SI hat die 100 besten Spieler der NBA gelistet:
http://www.si.com/nba/top-100-nba-players-2016?page=4&devicetype=default
drei Jazzer sind dicht beiander
#39
Rudy Gobert (letztes Jahr: -)
It took just 37 games as a starter last season for Gobert to make an upstart case for Defensive Player of the Year. Utah just so happened to rank as the best defensive team in the league from the moment of Gobert’s promotion. The causality is transparent. According to
a metric created by Nylon Calculus, no player saved more points at the rim in the regular season; Gobert was not only positioned well to contest a ton of opponent attempts but allowed a league-low 40.4% on those shots. No one in the NBA has yet figured out what to do with the 23-year-old eraser, who in two brief seasons has risen from prospect of intrigue to undeniable stalwart.
Gobert is choosy enough to understand when to stay down and
bold enough to challenge a power dunker as they pull back the hammer. Length allows him to split the difference. There are many possessions where Gobert, who has a 9’7” standing reach, is able to snuff out an attempt while staying square and planted. This keeps him agile in case the offense bails out, able to respond to a quick dump-off pass or an unexpected change in direction. When he does leave his feet, Gobert does a first-rate job of tracking his block to collect the rebound. That kind of follow-through is rare. It’s uncommon enough that a player who swats (in a literal sense, as opposed to blocking shots with vertical extension) as many shots as Gobert manages to keep so many inbounds, much less chase them down to complete the defensive play.
Unsurprisingly, Gobert’s diligence on the boards translates more broadly. He rated as one of the best rebounders in the league last season on both sides of the ball, yielding top-five standing in total rebound percentage. Those rebounds he collected on the offensive end doubled as a crucial source of offense. Nearly a third of Gobert’s points last season came off of put-backs and the like—a ratio expressive of his wealth of second-chance points and dearth of other scoring opportunities. Height and athleticism don’t always translate to offense so easily. At the moment, Gobert scores little for his finite accessibility. If he isn’t given the ball at just the right time and within a specific distance of the rim, he doesn’t have the repertoire to convert. Give him time; a player good enough to qualify for the top 40 prior to his third season has earned a little latitude. – R.M.
2014-15: 8.4 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 2.3 BPG, 60.4 FG%
Advanced: 21.6 PER, Win Shares: 9.3, +1.97 RPM
#37
Derrick Favors (letztes Jahr: 79)
Grizzlies guard Mike Conley has been the NBA’s reigning “most underrated” player for two or three years now, a length of time that really should invalidate the title. So let’s nominate a new candidate: Derrick Favors. The Jazz big man fits this bill precisely for so many reasons. He plays in Utah, he’s a member of a young team that hasn’t turned the corner
(but soon will), his teammates Gordon Hayward and Rudy Gobert hog the spotlight, his rise has been steady not meteoric, and he gets lost in the shuffle in a Western Conference that is stacked with future Hall of Famers and perennial All-Stars at his position.
Those are all the reasons no one ever talks about Favors. Here are the reasons they should. Favors, 24, was one of just nine players to average 16/8 last season; he was the second-youngest member of that group, behind Anthony Davis, and seven of his fellow members have been All-Stars during their careers. Thanks to his productivity, efficient shooting, and strong two-way play, Favors is the rare under-25 player who aces every major advanced stat, ranking 14th overall in PER among minutes-qualified players, 25th in Win Shares, 37th in Real Plus-Minus and 31st in WARP. Favors is a plus player on both sides: Utah’s offensive rating was 4.6 points better with him on the court last season and Utah’s defensive rating was 6.2 points better with Favors once
a midseason trade freed him from the burden of Enes Kanter. Favors is big, strong and his presence is felt: he commands attention on the block on the offensive end with a workmanlike offensive repertoire and he is a strong post defender who blocks his share of shots and can live on an island without panicking. Favors is reliable and improving: he’s never missed more than 10 games in a season, which stands as a nice feather in the cap for a young big playing rotation minutes, and he’s upped his per-game output each year for five straight seasons, even though Utah has undergone significant roster turnover and multiple coaching changes during that time.
It’s probably best not to hold your breath waiting for a national awakening about Favors. Even if coach Quin Snyder is able to strike the right balance and the Jazz qualify for the playoffs, Hayward (a legit All-Star candidate who is by far the team’s best all-around offensive player) and Gobert (a strong Defensive Player of the Year and All-Defensive candidate) are sure to garner most of the praise. That’s fine and totally understandable, just don’t completely forget about the third member of Utah’s rising triumvirate. – B.G.
2014-15: 16 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 1.7 BPG, 52.5 FG%
Advanced: 21.8 PER, Win Shares: 8.3, +3.40 RPM
#31
Gordon Hayward (letztes Jahr: 57)
Gordon Hayward has blossomed into an efficient alpha scorer who is knocking on the door of All-Star status. Hayward, 25, has been a quality all-around playmaker for a few years now, but he has faced some major handicaps: he’s played on young teams, he’s been stuck without great point guards, he’s been asked to do too much, and he spent much of his early career playing for an uncreative offensive mind. However, coach Quin Snyder’s first season saw Utah improve from 25th to 15th in offensive efficiency. Hayward benefited from higher-quality looks, improved flow, more catch-and-shoot opportunities, and a new pick-and-roll finisher in Rudy Gobert. The Jazz were 6.6 points better offensively with Hayward on the court last season, as he helped compensate for a season-ending shoulder injury to Alec Burks and uninspiring contributions from Trey Burke.
On the ball, Hayward has become a decisive, confident pick-and-roll initiator with a better, more natural feel for how to counter various coverages, string out defenses and create open shots for his teammates. He’s become more adept at employing his innovative shot-creation skills—losing over-aggressive defenders with his crossover and drawing fouls in tight quarters with subtle, unexpected feints—and his career-high free throw attempts reflect an off-the-dribble assertiveness that makes him a constant threat to score from the arc to the rim. Defensively, Hayward competes, he has the right size/quickness/strength combination to stick with most wings, and he rarely shoots himself in the foot.
Hayward could receive serious All-Star consideration next year. Last season, he was one of just eight players to average 19/4/4, and the other seven were all All-Stars. Hayward’s per-game numbers and advanced stats compare favorably with Jimmy Butler (2015) and Paul George (2014), two-way wings who earned All-Star nods in the East. While the standard is always higher in the West, Hayward trails only Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard on the conference’s small forward pecking order. — B.G.