Top 100 NBA Players: #90

Bill Sharman

(Simmons: #51, BBR: #77)

Bill Sharman was probably the first great shooting guard in NBA history. During his era, guards never shot over 40% from the field, but Sharman did it 9 straight times. He was also the first great free throw shooter, never shooting worse than .844 from the line, which included 7 seasons leading the league, and his .932 in 1959 stood as the best in history for nearly 20 years.

Sharman also won 4 NBA titles as a starter for the Boston Celtics at the end of his career. He was never the best player on those title teams, but he was the second-best player on the 1957 champs, then third or 4th best on the other 3 winners as Bill Russell and Tom Heinsohn emerged as stars.

He was one of the 5 best regular season players 3 times, including his peak years of 1956-57 and 1957-58, where he and Bob Cousy were the best duo in the league. Look at their overall stats from those two years:

Sharman - 21.7 pts, 4.5 reb, 3.1 ast, .420 FG%, .900 FT%
Cousy - 19.3 pts, 4.9 reb, 7.3 ast, .365 FG%, .833 FT%

Both were great scorers and rebounders for their position and era, both got a lot of assists in a time in which they were tougher to get, and both could hit free throws with the best of them. Putting these two together in the backcourt at that time would be similar to putting Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson together in the late 1980's. Can you imagine losing with that combination. It's no wonder they won 4 titles in 5 years.

Sharman's peak years may not have been quite as good as Boozer's, but he was consistently improving his game, as you can see from the trajectory of his chart above. He was always one of the best players in the league, and when he finally fell from that position, he walked away and became one of the better coaches of all time, and he is currently one of only 3 men to be inducted into the Hall of Fame as both a player and as a coach. The reason that he falls so much lower in these rankings than in some other similar ranking systems is that he was never better than the #4 player in the league in any given season or playoff series, and in a time when there were only between 80 and 110 players in the league, that only puts him in the top 5% for his time.

Top 100 NBA Players: #91

Carlos Boozer

(BBR: #261)

It may be tough to visualize Boozer as one of the all-time greats, but a large part of that may be due to his injury history. He has lost major portions of 4 seasons to various injuries, but when he has been on the court, he has been one of the best players in the league. During 2007, he was one of the 5 best players in the entire league, something no player below him on the list can say they ever accomplished. Unfortunately, he failed to earn a spot on any of the All-NBA teams that year, which is because they award those spots before the playoffs begin.

If they had taken the playoffs into account, the voters may have changed their choices. Of the 6 forwards chosen to the All-NBA teams that year, only 2 (Tim Duncan and LeBron James) made it out of the first round of the playoffs. Boozer and the Jazz? They made it to the Western Conference Finals before being knocked out by Duncan and the Spurs. Boozer's playoff averages that year were 23.5 points and 12.2 rebounds per game, not bad for a first-time playoff participant.

Putting Boozer ahead of Tom Chambers may seem a little strange, but if you compare their stats from their 3 best seasons, you'll see that the difference is not that great.

Boozer (2007, 2008, 2010) - 20.5 pts, 11.1 reb, .556 FG%
Chambers (1987, 1989, 1990) - 25.4 pts, 7.4 reb, .477 FG%

The two players were both starting power forwards for good Western Conference teams, and while it's obvious that Chambers was the better scorer, Boozer was much better on the boards and from the field. Both led teams to the conference finals, but neither made it to the NBA Finals during their peak years. Luckily for Boozer, his career is still not over. If he is able to play just a few more healthy, productive seasons, he'll make this choice seem easy. For now, Boozer just barely passes Chambers on the overall rankings, due to the fact that he has made it through the first round of the playoffs 4 times during his peak, while Chambers only did it 3 times.

NBA Playoff MVP Rankings - 13 May

I know I'm going to hear some complaints about a certain Maverick not being among my top five playoff performers so far, but there is a good reason for it. In the clinching game, he was not the reason Dallas won. It was partially due to Los Angeles giving up and partially due to Terry and Peja shooting the lights out. Dirk was just along for the ride in this one. It doesn't mean that he's out of the running, just not a current favorite. Here are my current top 5, with previous rankings in parentheses.

1. Derrick Rose - CHI - 28.8 pts, 4.5 reb, 8.2 ast, 1.5 stl (5)

Last week I criticized Rose for his poor shooting percentage throughout the playoffs, and he responded this week by shooting nearly 50% over 4 games, including a 53.8% mark over Chicago's 3 wins. He also averaged 32.5 points this week, and his numbers in every other statistical category have increased over his regular season averages. Also, Chicago is in the conference finals for the first time since MJ retired, as if all the other reasons to rank him here weren't enough.

2. Kevin Durant - OKC - 29.7 pts, 7.6 reb, 2.4 ast, 1.0 stl (3)

Durant's week was highlighted by his 35 points in a triple overtime win over Memphis in game 4 and 19 points in just 31 minutes in their game 5 blowout which allowed them to take control of the series back from the Grizzlies. He has upped his league-leading scoring average by 2 points in the playoffs to remain the leader.

3. LeBron James - MIA - 26.1 pts, 9.4 reb, 4.9 ast, 1.3 blk, 1.3 stl (2)

LeBron only scored 15 points in Miami's lone loss to Boston, but bounced back nicely with 35 and 33 in consecutive games to close out the series. The most impressive part was the ending of the final game, in which he scored the final 10 points of the game, which Miami won by that exact margin.

4. Zach Randolph - MEM - 22.0 pts, 10.7 reb, 2.7 ast, 1.2 stl (NR)

Randolph has been the driving force behind Memphis' playoff success so far, but in the past 4 games he has shot an abysmal 31.9% from the field as the Grizzlies have lost 3 of 4. His best game came in their lone win this week, in which he tallied 21 points and 21 rebounds to control the paint for Memphis.

5. Marc Gasol - MEM - 15.9 pts, 11.8 reb, 2.4 ast, 2.1 blk, 1.1 stl (NR)

Marc has outplayed his older and more famous brother by far in the playoffs, making that Memphis-Los Angeles trade a couple years ago look a little less one-sided than it did at the time. Marc had 26 points and 21 rebounds in the triple overtime loss to Oklahoma City, a game in which he made two of the most crucial plays, a block near the end of regulation, and a tip-in near the end of the second overtime, both of which allowed the Grizzlies to hang around.

NBA Player of the Day

Carlos Boozer - CHI - 23 pts, 10 reb, 5 ast, 10-16 FG, 3-3 FT

While his MVP teammate may be #1 in the playoff MVP rankings, the clinching game of the Atlanta series belonged to Boozer, who finally broke out of his playoff slump and led Chicago to the conference finals with the with his second straight double-double.

Predictions - 13 May

Upset picks are in italics.

NBA

Thunder at Grizzlies - Grizz by 1

MLB

Giants at Cubs - Giants by 0.9

Mariners at Indians - Indians by 1.4

Royals at Tigers - Royals by 0.3

Red Sox at Yankees - Yankees by 1.4

Marlins at Nationals - Marlins by 0.2

Orioles at Rays - Rays by 2.3

Cardinals at Reds - Cards by 0.8

Phillies at Braves - Braves by 0.1

Angels at Rangers - Angels by 0.3

Mets at Astros - Mets by 1.7

Blue Jays at Twins - Jays by 1.9

Pirates at Brewers - Brewers by 0.3

Padres at Rockies - Rockies by 1.1

White Sox at Athletics - A's by 0.0

Diamondbacks at Dodgers - D-Backs by 0.1

Prediction Results - 12 May

NBA Playoffs: 1-0 (1.000) 46-18 overall (.719)

MLB: 5-2 (.714) 209-195 overall (.517)

Upsets: 1-0 (1.000) 240-169 overall (.587)