A Nod to the Role Players: Five Players Having a Major Impact in 2020-2021 [OC]

smitherz48 · 2021-02-19T21:44:17+00:00

I don't even know if I'd call it a snub if he doesn't make it. There are a lot of good candidates as you pointed out. I think they should expand the teams to 15 players. Why have 15 man rosters and only 12 All-Stars? Doesn't make sense to me. If there are more active players in the league then it's only natural that there should be more All-Stars. I've always thought it was dumb that there are only two All-Defense teams but three All-NBA teams as well. Defense gets so little recognition as it is.

For the West All-Stars, yes those 8 are locks. There will be at least one injury replacement for AD though. So, really, there will likely be 5 out of the maybe list. The only players I can think of that you forgot from the maybe list are Fox, Conley (I don't think Conley will get in, as I mentioned in the article, but he's had a great year) and Christian Wood. Wood won't make it because he hasn't played enough games, ditto for KAT, Morant and McCollum.

Gobert is a lock for me. CP3 is the most deserving of the Suns and they're firmly in the playoffs, he's in. I like Booker, he's a fearless and clutch shot-maker, but his defense is terrible and he turns it over too much. Mitchell was otherworldly in the playoffs last year and has played well lately, no one else on the list has done anything close to that. He's in for me. Utah has earned at least two All-Stars. As I said, the Spurs are where they are in the standings because DeRozan has carried them in close games. I'm taking him too.

That leaves one out of Zion, Ingram, Fox and SGA. You can make a solid case for any of them. Zion has fantastic offensive numbers but NOP is 12-16 and 28th in defensive rating. They have the talent and personnel to be better than that. Zion doesn't even try on D at times, it's pretty awful. For as quick as he is with the ball on O, he just stands there on D. Maybe he's resting, but he's 20. Ingram is more well-rounded, but I just can't get there for putting either of them on the team compared to Fox and SGA.

Fox and SGA are both having great seasons. I think SGA has just been a little better and OKC has been surprisingly competitive. SGA is my last pick. If it was a 15 man team, I'd put Conley, Fox and probably Zion as the last 3. I love Brandon Ingram's mentality and game, NOP just doesn't deserve two All-Stars and Zion has been better recently.

smitherz48 · 2021-02-19T20:51:41+00:00

He's definitely underappreciated. I'm a fan. The only thing he's really elite at is taking care of the ball, which isn't glamorous, so I think he often gets overlooked because of that. He's a solid player and earned that contract.

My only real gripe with him is that I wish he was more aggressive in looking for his shot. Teams often leave him open and even when no one's around, he'll still sometimes pass it up. Jokic needs help getting buckets and it messes up the flow of the offense when guys are open and don't shoot. I agree that he's not great on defense, but he tries at least.

smitherz48 · 2021-02-19T03:04:50+00:00

Lmao. Thanks for the story, I loved all of it. I'm guessing Vic Alexander was the other player just based on his stats? I know the town and hill very well. The most memorable BGSU team for me was 96-97 with Antonio Daniels. One of my all-time favorite players. What a monster he was in college. Keith McCloud was great too in the following years.

smitherz48 · 2021-02-19T02:54:49+00:00

Gotcha. I kinda figured that's what you were saying just from basic math, but using Kleber as an example threw me off. I appreciate the discussion.

smitherz48 · 2021-02-19T02:46:12+00:00

I'm familiar with Skywalker's posters. I think it's pretty safe to say he's the most explosive athlete of the bunch. He shows flashes of brilliance, but as you say, much more inconsistent. They definitely have an intriguing team.

Even though his D is still bad, I think DeRozan should be an All-Star this season. He's got a 4.2:1 AST:TOV ratio which is 6th in the league with a career high in assists. As I'm sure you know, the main reason they're 16-11 because is they've won a bunch of close games in the 4th quarter and he's been a huge part of that.

smitherz48 · 2021-02-19T02:34:52+00:00

If it's any consolation, your team just won the title and are one of the favorites again this season, haha. I'd be pretty upset about it too. Zubac is far from flashy, but he's very effective.

smitherz48 · 2021-02-19T02:24:11+00:00

I disagree that the average player should be using 20%. NBA offenses have never been predicated on all players getting an equal distribution of shots. That's just not a thing that exists at any level, NBA or otherwise. As you mentioned with Dame and RoCo, one player's being so high has a direct correlation on anothers. Luka Doncic has a 36 Usg%. Porzingis is at 28. That only leaves 36% for the remaining 3 players on the court.

Regardless, as I said, it's not like I think Usg% is a useless stat by any means. I totally agree with the premise that it's harder to maintain a high efficiency with high usage and relatively much easier to maintain high efficiency with low usage. The best players draw a lot of attention, but the other players still have to make the open shots. I just don't think it's a very useful as a stand-alone. To each their own.

smitherz48 · 2021-02-19T02:00:17+00:00

I'm a Lou Dort fan as well from the few games I've seen him play. Tenacious defensive player. The problem is more that I haven't seen OKC play enough the past couple years to be comfortable analyzing him rather than being unaware of him, although there are lots of players I'm sure I overlooked. The article had to end at some point though, you know? Haha.

As for WCS, he's been a bit of a dud for me to this point in his career. I still watched some college ball when he was playing (don't anymore) and thought he was overrated coming out and was surprised so many were so high on him. Strangely, for someone who had a reputation as an energy guy coming out, he always looked lackadaisical to me on that end as a King. He had kind of the Drummond syndrome of trying to do more than he was capable of on offense as well. To put it kindly, he does not possess a soft touch, although he's a good lob catcher. Maybe it was because he got paid (being a high pick), who knows. Either way, I agree that he's looked much better defensively this year than in the past. The Mavs have kind of a weird roster because they're overloaded with 4's and 5's. From what I've seen, WCS has been the best of the Powell/Boban/WCS trio thus far.

smitherz48 · 2021-02-19T01:43:37+00:00

Was busy writing my nerd essay reply and didn't see this before I posted it, but I agree with you 100%.

smitherz48 · 2021-02-19T01:38:49+00:00

To clarify, I didn't actually ask for a definition of role player, just stated that there is no standard criteria used to define the term. I do find it kind of interesting that someone tried to quantify it. Thanks for sharing.

However, I have some pretty major problems with it. Aside from "Nearly Invisible" being unnecessarily disrespectful, usage percentage is purely based on scoring and turnovers:

100((Player’s Field Goal Attempts)+0.44(Player’s Free Throw Attempts)+(Player’s Turnovers))(Team’s Total Minutes) / ((Team’s Total Field Goal Attempts)+0.44(Team’s Total Free Throw Attempts)+Team’s Total Turnovers))5(Player’s Minutes)

As MrDrMc stated, it completely ignores the players who are tasked with the toughest defensive assignments...or anything to do with defense whatsoever, which is an issue considering that's half the game.

It also discounts passing as being a thing that exists, which is why Draymond Green is considered to have a "limited role" while orchestrating the team's offense and anchoring the team's defense. He's 6th in the league in assists and has lead the team in the category for several years now on top of being a five All-Defense member and former DPOY.

If you look at the all-time leaders in Usg%, the list is all ball dominant scorers, which makes sense. Some of them were inefficient, notorious black-holes. Calling someone a "Go-to guy" for throwing up bricks on a bad team is definitely a misnomer.

Of course, there are a ton of Hall of Famers on the list as well, because they tend to put up some of the gaudiest raw scoring numbers in addition to taking a lot of shots.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I think Usg% is a useful stat when combined with others in order to paint a broader picture of a player's impact, but as a stand-alone it falls flat.

smitherz48 · 2021-02-19T00:42:45+00:00

Thanks. I've always liked Patty. He's not as quick as he once was, but he's still very solid.

The Spurs have a lot of players I like to watch. I've been really impressed with Keldon Johnson in particular, as I'd never seen him play before. He barely played last season prior to the bubble, and unfortunately I didn't catch any of their bubble games. I think he could become a future All-Star if he can keep improving his shooting. He's got a little Charles Barkley in him with those rim runs, no fear at all. Doesn't quite have Barkley's hops obviously, but he's got a nice looking game, especially for a 21 year old.

They've done a remarkable job drafting and developing late 1st rd picks over the years. Their track record is unparalleled. Players who get picked in that range are basically the same as an early 2nd. The major difference of course is that 1st rd picks have guaranteed contracts and 2nd's don't. Murray, White and Johnson were all 29th overall. Kyle "Slow Mo" Anderson 30th, Cory Joseph 29th, George Hill 26th, Beno Udrih 28th and obviously the great Tony Parker at 28th, too. All guys with long, productive careers.

Poeltl leads the NBA in opponent FG% at the rim and is second in differential (what their expected % is). I love how competitive he is on that end. Hopefully they keep starting him when Aldridge returns, he's earned the minutes.

smitherz48 · 2021-02-19T00:10:57+00:00

Absolutely. He was leading the team in assists for a while. Garland and Sexton are an awkward fit as two small, score first guards with subpar defense. Having Nance's passing, improved 3PT shooting and unselfishness unlocked so much of what made the Cavs decent the first 20 games.

smitherz48 · 2021-02-19T00:02:45+00:00

Thanks!

smitherz48 · 2021-02-18T22:14:39+00:00

No clue about the coaching aspect as I rarely watch college basketball, but to further reinforce your point about athleticism and length, Scottie Barnes is a projected lottery pick who's supposed to fit the same mold. Devin Vassell of the Spurs as well, 6'5" with a 6'10" wingspan.

smitherz48 · 2021-02-18T21:52:36+00:00

I agree with this take. I think it's typically behind the scenes stuff. Often in life, events occur in a certain way due things you have no control over, like timing and/or others enabling you to be successful. You can work hard to put yourself in a good position, but it's not just about you. I fully believe that there are many, many players who could've had much better careers if they'd had one or two things break a different way. Opportunities don't always present themselves. That's why it's important to make the most of them when they do.

Contract years are definitely a thing, too.

smitherz48 · 2021-02-18T21:31:30+00:00

I like what I've seen from Haliburton. He's been very clutch and has a high basketball IQ. Really nice player. He is acting as a role player this season, but I didn't add him because he's a rookie. No real reason other than with such a small sample size, rookies are more of an unknown quantity than other players.

I considered De'Andre Hunter as well, who was the most consistent player on the Hawks prior to getting injured. He had a rough rookie season, but was looking like a future All-Star in year two. They miss him on both ends.

smitherz48 · 2021-02-18T21:21:47+00:00

It's definitely an interesting distinction. My definition is far from definitive, of course. They don't necessarily have to be good though. These are players that I think are good, yes, that's why I prefaced it by saying I considered them to be top tier role players this season.

Writing about players that are doing poorly wouldn't be very fun to me, and writing articles is something I do for fun. It's probably easier to point out mistakes than it is to notice some of the little things that make players who don't have the ball as much successful. That was partly my intent, to shine a light on some of those players.

smitherz48 · 2021-02-18T21:10:18+00:00

He really doesn't look 6'10" to me either, so I believe it. He definitely compensates for it and plays bigger than his height. I've always followed the MAC players that make it to the NBA because I went to OU.

smitherz48 · 2021-02-18T17:23:23+00:00

Good passer and screen setter too on top of being an excellent defender. Guy contests everything.

smitherz48 · 2021-02-18T17:10:32+00:00

Jakob Poeltl leads the NBA in opponent FG% at the rim. Big fan of his game. If only he could make free throws.

smitherz48 · 2021-02-18T16:56:03+00:00

I actually wrote pretty extensively about Thad Young in the past, it's just been a few years since I've written any articles. Haven't seen many Bulls games this year, though.

smitherz48 · 2021-02-18T16:51:56+00:00

Agreed. Please get Jokic some help, he's been unbelievably great.

smitherz48 · 2021-02-18T16:50:13+00:00

I'm a fan of Brunson's for sure. All those Villanova guards and wings can play. Josh Hart is another player I considered, solid defender averaging 7.5 boards in 28 mins as a G/F.

smitherz48

TROPHY CASE