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HurricaneDij's Annual Top 50 NBA Players List (Year 8)

Bolts

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I'd be very happy if Rondo was a top 50 player this upcoming season, but I'm not expecting it.
 

Bolts

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All we can do is wait.
Yep, he's had a solid preseason from what I've read. I know that doesn't mean it'll carry over to when the games matter but it's also not a bad thing.
 

CitySushi

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Top 5 I would have in a slightly different order, but the difference between them is negligible, imo. AD would be my #2. Then healthy KD #3, Steph #4.

Boogie is too low, he should be at that #10 spot over Dame.

Draymond is too high. No way he should be ranked above Jimmy Butler. I think #30 is more around his range.

Oladipo is too high. I think he'll have a good year, but he should be flipped with Conley. Conley is way too low.
 

Clayton

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Chris Paul is still the heart and soul of the Clippers. Where he goes, the team goes. When he chokes, the team chokes. He's the most irreplaceable on the team.
CP3 has to work too hard to get his shot off and has some issues throughout his career when matched up against larger guards. We've seen him get to the playoffs over and over again with teams built around him and he can't be the lead guy. The Clippers have obviously had depth issues lately but Blake has to be the man and CP3 has to be the facilitator. Neither have really been impressive in alpha dog roles so far but I don't think the story has been written yet on Blake. He seems to get better ever year.

The story has been written on Z-bo, though. Conley is a much better player than Z-bo at this point. Id even wager that there could be a 10+ player separation between the two.
 

WiggyRuss

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  1. LeBron James, SF, Cleveland Cavaliers
  2. Stephen Curry, PG, Golden State Warriors
  3. Kevin Durant, SF, Oklahoma City Thunder
  4. Russell Westbrook, PG, Oklahoma City Thunder
  5. Anthony Davis, PF, New Orleans Pelicans
  6. James Harden, SG, Houston Rockets
  7. Chris Paul, PG, Los Angeles Clippers
  8. Blake Griffin, PF, Los Angeles Clippers
  9. John Wall, PG, Washington Wizards
  10. Damian Lillard, PG, Portland Trail Blazers
  11. Paul George, F, Indiana Pacers
  12. Klay Thompson, SG, Golden State Warriors
  13. Kawhi Leonard, SF, San Antonio Spurs
  14. LaMarcus Aldridge, PF, San Antonio Spurs
  15. Carmelo Anthony, SF, New York Knicks
  16. DeMarcus Cousins, C, Sacramento Kings
  17. Marc Gasol, C, Memphis Grizzlies
  18. Dwyane Wade, SG, Miami Heat
  19. Dwight Howard, C, Houston Rockets
  20. Draymond Green, PF, Golden State Warriors
  21. Jimmy Butler, SG, Chicago Bulls
  22. Kyrie Irving, PG, Cleveland Cavaliers
  23. Chris Bosh, PF, Miami Heat
  24. Eric Bledsoe, PG, Phoenix Suns
  25. Victor Oladipo, SG, Orlando Magic
  26. Kevin Love, PF, Cleveland Cavaliers
  27. Paul Millsap, PF, Atlanta Hawks
  28. Kyle Lowry, PG, Toronto Raptors
  29. Derrick Rose, PG, Chicago Bulls
  30. Gordon Hayward, SF, Utah Jazz
  31. Andre Drummond, C, Detroit Pistons
  32. DeAndre Jordan, C, Los Angeles Clippers
  33. Brook Lopez, C, Brookyn Nets
  34. DeMar DeRozan, SG, Toronto Raptors
  35. Dirk Nowitzki, PF, Dallas Mavericks
  36. Pau Gasol, PF, Chicago Bulls
  37. Jeff Teague, PG, Atlanta Hawks
  38. Goran Dragic, PG, Miami Heat
  39. Tyreke Evans, G, New Orleans Pelicans
  40. Zach Randolph, PF, Memphis Grizzlies
  41. Mike Conley, PG, Memphis Grizzlies
  42. Al Horford, C, Atlanta Hawks
  43. Rudy Gay, SF, Sacramento Kings
  44. Serge Ibaka, PF, Oklahoma City Thunder
  45. Derrick Favors, PF, Utah Jazz
  46. Michael Carter-Williams, PG, Milwaukee Bucks
  47. Greg Monroe, C, Milwaukee Bucks
  48. Bradley Beal, SG, Washington Wizards
  49. Nikola Vucevic, C, Orlando Magic
  50. Joakim Noah, C, Chicago Bulls
Honorable Mention: Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Danilo Gallinari, Andrew Wiggins, Mason Plumlee, Kobe Bryant, Brandon Knight, Markieff Morris, Tyson Chandler, Isaiah Thomas, Nerlens Noel, Kemba Walker, Al Jefferson, Marcin Gortat.

Im glad you have Davis at 5...as good as he is- and maybe he is the best athlete- he still doesnt have the game and savvy and know-how and ability to just WIN games that those other guys you ranked above him all have.

Guys that I think are too high:

- Damian Lillard- no way in hell is Damian Lillard a top 10 player in the league. We will see that abundantly clear this year. He really didnt play that well last year at times and is a SIEVE defensively..he doesnt even try on defense.

-I like Kawhi Leonard an awful lot but I think 14 is just too high- I know he was the MVP two years ago- but when the pressure was on him and he had to live up to those expectations this last year he really came up pretty small in that Clippers series. I would rather have a MILLION guys in the league take a last shot over him. Obviously hes great- but when you are talking the top 20 players you knit pick.

-Carmelo Anthony- I think he is ranked too high- he is just such a hard player to rank though...I could see the arguments i guess for him this high- but i could also see him being much lower and i would have split that difference for a ranking rather than going on the high side.

-Victor Oladipo is not a top 25 player in the NBA. Hes a good player but i dont know if I would have him in the top 50 at all.

-MCW has done nothing to value him as a top 50 player in the NBA, DeMar DeRozan would not go near the top 35 if the NBA GMs could draft out of the entire league.

I think your list devalues the defensive ability that big men bring to the table.

Too Low:

- KI - obviously

- ID have ranked Jimmy Butler higher- he really carried that Bulls team..in fact- id have him over KAwhi- Kawhi has a ton of help and really didnt take over that alpha dog role that i think you need ot be if you are considered one of the very best of the best in the league.

-Mike Conley is going to be a free agent at the end of the season and likely get like 23-25M a year. HE is a really really good player, team leader and a good guy. I think hed go higher than in the 40s
 

HurricaneDij39

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Top 5 I would have in a slightly different order, but the difference between them is negligible, imo. AD would be my #2. Then healthy KD #3, Steph #4.

Boogie is too low, he should be at that #10 spot over Dame.

Draymond is too high. No way he should be ranked above Jimmy Butler. I think #30 is more around his range.

Oladipo is too high. I think he'll have a good year, but he should be flipped with Conley. Conley is way too low.

Lots of love for Conley in this thread. Maybe he wasn't healthy last year and maybe it deflated his numbers a little bit, but to me he's a game-manager-type. Very solid, but doesn't posess any "wow" skill. Mediocre assist numbers. Just very ordinary at the PG position when stacked up against the guys he competes with in the west.

Jimmy Butler - Maybe I have him too low, but I'd like to see him prove that last year wasn't a contract-year effort - On the court. To this point it's just been lip service. For now, I had Draymond ranked over him for his one ring.

Cousins...Let's see him win some meaningful games at any point in his career.

Oladipo has that all-around game that isn't matched by many. Maybe his ranking is based on how high I am on Orlando this season. I truly believe they can make the Playoffs in this conference.
 

HurricaneDij39

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-MCW has done nothing to value him as a top 50 player in the NBA, DeMar DeRozan would not go near the top 35 if the NBA GMs could draft out of the entire league.

I think your list devalues the defensive ability that big men bring to the table.

Too Low:

- KI - obviously

Back yourself here. Why is DeRozan too high? Remember he was an All-Star just two years ago. Why is Kyrie too low?

I get that MCW wouldn't crack the Top 50 for many people. His biggest knocks are field-goal percentage and turnovers, but as with Oladipo, I like all-around game, and playing for Jason Kidd certainly won't hurt him. The talent is there...
 

HurricaneDij39

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CP3 has to work too hard to get his shot off and has some issues throughout his career when matched up against larger guards. We've seen him get to the playoffs over and over again with teams built around him and he can't be the lead guy. The Clippers have obviously had depth issues lately but Blake has to be the man and CP3 has to be the facilitator. Neither have really been impressive in alpha dog roles so far but I don't think the story has been written yet on Blake. He seems to get better ever year.

The story has been written on Z-bo, though. Conley is a much better player than Z-bo at this point. Id even wager that there could be a 10+ player separation between the two.

Does he have any reliable go-to moves? I'm not entirely convinced. To me, the team goes where CP3 goes and that's why I have him one spot higher.
 

HurricaneDij39

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I'm surprised no one has bitched about Harden at #6...
 

tducey

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Looks like a good list, thanks for sharing.
 

Clayton

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I'm surprised no one has bitched about Harden at #6...
We'd have to come up with someone to put there. You certainly got the top 5 right although Lebron is going to have to shoot better than he did down the stretch last year to retain the top spot (I think he will)
 

CitySushi

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Lots of love for Conley in this thread. Maybe he wasn't healthy last year and maybe it deflated his numbers a little bit, but to me he's a game-manager-type. Very solid, but doesn't posess any "wow" skill. Mediocre assist numbers. Just very ordinary at the PG position when stacked up against the guys he competes with in the west.

Jimmy Butler - Maybe I have him too low, but I'd like to see him prove that last year wasn't a contract-year effort - On the court. To this point it's just been lip service. For now, I had Draymond ranked over him for his one ring.

Cousins...Let's see him win some meaningful games at any point in his career.

Oladipo has that all-around game that isn't matched by many. Maybe his ranking is based on how high I am on Orlando this season. I truly believe they can make the Playoffs in this conference.

Conley doesn't have a flashy game, which is why he gets overlooked a lot. He's a really great defender, good play maker and his scoring abilities are underrated. Really the reason his numbers are low is because of the system they run in Memphis. You're not gonna get many assists by dumping the ball down low to Randolph and Gasol. But if you watch them play, whenever they need a play to be made, they rely a lot on Conley to get it done. He's their only outside threat and he's a really underrated passer. Again not flashy, just an extremely solid point.

Jimmy Butler showed tremendous improvement last year, and I don't think it will be a fluke. He's tied (arguably, could go either way) with Klay as the best two way SG in the NBA. He's surpassed Rose as the franchise star of the Bulls.

No real argument against your logic in ranking. I just believe he's an all world talent and if given a better surrounding cast his team could thrive. Just look at who's he had to play with his entire career. Even AD just cracked into the playoffs for the first time last year and his team is supremely more talented than any Cousins has been on.

I like Oladipo and his game. I think he has a chance to be very good, but I still see too many holes in his game. Maybe he'll take a big step forward this season, but I have to go by what I see. Also, Orlando is going to be a real fun team to watch this year.
 

HurricaneDij39

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@Arizona_Sting @Hornsstampede2.0 Guys still think Draymond Green is too high? I get that he's an agitator and an easy player to dislike if he's not on you team, but the guy back up his talk and is nearly averaging a triple-double on a 27-1 team.
 
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