SI top 100

[sactowndog]

Love this quote in Fox’s take....

“Fox is, apparently, precocious—as you might guess from his leap outside the Top 100 all the way to 33. Some fairly advanced maneuvers found their way into his game early in his second season, providing exciting new means for a player who was already too quick for many opponents.”

Of course, what he could have said....

“We were clueless and massively underrated how much Dave Joeger limits his rookies. The result may or may be good for their development but it absolutely destroys the growth curves we use in our development models. As a result, our analytics models jumped Fox from not ranked to 33. One of the biggest jumps of a player previously ranked. “


What is amazing is the same thing will happen again if the supposed “experts” were paying any attention. WCS limited Bagley at least as much as ZBo limited Fox. Bagley offensively took advantage of many players in the Olympic camp on this list. If you look at his per 36 he sits right there with Young and Luka.

Per 36
Bagley 21.2 ppg 10.8 boards. On 16.2 attempts
Young. 22.3 ppg. 9.4 assists. On 18.1 attempts
Doncic. 23.7 ppg. 8.7 boards. On 18.4 attempts

Too 100 Rank.
Bagley NR
Young. 62
Luka. 30

MOD NOTE: Here's a LINK .

 

[kingsboi]

I don't know how big of a leap Fox can make this season compared to last season but if Bagley makes a big jump, the Kings' playoff chances increase tremendously in my opinion.

 

[gunks]

I don't know how big of a leap Fox can make this season compared to last season but if Bagley makes a big jump, the Kings' playoff chances increase tremendously in my opinion.

Fox can make another ginormous leap if his shot becomes a consistent weapon. That was the difference between his ho-hum games and his "future superstar(?)" games.

I totally agree with you about Bagley. If he has a Fox-like improvement, we're in the mix. I expect him to kick some butt if he can stay healthy.

 

[L'Optimisme]

Our table is incredibly nicely set for the next two years with very minimal changes needed. The next two years will determine the course of the next ten. Marvin Bagley was by far the most underrated rookie last year. He is going to SHOCK the league this year. His game is already extremely mature for his age. I also happen to think Walton is the exact perfect coach for him.

I'm calling for Bagley next year: 24/12/2blk

He'll be a dark horse all star candidate. He'll be in the conversation. He has ALLL the tools.

Best thing about Fox is his combination of swag but no ego. He can take charge while also making his teammates better. That's another level of basketball IQ that doesn't come along very often. Fox will get better but his biggest contribution will be to let the team gel around him. We have a first class point guard in the intangibles department.

 

[burekijogurt]

Our table is incredibly nicely set for the next two years with very minimal changes needed. The next two years will determine the course of the next ten. Marvin Bagley was by far the most underrated rookie last year. He is going to SHOCK the league this year. His game is already extremely mature for his age. I also happen to think Walton is the exact perfect coach for him.

I'm calling for Bagley next year: 24/12/2blk

He'll be a dark horse all star candidate. He'll be in the conversation. He has ALLL the tools.

Best thing about Fox is his combination of swag but no ego. He can take charge while also making his teammates better. That's another level of basketball IQ that doesn't come along very often. Fox will get better but his biggest contribution will be to let the team gel around him. We have a first class point guard in the intangibles department.

Bagley will probably increase his scoring, but I doubt rebounding / block numbers would move that much. What I'm looking for is how much his team defense improves and how much his ability(willingness?) to pass out of a double team and move the ball improves. Those two aspects will probably be the biggest determinig factors in his impact on winning on this team this season.

 

[sactowndog]

Bagley will probably increase his scoring, but I doubt rebounding / block numbers would move that much. What I'm looking for is how much his team defense improves and how much his ability(willingness?) to pass out of a double team and move the ball improves. Those two aspects will probably be the biggest determinig factors in his impact on winning on this team this season.

I largely agree though I think rebounding goes up just as a function of more minutes on the floor. See the video of Bagley in the run. One of the best things was a kick out pass to the corner 3.

 

[ESP47]

Love this quote in Fox’s take....

“Fox is, apparently, precocious—as you might guess from his leap outside the Top 100 all the way to 33. Some fairly advanced maneuvers found their way into his game early in his second season, providing exciting new means for a player who was already too quick for many opponents.”

Of course, what he could have said....

“We were clueless and massively underrated how much Dave Joeger limits his rookies. The result may or may be good for their development but it absolutely destroys the growth curves we use in our development models. As a result, our analytics models jumped Fox from not ranked to 33. One of the biggest jumps of a player previously ranked. “


What is amazing is the same thing will happen again if the supposed “experts” were paying any attention. WCS limited Bagley at least as much as ZBo limited Fox. Bagley offensively took advantage of many players in the Olympic camp on this list. If you look at his per 36 he sits right there with Young and Luka.

Per 36
Bagley 21.2 ppg 10.8 boards. On 16.2 attempts
Young. 22.3 ppg. 9.4 assists. On 18.1 attempts
Doncic. 23.7 ppg. 8.7 boards. On 18.4 attempts

Too 100 Rank.
Bagley NR
Young. 62
Luka. 30

This is why counting stats shouldn't be the only thing you rely upon when comparing players. Doncic was great all year long. Young started out terrible but played incredible basketball for a rookie during the last portion of the season. Bagley was solid all season but had no where near the impact those other two guys had.

 

[Kangztillidie]

I would wager to bet that Bagleys defensive rebounds remain around the same number but his offensive rebounds go up.

 

[Entity]

This is why counting stats shouldn't be the only thing you rely upon when comparing players. Doncic was great all year long. Young started out terrible but played incredible basketball for a rookie during the last portion of the season. Bagley was solid all season but had no where near the impact those other two guys had.

I actually thought Bagley’s impact was huge when he got the min. He didn’t get the min Doncic did. Also his injuries were definitely felt and in my opinion Bagley’s injuries kept us out of the playoffs. Luka got 7 more min per game and was the focal point at Dallas. Bagley was 3rd maybe 4th option

 

[ESP47]

I actually thought Bagley’s impact was huge when he got the min. He didn’t get the min Doncic did. Also his injuries were definitely felt and in my opinion Bagley’s injuries kept us out of the playoffs. Luka got 7 more min per game and was the focal point at Dallas. Bagley was 3rd maybe 4th option

Bagley's 20 missed games did not cost the Kings 9-10 games in the standings. That would be like a Giannis/Harden/Curry type impact.

 

[TaxMan]

Bagley's 20 missed games did not cost the Kings 9-10 games in the standings. That would be like a Giannis/Harden/Curry type impact.

No, but his last knee injury came at exactly the wrong time when we were trying to make a push for the 8th seed. By itself he did not cost us 10 games, but it pushed us down just a little bit such that the 8th seed was out of reach and the team generally seemed to check out down the stretch.

 

[KingKong]

Kings have 2 players in the Top 100 (Fox & Buddy):
https://www.si.com/nba/top-100-nba-players-2020

And 3 players who made the biggest snub list! (Bogi, Bagley & Ariza)
https://www.si.com/nba/2019/09/09/top-100-nba-players-2020-snubs-dwight-howard-deandre-ayton

Which other team can claim that?

-----

SI Rank #33
DE'AARON FOX
SACRAMENTO KINGS

These are exciting times for the Sacramento Kings, who are on the cusp of something because of the way De'Aaron Fox has come of age as a point guard. For a 21-year-old, that qualifies as being ahead of schedule. Typically it takes years of reps before a playmaker starts to grasp the interconnected, 10-man web of cause and effect that is a professional basketball game.

Fox is, apparently, precocious—as you might guess from his leap outside the Top 100 all the way to 33. Some fairly advanced maneuvers found their way into his game early in his second season, providing exciting new means for a player who was already too quick for many opponents.

The great variable is his long-range shooting. For a player flagged for a questionable jumper coming into the league and a well below-average shooter in year one, to suddenly hit threes at a 37% clip feels like it could be too good to be true. The changes in the way Fox deciphers the game feel real. The shooting bumps seems more illusory, though even some regression to the mean could leave Fox with a reliable enough shot to keep a defense honest. Follow the thread and you can imagine a defender’s despair. If they can’t go under a ball screen for Fox, they’ll have to beat him in a footrace around it. If they can’t close the gap, they’ll need that much more help—leaving Fox’s teammates that much more open. It all starts with a single matchup problem. Fox might present one from the moment he steps on the court.

SI Rank #64
BUDDY HIELD
SACRAMENTO KINGS

The only other player to make as many threes as Buddy Hield did last season (278) at the same percentage (42.7%) or better is Stephen Curry. Even if we account for the fact that volume three-point shooting is a distinctly modern art form, that at the very least makes Hield a virtuoso among his peers. He stands as proof of the power in unflappability. Hield will take pull-up threes in transition, line up a shot one-on-five, or fire without regard for a closing defender. Shooting with that sort of abandon is its own sort of dynamism. Hield can put pressure on a defense just by running the floor, and does so tirelessly. Any movement risks Hield—whose form is as smooth and swift as any player in the league—punishing the defense with a quick three, effectively forcing their hand. The NBA has its share of great shooters. Becoming a 20-point scorer based on that shooting, however, requires all sorts of supplemental skills (ball-handling, footwork, intuition, timing, and balance, to name a few) that Hield has in spades. Now, about that defense …

Bogdan Bogdanović, Kings: The strength of Bogdanović’s game is the way he plugs into an offense. There are wings who make plays because they believe a perimeter player should, and there are wings who make plays because the rhythm of the game demands it. Bogdanović is in the latter category. Start up the action and he’ll navigate accordingly, sliding into open spaces and setting up the next man in sequence. The gaps in his game (Bogdanović should really be a better defender and rebounder, considering his size) cost him in the Top 100 running, but he’s a joy to watch, regardless.

Marvin Bagley, Kings: See above. Ayton and Bagley are in a similar boat as productive young players who haven’t quite pinned down the nuances of winning basketball. That’s not really a slight; it’s hard to be proficient in professional-grade systems as a 20-year-old, which is why veterans comprise the bulk of our list.

Trevor Ariza, Kings: When a 3-and-D wing is neither shooting nor defending not defending like he used to, some reconsideration is in order. In fairness, playing for the Wizards and Suns isn’t easy. It also probably isn’t as hard as Ariza sometimes made it look. Still a good player, but at 34 years old and counting, seems to be moving into a different phase of his career.

 

[Telemachus]

Kings have 2 players in the Top 100 (Fox & Buddy):
https://www.si.com/nba/top-100-nba-players-2020

And 3 players who made the biggest snub list! (Bogi, Bagley & Ariza)
https://www.si.com/nba/2019/09/09/top-100-nba-players-2020-snubs-dwight-howard-deandre-ayton

Which other team can claim that?

-----

SI Rank #33
DE'AARON FOX
SACRAMENTO KINGS

These are exciting times for the Sacramento Kings, who are on the cusp of something because of the way De'Aaron Fox has come of age as a point guard. For a 21-year-old, that qualifies as being ahead of schedule. Typically it takes years of reps before a playmaker starts to grasp the interconnected, 10-man web of cause and effect that is a professional basketball game.

Fox is, apparently, precocious—as you might guess from his leap outside the Top 100 all the way to 33. Some fairly advanced maneuvers found their way into his game early in his second season, providing exciting new means for a player who was already too quick for many opponents.

The great variable is his long-range shooting. For a player flagged for a questionable jumper coming into the league and a well below-average shooter in year one, to suddenly hit threes at a 37% clip feels like it could be too good to be true. The changes in the way Fox deciphers the game feel real. The shooting bumps seems more illusory, though even some regression to the mean could leave Fox with a reliable enough shot to keep a defense honest. Follow the thread and you can imagine a defender’s despair. If they can’t go under a ball screen for Fox, they’ll have to beat him in a footrace around it. If they can’t close the gap, they’ll need that much more help—leaving Fox’s teammates that much more open. It all starts with a single matchup problem. Fox might present one from the moment he steps on the court.

SI Rank #64
BUDDY HIELD
SACRAMENTO KINGS

The only other player to make as many threes as Buddy Hield did last season (278) at the same percentage (42.7%) or better is Stephen Curry. Even if we account for the fact that volume three-point shooting is a distinctly modern art form, that at the very least makes Hield a virtuoso among his peers. He stands as proof of the power in unflappability. Hield will take pull-up threes in transition, line up a shot one-on-five, or fire without regard for a closing defender. Shooting with that sort of abandon is its own sort of dynamism. Hield can put pressure on a defense just by running the floor, and does so tirelessly. Any movement risks Hield—whose form is as smooth and swift as any player in the league—punishing the defense with a quick three, effectively forcing their hand. The NBA has its share of great shooters. Becoming a 20-point scorer based on that shooting, however, requires all sorts of supplemental skills (ball-handling, footwork, intuition, timing, and balance, to name a few) that Hield has in spades. Now, about that defense …

Bogdan Bogdanović, Kings: The strength of Bogdanović’s game is the way he plugs into an offense. There are wings who make plays because they believe a perimeter player should, and there are wings who make plays because the rhythm of the game demands it. Bogdanović is in the latter category. Start up the action and he’ll navigate accordingly, sliding into open spaces and setting up the next man in sequence. The gaps in his game (Bogdanović should really be a better defender and rebounder, considering his size) cost him in the Top 100 running, but he’s a joy to watch, regardless.

Marvin Bagley, Kings: See above. Ayton and Bagley are in a similar boat as productive young players who haven’t quite pinned down the nuances of winning basketball. That’s not really a slight; it’s hard to be proficient in professional-grade systems as a 20-year-old, which is why veterans comprise the bulk of our list.

Trevor Ariza, Kings: When a 3-and-D wing is neither shooting nor defending not defending like he used to, some reconsideration is in order. In fairness, playing for the Wizards and Suns isn’t easy. It also probably isn’t as hard as Ariza sometimes made it look. Still a good player, but at 34 years old and counting, seems to be moving into a different phase of his career.

You missed Harrison Barnes at #72.

 

[KingKong]

You missed Harrison Barnes at #72.

Oh right, damn.

SI Rank #72
HARRISON BARNES
SACRAMENTO KINGS

Harrison Barnes is reliable, professional, and unfortunately caught in the middle. Most low-usage wings are less skilled than he is, and thus marginalized accordingly. Yet most high-usage wings are more productive, more efficient, or at least more comfortable moving the ball—three qualities crucial to maintaining a healthy defense. What’s a team to do with a player like Barnes, who is overqualified as a role player but ill-suited to be a star? Attempts by Dallas and Sacramento to strike some sort of compromise have led to mixed results. It’s encouraging that Barnes is coming off the best three-point shooting season of his career (39.4% on 5.7 attempts per game) and remains a solid, multi-positional defender. The tradeoff is that Barnes defaults to stopping the ball too often, preferring to survey a situation rather than make quick, instinctive reads. Diligent players and teams can work around that sort of tendency, though there’s a natural friction when the ball-stopper in question isn’t quite a star-level creator.