Cornerstones

NBA Cornerstones: Small Forward

Chris McGlynn Basketball, Cornerstones, NBA , , , , ,

Cornerstone players will be a recurring theme on Second Look Sports where I look at each position in a certain sport and I choose a cornerstone player to build my franchise around. I will have a couple of parameters for this selection though I will factor in age, potential, injury history, experience, reputation and production. I think it should be a fun and interesting topic to discuss on here. I hope that you guys agree.

The selection: LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
Honorable mentions: Tobias Harris, Kevin Durant, Gordon Hayward, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard

This decision was more of a consideration between youth and potential or experience and leadership. The only issue is, you really can’t argue with selecting the best player in the world. The selection came down between Kevin Durant and LeBron James, as it rightfully should. While James may be the older player at 30 as opposed to Durant at 26, James has an insane amount of big game experience. He has played 158 career playoff games to Durant’s 73. James also has two rings while Durant has still been unable to lead his team to a title. Both players are equally as durable missing minimal time and playing through injuries throughout their careers. The truth is that LeBron might be the best player in the world but right behind him is Durant. These two being at the same position makes this increasingly difficult.

For starters, both Durant and James are elite scoring threats. LeBron’s career average of 27.5 points per game is a shade higher than Durant’s 27.3. What makes James so scary though is the array of moves in his arsenal. He can take it to the bucket, he can hit the step-back jumper and he can back you down in the post. That makes him hard to defend because you are never quite sure what he is going to do next. It is hard to differentiate between the former MVP and the reigning one, but LeBron simply scores more effectively. James hits on about 50 percent of his shots, which is an absurd rate considering how many he takes per game (and it’s about 20). Durant converts 48 percent of his shots, but the extra push gives James the edge.

James also dominants in just about every aspect of the game. Over his eleven-year career, the four time MVP has averaged right around seven rebounds and seven assists per game. Looking at his full stat line, LeBron regularly puts up 27, 7 and 7. I don’t know if there is another player in the league right now who is capable of accomplishing that. Durant averages roughly seven rebounds a night but only dishes out between three and four assists. Those are still impeccable numbers but they do not add up to what James can accomplish.

Another thing that makes James so skilled is his cerebral play. I do not have any statistic to back this up but if you watch film of the Akron, Ohio native long enough, you notice his ability to get other players involved in the action. He makes sure guys get their points and promotes a team-first approach. He also has an incredible understanding of the game and acts as a coach on the court. Sometimes that can cause an issue as we have seen this season with David Blatt but in the past, under Mike Brown and later Erik Spoelstra, James has flourished and found a good mix between being the student and the teacher.
On the defensive side of the ball, LeBron has been an above average player. He consistently comes up with just short of one block and 1.7 steals per night. His defense has definitely started to slip a little over the past two seasons and it shows in his demeanor. James will certainly begin to decline in about two or three years but those few years are well worth the investment.

With all that James is capable of, he is not perfect. He is an average free throw shooter, only hitting about 75 percent of his attempts. He is also a middling 3-point shooter, with roughly 35 percent of his shot going in this season from beyond the arc. He has shot over 40 percent though in a season before, so there is reason to believe that James, who is known for adding elements to his game during the offseason, could improve his long ball still, even in the later stages of his career.

He also has managed to do a fairly good job with ball security considering his high usage rate. He has averaged 3.3 turnovers per game in his career, only slightly worse than Durant’s average of 3.2. He is not known for his ankle breaker dribbling either but he still knows how to make a couple of moves to get himself some space to shoot. His hesitation move is also one of the best in the NBA because of his explosiveness.

I get that this is a questionable decision because of his age and high number of minutes logged but sit back and think about building an NBA team. In James, you get a versatile player capable of adjusting his game play and style in a variety of ways. He is smart enough to be a coach on the court and he is athletic and strong enough to make some plays that others simply cannot. In a year or two, he will no longer be a worthy candidate for this title because he is definitely heading into his final years of contributing at a truly elite level. Until then, he will keep dominating opponents, always making his team a title contender.

For previous Cornerstones selections, click here.

NBA Cornerstones: Shooting Guard

Chris McGlynn Basketball, Cornerstones, NBA , , , , ,

Cornerstone players will be a recurring theme on Second Look Sports where I look at each position in a certain sport and I choose a cornerstone player to build my franchise around. I will have a couple of parameters for this selection though I will factor in age, potential, injury history, experience, reputation and production. I think it should be a fun and interesting topic to discuss on here. I hope that you guys agree.

The selection: James Harden, Houston Rockets
Honorable mentions: Jimmy Butler, Andrew Wiggins, Klay Thompson, Tyreke Evans, Victor Oladipo

This pick was a lot more clear-cut than my previous selection turned out to be. Not to say that there aren’t many good shooting guards, there is just one that stands out above the rest. James Harden is one of the best players in the league and he is having an MVP caliber season in Houston. He is only 25 years old and likely has another 8 or so years left in the tank where he can play at an elite level. While he is already an excellent player he is still improving, evident by his overhauled defensive play this year. The other thing that Harden brings to the table that very few others do is playoff experience. In his first five seasons, Harden played in 55 postseason games. He was part of the Thunder team that made it to the 2012 Finals after playing in the Conference Finals the year before. Harden actually hasn’t played a year in the association where his team did not make the playoffs.

All of that aside, Harden would still win for best two guard purely on his superior stat line. He is leading the league in scoring this year. Not just shooting guards, all players. He also has the most assists per game and the third most rebounds per game by a shooting guard. Defensively, he ranks fourth in blocks and first in steals among shooting guards as well. This decision is an absolute no brainer. He is clearly the best shooting guard in the league right now and that likely won’t change any time soon.

He can basically score at will with his 27.6 points per contest. Since becoming a starter when he moved to the Rockets in 2012, Harden has averaged 26.3 points per game. He also scores them fairly efficiently. Harden has turned himself into a much more consistent shooter over the last two seasons, hitting on roughly 45.5 percent of his shots. He has also been an above average three-point shooter, converting 37 percent of his attempts. The man who’s beard takes on a legend of its own has also improved his free throw shooting every year that he has been in the league and is now making almost 89 percent of his attempts from the line.

I mentioned his defensive stats this season being impressive and they are even more so because of his historical weakness on that end of the court. He is not an elite defender quite yet but the recent improvements provide some hope that there is potential for Harden on defense. This better defensive play also has Harden’s player efficiency rating higher than it has ever been previously. He ranks third behind only Anthony Davis and Kevin Durant among starters for the highest rating in the league. In the past, Harden’s overall efficiency was held back by his below average defensive play. Offense might still be where he excels but he has turned himself into a much more complete player.

Another knock against “The Beard” is his high number of turnovers, which sits at four per game this season. However, Harden has the seventh highest usage percentage in the NBA this year. He fits in right about where all of the six players in front of him do for turnovers per game. The reality is, when you handle the ball a lot in the NBA, you are going to have a much higher number of turnovers.

You can make the argument that Thompson is a better shooter, or that Butler is a better defender or that Wiggins has more potential but for the combined mix of talents James Harden brings to the table, it does not matter. Harden is probably one of the best all-around players in the league right now and could push himself into the conversation of being the best if his defense continues to improve. When he plays, he is involved in just about every facet of what happens on the court.
Despite how good of a supporting cast Harden has, featuring Dwight Howard, Josh Smith and Terrance Jones most notably, Harden is still making the largest impact on the game. He leads the NBA in a stat called Win Shares, which calculates how much a player contributes to his team winning. The fact that Harden is tops in the league for that and has the highest value over replacement value of any player this season speaks volumes. Harden is a proven winner and while he may not have an NBA title to his name yet, he is definitely the shooting guard I want on my team to help me pursue one.

For previous Cornerstones selections, click here.

NBA Cornerstones: Point Guard

Chris McGlynn Basketball, Cornerstones, NBA , , , ,

Cornerstone players will be a recurring theme on Second Look Sports where I look at each position in a certain sport and I choose a cornerstone player to build my franchise around. I will have a couple of parameters for this selection though I will factor in age, potential, injury history, experience, reputation and production. I think it should be a fun and interesting topic to discuss on here. I hope that you guys agree.

I thought I would start first with the NBA. This is one of the smaller size professional teams as far as American sports go. So without further ado, let’s get going with this one.

The selection: Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
Honorable mentions: Derrick Rose, Damian Lillard, Chris Paul, and Russell Westbrook

This took a little bit of thinking. Curry still has probably another five or six years of his prime left in him. The longevity factor is there, which makes Curry a logical choice. Outside of the 2011 lockout year, the former Davidson guard has played in at least 74 games every season. That is not perfect but I will take that over the uncertainty of Rose. Curry also has the potential to still improve a little bit in his career. His potential to improve his passing is there. He has been a good distributor already but he has the potential to grow into a great one. His defensive presence is lacking as well and could definitely use a boost.

Now, Paul is a better passer. He fills the role of pure point guard a bit better than Curry does. However, the Clippers guard does not score anywhere close to as much as Curry does. Curry also finds a way to do it at an efficient level. The 26-year old has shot 47 percent from the field over his 6-year NBA career. That is much better than Westbrook or Lillard, who both sit around 43% for their career. He is also a deadeye from beyond the arc. If the 2015 season ended today, it would be the first time Curry ever finished below 40 percent shooting from 3-point territory. Even still, it would only be at 39.9 percent. He has also been solid from the line over his 6 years as well shooting a shade under 90 percent. Shooting wise, Curry might be the best guard in the NBA (maybe other than Kyle Korver). He is a marksman on the court and efficiently destroys teams.
With his shooting abilities, Golden State’s leading scorer is also eighth in scoring for the league this year. The only other point guard in the top 20 is Lillard, but he ranks eleventh. Westbrook does not qualify yet because he has not played enough games in 2015 due to injury. Since 2012, Curry has scored more than 22 points per game in every season. His career average at this point is now up to over 20 a game.  Curry also has hit the most three pointers of any point guard so far this season, again slightly ahead of Lillard. The man can score and likely will continue to do so at a high rate.

Curry also has proven he can develop into a floor general. He is not as good as Paul is in this respect but well above average. Curry has averaged about 6.8 assists per night throughout his career and he is improving, as that number for each of the last two years was 8.5 and 8.1 respectively. He has some better pieces around him in California now so we should see Curry posting between 8 and 9 assist per night. Those are not eye-popping numbers but they are very good for a player regarded more as a shoot first point guard. The 2015 All Star also has some very talented dribbling abilities. He can break down players in the open court and will occasionally break a player’s ankles. Curry has also averaged just over three turnovers per game for his career, which is a solid number for a player with a usage rating of over 25 percent.

I think overall Curry is probably one of the top three point guards in the NBA. The other two are probably Paul and Westbrook. Paul is a better passer and scores efficiently but he is not a dominant scorer. Westbrook is an athletic playmaker who has an uncanny ability to get to the basket, he also can put up a lot of assists playing for the Thunder but he is a streaky and overall average at best shooter. Curry is a combination of the two. He has the athletic ability to give slower guards some problems and he is an incredible shooter who will make contested baskets. Curry does have some shortcomings with his defensive game needing a little bit of work. It is beginning to improve but overall it is fairly weak. Westbrook, Paul and Rose all play much better defense. He also lacks experience when it comes to playing deep into the playoffs. Only Westbrook and Rose really have that experience. So, while the pick isn’t perfect, I am sticking to it. My first NBA cornerstone player has to be Steph Curry.