Unsung Heroes: Who is the straw that stirs your team's drink?
Sept 3, 2019 16:32:19 GMT
skrouse likes this
Post by jhb on Sept 3, 2019 16:32:19 GMT
You won't see these guys with max contracts or as primary scoring options on your team's depth chart or making waves as multiple time Players of the Week. But these are the guys that have silently helped carry each of TMBSL's playoff teams to where they are even if you don't realize it.
Charlotte Hornets - Marques Johnson
It's hard to find a good player for the Hornets because their starting lineup is full of legitimate stars. They have an MVP and a max player not even among their scoring options in Steve Nash and Willis Reed. Lattin and Iggy make up a powerful punch on the wing and Bob Pettit is a young, budding star.
But this team also doesn't have any holes because outside of maybe PG their bench packs a big punch too. Horace Grant is a superb backup but I think most everyone knows that and he's being paid as such making nearly $8 mil a season. But Marques Johnson does a lot for this team and gives the Hornets a bright future at the forward position even looking forward to the post-Lattin years that Fecta may have to prepare for sooner rather than later.
Johnson provides an admirable .153 WS/48, which is (believe it or not) a top 12 number among wings in 2023. He has really good block numbers for a wing, rebounds more than capably, and provides efficient enough scoring without giving away possessions. He's capable of being a more than solid starter in this league and provides excellent value for the Hornets off the bench.
Dallas Mavericks - Center Rotation
Believe it or not, the two highest WS/48 totals among players on the Mavericks roster (after Kyrie and Duncan, of course) with at least 1000 minutes played don't belong to Manu, Paul George, or Andre Miller. They belong to Rafael Araujo and Adonal Foyle. Neither puts up any eye-popping numbers (except for maybe Foyle's shot-blocking stats), but both are providing quality minutes to the Mavericks at levels well above their mid-level salaries.
Araujo is providing .211 WS/48 and is doing it by delivering a very efficient 1.178 pts/tsa while cleaning the glass and scoring nearly 20 points per 36 and playing respectable defense. He's a perfect rotation big behind a stalwart like Duncan and a defender like Foyle. Foyle trails at only .196 WS/48 but is delivering 3.3 blocks per 36 and 12+ rebounds per 36 while not neglecting his offense and delivering 15 points per 36 on 1.166 pts/tsa. These guys are truly the perfect compliment to two superstars like Kyrie and Duncan.
Atlanta Hawks - Point Guards
God Shammgod isn't exactly some unknown quantity but he has never been a Hawks scoring option and rarely gets any league-wide recognition. God combines solid scoring efficiency (1.143 pts/tsa) with little to no turnovers (1.2 per 36) and strong defense (2.1 steals and blocks per 36) to be the perfect role player at PG that allows other players like Stephen Jackson and Jonas to star. But in addition to his continued fine work this season (.212 WS/48), another Hawks PG is having a stellar season under the radar as well. Antonio Daniels, the only Hawks expansion pick still left in Atlanta is having an absolutely stellar contract season.
With little recognition, he's posted a .238 WS/48 season, pairing a 1.155 pts/tsa with a nearly 5 to 1 assist to turnover ration. That efficiency along with respectable rebounding and defense for a PG in about 15 minutes per game has been a boon to the Atlanta bench and allowed them to stay competitive while defending their title.
Orlando Magic - Breakout youth
And I'm not talking about the wing combo of Bernard King and T-Mac here. The Magic made two big moves mid-season to improve their roster. One was to bring in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to provide another all-league level starter to the mix. The other was just as critical IMO and that was to bring Eddie Jones over from the minor league squad to help shore up depth on the wings.
While the Kareem move was big in helping add an All-Star to the frontcourt, it also helped move Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who is having a breakout season in his own right, into a more appropriate role as a rotation big. While Shareef's impeachable defense helped keep the Magic afloat in the first half, his offense still needs a little work. Moving to the bench will help keep Shareef (.153 WS/48) from getting over-exposed and get him into a more appropriate role while that part of his game continues to develop as a 23 year old. But there aren't many guys in our league that can bring nearly 4.5 steals and blocks per 36 to the table and he has been a boon for a Magic team that is otherwise terrible defensively (7th in the league in defensive efficiency).
Eddie Jones was a big addition as well. While he doesn't rate as high as many others in this article in WS/48 at only .093 per 48, he's been extremely helpful considering this team was absolutely barren on the wings before he was called up. And he looks to have some potential as he is scoring 20 points and adding 6 rebounds per 36. Turnovers and scoring efficiency could use some work but he looks to be a nice compliment to the high-powered wing duo already assembled in Orlando.
Harlem Globetrotters - Vlade Replacements
I thought for sure that this would be the year that Harlem took a major step back into merely fighting to contend for the playoffs rather than for titles. I was wrong, but that's because the men who have replaced Vlade in Harlem have more than replaced most of his production.
Jermaine O'Neal, Cliff Robinson, and Chris Anderson have done an admirable job replacing a guy who was sort of irreplaceable. O'Neal and Robinson lead the way with very respectable and Vlade-like .187 and .182 WS/48 totals and Anderson provides some nice defensive punch by providing nearly 3 blocks and steals per 36. O'Neal and Robinson provide an excellent scoring punch with 20 points per 36 each (and O'Neal providing that at a very good 1.18 pts/tsa). They also provide a combined 6.6 blocks and steals per 36.
This group could use a little work on the boards as O'Neal is the only one among them that provides more than 10 per 36 but as a group they've far exceeded my expectations for what Harlem would get at the center position post-Vlade.
Miami Heat - Allen Iverson
AI doesn't exactly fit the profile that I talked about when laying out the type of players I was going to talk about here but I'm going to talk about him nonetheless. After seeing his limited work throughout his rookie deal, I laughed when I saw this signing and must admit I thought it would not work at all for the Heat to try and be a playoff team with this guy at PG, but he's proven me wrong.
Iverson is providing a solid .179 WS/48. While his shooting efficiency is relatively poor at 1.076 pts/tsa, he keeps his shot volume relatively low to limit the negative impact of heaving a lot of shots at that efficiency and he doesn't turn the ball over (only 1.1 turnovers per 36). Surprisingly, this guy is a capable starting PG and is leading a playoff team right now. Kudos to Odin for believing in his guy when he looked like a relative bust up until now.
Detroit Pistons - Uhhhhhhhhhh
There's not much to write about here. The good players are the good players and everyone else is...not good. This is an unbalanced team with a wealth of talent in the frontcourt (which you know) and almost nothing in the backcourt (which you also know). I guess Jason Kidd is sort of overperforming? .139 WS/48 is okay? Ehhhhhhhh
This team gives 30 minutes per game to a guy at shooting guard in Ben Gordon who is at .104 WS/48. Get some f'ing guards, Mike!
Portland Trail Blazers - Armen Gilliam
Gilliam is merely a third big but provides a lot of punch for these Blazers at .169 WS/48 (good for third best on the team and far better than one man starting in front of him, Tobias Harris). Gilliam doesn't put up any particularly eye-popping numbers or fill the box sheet, but he does a little bit of everything and he puts the ball in the bucket efficiently. So far this season he is providing just short of one steal and one block per 36 minutes and he is scoring at 1.188 pts/tsa, both very respectable at PF.
Give this man a chance to start, Majic!
Charlotte Hornets - Marques Johnson
It's hard to find a good player for the Hornets because their starting lineup is full of legitimate stars. They have an MVP and a max player not even among their scoring options in Steve Nash and Willis Reed. Lattin and Iggy make up a powerful punch on the wing and Bob Pettit is a young, budding star.
But this team also doesn't have any holes because outside of maybe PG their bench packs a big punch too. Horace Grant is a superb backup but I think most everyone knows that and he's being paid as such making nearly $8 mil a season. But Marques Johnson does a lot for this team and gives the Hornets a bright future at the forward position even looking forward to the post-Lattin years that Fecta may have to prepare for sooner rather than later.
Johnson provides an admirable .153 WS/48, which is (believe it or not) a top 12 number among wings in 2023. He has really good block numbers for a wing, rebounds more than capably, and provides efficient enough scoring without giving away possessions. He's capable of being a more than solid starter in this league and provides excellent value for the Hornets off the bench.
Dallas Mavericks - Center Rotation
Believe it or not, the two highest WS/48 totals among players on the Mavericks roster (after Kyrie and Duncan, of course) with at least 1000 minutes played don't belong to Manu, Paul George, or Andre Miller. They belong to Rafael Araujo and Adonal Foyle. Neither puts up any eye-popping numbers (except for maybe Foyle's shot-blocking stats), but both are providing quality minutes to the Mavericks at levels well above their mid-level salaries.
Araujo is providing .211 WS/48 and is doing it by delivering a very efficient 1.178 pts/tsa while cleaning the glass and scoring nearly 20 points per 36 and playing respectable defense. He's a perfect rotation big behind a stalwart like Duncan and a defender like Foyle. Foyle trails at only .196 WS/48 but is delivering 3.3 blocks per 36 and 12+ rebounds per 36 while not neglecting his offense and delivering 15 points per 36 on 1.166 pts/tsa. These guys are truly the perfect compliment to two superstars like Kyrie and Duncan.
Atlanta Hawks - Point Guards
God Shammgod isn't exactly some unknown quantity but he has never been a Hawks scoring option and rarely gets any league-wide recognition. God combines solid scoring efficiency (1.143 pts/tsa) with little to no turnovers (1.2 per 36) and strong defense (2.1 steals and blocks per 36) to be the perfect role player at PG that allows other players like Stephen Jackson and Jonas to star. But in addition to his continued fine work this season (.212 WS/48), another Hawks PG is having a stellar season under the radar as well. Antonio Daniels, the only Hawks expansion pick still left in Atlanta is having an absolutely stellar contract season.
With little recognition, he's posted a .238 WS/48 season, pairing a 1.155 pts/tsa with a nearly 5 to 1 assist to turnover ration. That efficiency along with respectable rebounding and defense for a PG in about 15 minutes per game has been a boon to the Atlanta bench and allowed them to stay competitive while defending their title.
Orlando Magic - Breakout youth
And I'm not talking about the wing combo of Bernard King and T-Mac here. The Magic made two big moves mid-season to improve their roster. One was to bring in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to provide another all-league level starter to the mix. The other was just as critical IMO and that was to bring Eddie Jones over from the minor league squad to help shore up depth on the wings.
While the Kareem move was big in helping add an All-Star to the frontcourt, it also helped move Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who is having a breakout season in his own right, into a more appropriate role as a rotation big. While Shareef's impeachable defense helped keep the Magic afloat in the first half, his offense still needs a little work. Moving to the bench will help keep Shareef (.153 WS/48) from getting over-exposed and get him into a more appropriate role while that part of his game continues to develop as a 23 year old. But there aren't many guys in our league that can bring nearly 4.5 steals and blocks per 36 to the table and he has been a boon for a Magic team that is otherwise terrible defensively (7th in the league in defensive efficiency).
Eddie Jones was a big addition as well. While he doesn't rate as high as many others in this article in WS/48 at only .093 per 48, he's been extremely helpful considering this team was absolutely barren on the wings before he was called up. And he looks to have some potential as he is scoring 20 points and adding 6 rebounds per 36. Turnovers and scoring efficiency could use some work but he looks to be a nice compliment to the high-powered wing duo already assembled in Orlando.
Harlem Globetrotters - Vlade Replacements
I thought for sure that this would be the year that Harlem took a major step back into merely fighting to contend for the playoffs rather than for titles. I was wrong, but that's because the men who have replaced Vlade in Harlem have more than replaced most of his production.
Jermaine O'Neal, Cliff Robinson, and Chris Anderson have done an admirable job replacing a guy who was sort of irreplaceable. O'Neal and Robinson lead the way with very respectable and Vlade-like .187 and .182 WS/48 totals and Anderson provides some nice defensive punch by providing nearly 3 blocks and steals per 36. O'Neal and Robinson provide an excellent scoring punch with 20 points per 36 each (and O'Neal providing that at a very good 1.18 pts/tsa). They also provide a combined 6.6 blocks and steals per 36.
This group could use a little work on the boards as O'Neal is the only one among them that provides more than 10 per 36 but as a group they've far exceeded my expectations for what Harlem would get at the center position post-Vlade.
Miami Heat - Allen Iverson
AI doesn't exactly fit the profile that I talked about when laying out the type of players I was going to talk about here but I'm going to talk about him nonetheless. After seeing his limited work throughout his rookie deal, I laughed when I saw this signing and must admit I thought it would not work at all for the Heat to try and be a playoff team with this guy at PG, but he's proven me wrong.
Iverson is providing a solid .179 WS/48. While his shooting efficiency is relatively poor at 1.076 pts/tsa, he keeps his shot volume relatively low to limit the negative impact of heaving a lot of shots at that efficiency and he doesn't turn the ball over (only 1.1 turnovers per 36). Surprisingly, this guy is a capable starting PG and is leading a playoff team right now. Kudos to Odin for believing in his guy when he looked like a relative bust up until now.
Detroit Pistons - Uhhhhhhhhhh
There's not much to write about here. The good players are the good players and everyone else is...not good. This is an unbalanced team with a wealth of talent in the frontcourt (which you know) and almost nothing in the backcourt (which you also know). I guess Jason Kidd is sort of overperforming? .139 WS/48 is okay? Ehhhhhhhh
This team gives 30 minutes per game to a guy at shooting guard in Ben Gordon who is at .104 WS/48. Get some f'ing guards, Mike!
Portland Trail Blazers - Armen Gilliam
Gilliam is merely a third big but provides a lot of punch for these Blazers at .169 WS/48 (good for third best on the team and far better than one man starting in front of him, Tobias Harris). Gilliam doesn't put up any particularly eye-popping numbers or fill the box sheet, but he does a little bit of everything and he puts the ball in the bucket efficiently. So far this season he is providing just short of one steal and one block per 36 minutes and he is scoring at 1.188 pts/tsa, both very respectable at PF.
Give this man a chance to start, Majic!
