John Frascella Sports & Movies: Ripping "NBARank" to Shreds, Part II: How is Greg Oden Still Getting Love?

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If you feel the need to catch up -- don't blame you if you don't -- check out Part I of this series. Now it's time for round II...

243. Quentin Richardson, SF

An aging player with only one above-average skill: on-ball defense of decent opposing small forwards. Q-Rich isn't even a consistent perimeter shooter anymore. I'll easily take Wesley Johnson (245) over him.

241. Steve Blake, PG

Has been one of the most overrated players in the NBA for a few years now. He's small, weak and typically tries to make passes he doesn't have the talent to execute. Blake has that "heady, solid" label but he's really just a crappy professional basketball player who makes wide open threes in the corner.

The Lakers clearly downgraded when they opted for Blake over Jordan Farmar (251), but -- not surprisingly -- the "experts" who voted on this list failed to recognize that.

Running list of the most overrated: Rautins (471), Collins (383), Thabeet (376), Ross (372), Najera (367), Walton (318), Udoh (300), Mason, Jr. (279), Murphy (263), Blake (241)...

226. Tiago Splitter, C

This ranking has to be based entirely upon last year's preseason hype. What has he done to rank ahead of players like Marco Belinelli (228, coming off his best season), DeShawn Stevenson (229, played well for the Mavs in the playoffs), Martell Webster (231, always a capable scorer when healthy) and Daniel Gibson (237)?

Running list of the most overrated: Rautins (471), Collins (383), Thabeet (376), Ross (372), Najera (367), Walton (318), Udoh (300), Mason, Jr. (279), Murphy (263), Blake (241), Splitter (226)...

222. Randy Foye, G

This ranking is pretty ridiculous. The argument could be made that Foye is one of the top 50-to-60 offensive players in the game. He's always been an effective slasher (when healthy) and he really improved his three-point touch with the Clippers.

Players he should absolutely be ahead of: Gordon Hayward (221), Anthony Randolph (220), Corey Brewer (208) and Ricky Rubio (204).

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221. Gordon Hayward, SG/SF

Can't explain this one. He was a lottery pick who couldn't even crack the rotation on a team in the midst of a down year. I thought NBARank was based on performance, not projection.

Running list of the most overrated: Rautins (471), Collins (383), Thabeet (376), Ross (372), Najera (367), Walton (318), Udoh (300), Mason, Jr. (279), Murphy (263), Blake (241), Splitter (226), Hayward (221)...

220. Anthony Randolph, F

Can't seem to work his way into rotations or stay healthy. Hasn't shown me anything.

208. Corey Brewer, SF

The Knicks acquired him at a time when they were desperate for live bodies, and yet they still refused to give him any playing time. Here's another example of a lottery pick who was overvalued by the voters (see Thabeet and Hayward) because he came into the league with a good reputation.

What is Corey Brewer? A good defensive swingman who struggles to find playing time because he's a low-percentage shooter and poor all-around offensive player.

Rautins (471), Collins (383), Thabeet (376), Ross (372), Najera (367), Walton (318), Udoh (300), Mason, Jr. (279), Murphy (263), Blake (241), Splitter (226), Hayward (221)...

204. Ricky Rubio, PG

Here's a skinny, weak, unproven point guard who is all hype and no substance. If he can show that he's an impact player against true, tough, athletically-gifted competition, then I'll give him some credit.

Until then, here's a list of point guards (or swing SGs) who should be ranked ahead of him (not even including the superior players at the other four positions): Delonte West (212), Jarrett Jack (214), Derek Fisher (215), Randy Foye (222), Daniel Gibson (237), Nate Robinson (249), Jordan Farmar (251), C.J. Watson (258), Kemba Walker (267) and T.J. Ford (285).

Overrated list: Rautins (471), Collins (383), Thabeet (376), Ross (372), Najera (367), Walton (318), Udoh (300), Mason, Jr. (279), Murphy (263), Blake (241), Splitter (226), Hayward (221), Rubio (204)...

186. Beno Udrih, G

Here's a quick, talented guard with excellent shot selection. He's shifty and difficult to check, and his mental toughness is quite admirable. I don't think there's any doubt that he's a top 150 player.

184. Greg Oden, C

This is directly from ESPN.com:

We asked 91 experts to rate each player on a 0-to-10 scale, in terms of "the current quality of each player."

And what, may I ask, is the current quality of a player who never actually plays?

Rautins (471), Collins (383), Thabeet (376), Ross (372), Najera (367), Walton (318), Udoh (300), Mason, Jr. (279), Murphy (263), Blake (241), Splitter (226), Hayward (221), Rubio (204), Oden (184)...

183. Rodrigue Beaubois, G

Two seasons ago I remember being impressed by this resourceful offensive guard; last season I don't remember seeing him on the court.

177. Ramon Sessions, PG

Here is a high-quality NBA point guard who can really do it all: penetrate, dish, create offense for himself and defend. Like Beno Udrih (186), Sessions is a no-brainer for the top 150.

175. Josh Childress, SF

The Suns entered into a ridiculously bad contract with this athletic swingman who really can't do anything but score on the fastbreak. I have absolutely no idea why he is in NBARank's top 200.

Rautins (471), Collins (383), Thabeet (376), Ross (372), Najera (367), Walton (318), Udoh (300), Mason, Jr. (279), Murphy (263), Blake (241), Splitter (226), Hayward (221), Rubio (204), Oden (184), Childress (175)...

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173. Lou Williams, G...and 172. Gilbert Arenas, PG

At this stage in their respective careers -- Williams still young and showing nice development in his game, and Arenas old and fading fast -- there's no question that Lou-Will is superior to Arenas.

163. Robin Lopez, C

This is when I started to realize that size is more important than skill to the NBARank voters. All Robin Lopez is...is size. He's slow, unrefined and simply a below-average professional center.

This is definitely one of the top five mistakes of their list. I mean, it's so bad that I have to list all of the players who are clearly better, right?

John Salmons (164), Marvin Williams (165), Ryan Anderson (167), Al Harrington (168), Mike Miller (169), Lou Williams (173), Andris Biedrins (174, I have no idea how Lopez has proven he's better than this guy), Ramon Sessions (177), Shannon Brown (181), Beno Udrih (186), Jeff Teague (187), Charlie Villanueva (191), Toney Douglas (193), Jerryd Bayless (195), Carlos Delfino (200), and the list goes on...

Most overrated list: Rautins (471), Collins (383), Thabeet (376), Ross (372), Najera (367), Walton (318), Udoh (300), Mason, Jr. (279), Murphy (263), Blake (241), Splitter (226), Hayward (221), Rubio (204), Oden (184), Childress (175), Lopez (163)...

162. Corey Maggette, SF

His basketball IQ is highly questionable, but this is a gifted, professional scorer. Another lock for the top 150.

158. Omri Casspi, SF

I blacked out when I saw this ranking. A scrawny, weak three-point specialist who couldn't outplay Francisco Garcia, Donte Greene or Luther Head for a better spot in the Kings' rotation. Not a chance this kid's in the top 200.

157. Eric Maynor, PG

Apparently voters got a little too excited about him making a few wide-open threes during the playoffs. Not even in the same league as Udrih or Sessions yet.

149. Gary Neal, SG

His controlled, measured form indicates that he'll likely be a good outside shooter for a long time, but I didn't see much else to his game. As an all-around player he feels more like No. 185-225.

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143. J.J. Redick, SG

Another appalling ranking. A streaky perimeter shooter with no other skills. He's not even one of the best, pure shooters in the league; a pure shooter is consistent (i.e. Ray Allen, Stephen Curry, Anthony Morrow and Kyle Korver).

Players OBVIOUSLY better than Redick: Rashard Lewis (144, though his contract is vomit-inducing), Kris Humphries (145), Nick Young (146), Andray Blatche (147), Jose Calderon (148) and Dorell Wright (152).

142. Rudy Fernandez, SG...and 141. Mike Dunleavy, Jr., SG/SF

Fernandez is notoriously streaky and can never find a consistent role. Dunleavy is always hurt and isn't very impactful even when he does play.

140 and below to come in the (relatively) near future...

John Frascella Sports & Movies

Friday, October 21, 2011

Ripping "NBARank" to Shreds, Part II: How is Greg Oden Still Getting Love?

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