Raptors (Bosh + Ford make a great combo).
A vet I'd like to see on the Nuggets who is not in the top 150 players in the league? Well, really, I wouldn't. I like them how they are. We have experienced vets. If I HAD to find somebody, I'd say maybe a guy like Stackhouse who can come in and produce pretty decent numbers off the bench, who can make good decisions with the ball and who can pump up the team. Another guy like this is Sam Cassell. I'm not sure if you would consider either of them top 150.
Did anyone see Kareem the other day when they asked him who the 5 players in the league he enjoyed watching most were and Josh Howard was on the list!!
U should pick up the latest SLAM magazine for the Josh Howard interview/feature.
Unfortunately for players like Najera, what they add to their teams is not really very quantifiable. He adds a TON, but can't be numerically ranked in the top because what he does simply doesn't put up numbers in many categories. Without looking at individual stats (ppg, rbg etc. which rely too heavily on player's position, offensive strategy, etc), you can get a player's "overall" rank/value by looking at some of the combination indices that are everywhere (these are all off nba.com)
I agree that EN is an incredible asset for any team, and has seemed to find a really good fit in denver, but I don't think dude is top 150, quantifiably, at least.
Unfortunately for players like Najera, what they add to their teams is not really very quantifiable. He adds a TON, but can't be numerically ranked in the top because what he does simply doesn't put up numbers in many categories. Without looking at individual stats (ppg, rbg etc. which rely too heavily on player's position, offensive strategy, etc), you can get a player's "overall" rank/value by looking at some of the combination indices that are everywhere (these are all off nba.com)
I agree that EN is an incredible asset for any team, and has seemed to find a really good fit in denver, but I don't think dude is top 150, quantifiably, at least.
I realize numbers can't tell the whole story on any player, I'm not really trying to argue for who is in/out of the top 150, I'm just saying: pick a player who doesn't put up highlights/isn't a household name, that you would like to see coming off the bench for your team and explain why. It's not an attempt to engage in number battles and semantics. I figured a thread of epic proportions like this could use some different sort of discussion outside of the "LAKERS/SUNS/KOBE/RAJA SUCKS/WARRIORS CAN DO IT!/WHY YOU ALL HATIN' ON THE MAVS?" direction it's had in the last 15 pages or so. Actually, I'd really like to see Yuichi do the "pick a player" thing.
I agree that EN is an incredible asset for any team, and has seemed to find a really good fit in denver, but I don't think dude is top 150, quantifiably, at least.
Najera is in the top 20 as far as intangibles and hustle plays as far as I'm concerned.
It's hard to say that the stats actually do lie, but in Eddie's case, I really think he is an exception to the statistical rule of being a top player. He will fuck around and score 25 points in a game off the bench in like 30 minutes. But he only plays where he is needed, and on the Nuggets, for instance, they don't need Najera to score 25 points every night. He gets in where he fits in and I think a lot of the time it is just that grimy, hard work in the paint that he is so great at but doesn't get statistic credit for. He is really powerful under the basket and gets a fair amount of put backs and tip outs. He can force turnovers, steal, pass, etc. Dude is nice with it.
I realize numbers can't tell the whole story on any player, I'm not really trying to argue for who is in/out of the top 150, I'm just saying: pick a player who doesn't put up highlights/isn't a household name, that you would like to see coming off the bench for your team and explain why. It's not an attempt to engage in number battles and semantics. I figured a thread of epic proportions like this could use some different sort of discussion outside of the "LAKERS/SUNS/KOBE/RAJA SUCKS/WARRIORS CAN DO IT!/WHY YOU ALL HATIN' ON THE MAVS?" direction it's had in the last 15 pages or so. Actually, I'd really like to see Yuichi do the "pick a player" thing.
Wow. Thank you. I never thought I'd be commissioned to speak.
The last name I was really talking about was Deron Williams. But that's only because I happened to catch 3 Utah games within a week. It's really hard to speak on ONE individual player for me, unless I watch a substantial amount of games. Much easier for me to talk about teams. (uhh mainly West)
But one player that's sent an alarm against the Lakers this season is Linas Kleiza. 22 year old on the Nuggets, originally out of Lithuania apparently. Does anyone know if he was on the World Championship squad??? Cuz Lithuania was straight from long range. Anyway, this dude can shoot. Athletic for a 6'8" guy, and if he improves his all-around game, he has the potential to be the next Euro NBA star.
Kleiza already has a better all-around game than Peja (although that's not saying much). These are really exciting times for the NBA and pro-sports in general. A lot of international players coming into the U.S. leagues. I for one can dig it. U.S. players better step their game up.
I realize numbers can't tell the whole story on any player, I'm not really trying to argue for who is in/out of the top 150, I'm just saying: pick a player who doesn't put up highlights/isn't a household name, that you would like to see coming off the bench for your team and explain why. It's not an attempt to engage in number battles and semantics. I figured a thread of epic proportions like this could use some different sort of discussion outside of the "LAKERS/SUNS/KOBE/RAJA SUCKS/WARRIORS CAN DO IT!/WHY YOU ALL HATIN' ON THE MAVS?" direction it's had in the last 15 pages or so. Actually, I'd really like to see Yuichi do the "pick a player" thing.
Wow. Thank you. I never thought I'd be commissioned to speak.
The last name I was really talking about was Deron Williams. But that's only because I happened to catch 3 Utah games within a week. It's really hard to speak on ONE individual player for me, unless I watch a substantial amount of games. Much easier for me to talk about teams. (uhh mainly West)
Dude, he should've been Utah's second Allstar--he is not a secret.
I realize numbers can't tell the whole story on any player, I'm not really trying to argue for who is in/out of the top 150, I'm just saying: pick a player who doesn't put up highlights/isn't a household name, that you would like to see coming off the bench for your team and explain why. It's not an attempt to engage in number battles and semantics. I figured a thread of epic proportions like this could use some different sort of discussion outside of the "LAKERS/SUNS/KOBE/RAJA SUCKS/WARRIORS CAN DO IT!/WHY YOU ALL HATIN' ON THE MAVS?" direction it's had in the last 15 pages or so. Actually, I'd really like to see Yuichi do the "pick a player" thing.
Wow. Thank you. I never thought I'd be commissioned to speak.
The last name I was really talking about was Deron Williams. But that's only because I happened to catch 3 Utah games within a week. It's really hard to speak on ONE individual player for me, unless I watch a substantial amount of games. Much easier for me to talk about teams. (uhh mainly West)
Dude, he should've been Utah's second Allstar--he is not a secret.
oh no doubt. But at the beginning of the season, it was like watching Dwyane Wade in his second year. Nobody (except maybe the Utah staff) was expecting him to be THAT good. So I was like "why aren't dudes here talking about this dude?"
Did anyone see Kareem the other day when they asked him who the 5 players in the league he enjoyed watching most were and Josh Howard was on the list!!
U should pick up the latest SLAM magazine for the Josh Howard interview/feature.
Haven't read it yet, but the Dallas Observer had an amazing article on #5 about a month back. Josh is really a special cat and a fantastic young player.
uh: efficiency 63rd ranked this season (16.53) and a lenovo stat of +42? (Compare it to Brown's +46, Turiaf's +23, and Bynum's -100 to compare Shaq to Laker bigs, which, call me crazy, but I think you'd put in the top 150 in the league ) I'll admit, his fantasy rank is 200th in the league, but I think that says more about what it takes to win in the East than if Shaq is in the top 150. I mean c'mon, that's nearly a 1/3 of all the players in the league. He's at least in the top 33%. The more I look into it, I like the Lenovo Stat for this sort of thing (figuring out who the top 150 are). The player combo stats are pretty cool too.
Did anyone see Kareem the other day when they asked him who the 5 players in the league he enjoyed watching most were and Josh Howard was on the list!!
U should pick up the latest SLAM magazine for the Josh Howard interview/feature.
Haven't read it yet, but the Dallas Observer had an amazing article on #5 about a month back. Josh is really a special cat and a fantastic young player.
What did you think of the SLAM piece, Batmon?
I just skimmed it, but you know the usual stuff. "He's our glue." He shoulda got the cover.
Did anyone see Kareem the other day when they asked him who the 5 players in the league he enjoyed watching most were and Josh Howard was on the list!!
U should pick up the latest SLAM magazine for the Josh Howard interview/feature.
Haven't read it yet, but the Dallas Observer had an amazing article on #5 about a month back. Josh is really a special cat and a fantastic young player.
What did you think of the SLAM piece, Batmon?
I just skimmed it, but you know the usual stuff. "He's our glue." He shoulda got the cover.
Oh okay. I thought maybe it went more into his youth and some of the ish he went through.
This article is good for anyone who is interested:
Someone who can clog the middle and add five more fouls to the Dampier/Diop equation.
Jim Beam, I've been thinking quite a bit about your query and I can't really disagree with Rock. You could throw in the Davis Broses or, ya know, Charles Oakley in that mix. (I always had dreams of Oak coming to D-Town late in his career to be an enforcer and kill the "soft" noise. Funny, it took a dimunitive point guard to come in and be our coach to do that instead).
Maybe also a pure shooter in the Steve Kerr mold instead of a big man.
Comments
P.J. Brown
Someone who can clog the middle and add five more fouls to the Dampier/Diop equation.
That guy has more heart on the court than almost anybody I've seen play. Ronie Turiaf is another guy like that, but he's not a vet.
My team is obviously the Nuggets. But I do like the Pistons, Warriors, Bulls (although I don't really like their coach), Suns, Mavs, Wizards (when they are all healthy), and the Raptors (Bosh + Ford make a great combo).
A vet I'd like to see on the Nuggets who is not in the top 150 players in the league? Well, really, I wouldn't. I like them how they are. We have experienced vets. If I HAD to find somebody, I'd say maybe a guy like Stackhouse who can come in and produce pretty decent numbers off the bench, who can make good decisions with the ball and who can pump up the team. Another guy like this is Sam Cassell. I'm not sure if you would consider either of them top 150.
U should pick up the latest SLAM magazine for the Josh Howard interview/feature.
Arent they gonna call up that other cat from the minors to help in the post? Mensa?
And Willis will help too?
Unfortunately for players like Najera, what they add to their teams is not really very quantifiable. He adds a TON, but can't be numerically ranked in the top because what he does simply doesn't put up numbers in many categories. Without looking at individual stats (ppg, rbg etc. which rely too heavily on player's position, offensive strategy, etc), you can get a player's "overall" rank/value by looking at some of the combination indices that are everywhere (these are all off nba.com)
Player: Eduardo Najera
Fantasy Rank: 178th (3.07)
Pts/Reb/Ast: 219th (11.5)
Lenovo Stat: (unranked) (-5)
I agree that EN is an incredible asset for any team, and has seemed to find a really good fit in denver, but I don't think dude is top 150, quantifiably, at least.
Numbers dont tell the whole story.
Pops is 6:9 and raw
Willis is older than me.(OK almost)
If I HAVE to pick someone I'll pick P.J.......but truthfully, we should be good to go.
Pj wanted out earlier this season in Chicago. He deserves to jump on a contender.
It's hard to say that the stats actually do lie, but in Eddie's case, I really think he is an exception to the statistical rule of being a top player. He will fuck around and score 25 points in a game off the bench in like 30 minutes. But he only plays where he is needed, and on the Nuggets, for instance, they don't need Najera to score 25 points every night. He gets in where he fits in and I think a lot of the time it is just that grimy, hard work in the paint that he is so great at but doesn't get statistic credit for. He is really powerful under the basket and gets a fair amount of put backs and tip outs. He can force turnovers, steal, pass, etc. Dude is nice with it.
Yes, I would say that you can safely eliminate Shaq and Yao Ming from the pool of possibilities in this discussion.
This is great--it is, by definition, indisputable.
I know at least a couple of folks here would argue that
don't be talkin' no mess about the Lakers. the "dubs" have less of a chance to survive than an ant in a deluge. what what what.
tepid
Wow. Thank you. I never thought I'd be commissioned to speak.
The last name I was really talking about was Deron Williams. But that's only because I happened to catch 3 Utah games within a week. It's really hard to speak on ONE individual player for me, unless I watch a substantial amount of games. Much easier for me to talk about teams. (uhh mainly West)
But one player that's sent an alarm against the Lakers this season is Linas Kleiza. 22 year old on the Nuggets, originally out of Lithuania apparently. Does anyone know if he was on the World Championship squad??? Cuz Lithuania was straight
Shaq is a questionable top 150!
Dude, he should've been Utah's second Allstar--he is not a secret.
oh no doubt. But at the beginning of the season, it was like watching Dwyane Wade in his second year. Nobody (except maybe the Utah staff) was expecting him to be THAT good. So I was like "why aren't dudes here talking about this dude?"
Kleiza
Peja's jumper is still better than Kleiza's.
Haven't read it yet, but the Dallas Observer had an amazing article on #5 about a month back. Josh is really a special cat and a fantastic young player.
What did you think of the SLAM piece, Batmon?
uh: efficiency 63rd ranked this season (16.53) and a lenovo stat of +42? (Compare it to Brown's +46, Turiaf's +23, and Bynum's -100 to compare Shaq to Laker bigs, which, call me crazy, but I think you'd put in the top 150 in the league
The more I look into it, I like the Lenovo Stat for this sort of thing (figuring out who the top 150 are). The player combo stats are pretty cool too.
Baron Workin His Day Job:
I just skimmed it, but you know the usual stuff. "He's our glue." He shoulda got the cover.
Oh okay. I thought maybe it went more into his youth and some of the ish he went through.
This article is good for anyone who is interested:
http://www.dallasobserver.com/2007-02-15/news/i-love-josh-howard/
Jim Beam, I've been thinking quite a bit about your query and I can't really disagree with Rock. You could throw in the Davis Broses or, ya know, Charles Oakley in that mix. (I always had dreams of Oak coming to D-Town late in his career to be an enforcer and kill the "soft" noise. Funny, it took a dimunitive point guard to come in and be our coach to do that instead).
Maybe also a pure shooter in the Steve Kerr mold instead of a big man.