CD2's 2013 Top Ten NBA Players (Holding Tank Edition)

The last year and a half has given us a plethora of injuries to star players. Therefore, making a top ten list became even more arduous as one has to decide how players will be rated. Is it based on overall career performance? Is it based on previous season performance? It is based on each player's projected performance for the upcoming season? How are injured players considered? How much is value considered with respect to annual salary (Klay Thompson is number 2 behind LeBron on this list)? ESPN created a firestorm when they listed Kobe Bryant at number 25. It was very polarizing, which was probably their intention. Some thought it was generous while others though it was utter disrespect.

I decided to have a top ten list based on players' recent performance leading into this season and how I think players are going to perform this year. I decided to create the Holding Tank this year, which is a slightly modified version of last year's The Cluster. The Holding Tank is reserved for those that are coming off serious injuries and would otherwise be in contention for a top ten spot. Also included are those that are not quite in the top ten due to something missing in their game or youth, but are very close and deserve mention. Some are top ten staples, but serious injury should not be taken lightly while this era of cutting edge medical advances causes us to take serious injuries for granted.

The Holding Tank

Kobe Bryant (injury)
Russell Westbrook (injury)
Derrick Rose (injury)
Kevin Love (injury)
Rajon Rondo (injury)
Damien Lillard (youth)
Klay Thompson (youth)
Blake Griffin (missing consistent post play and defense)

The Top Ten

9-2. Uncle Drew

As soon as I finished typing that final "w," I had that feeling you get when you eat that one last slice of pizza you should not have had. I don't feel that good about this, and he is a borderline Holding Tank member. If the regular top ten members were healthy, he would not be on this list. Nonetheless, the guy does not suck. He's in his third year and I get the feeling he will be Chris Paul 2.0. I will be looking for him, among many others, to make the jump to be a regular top ten member. He has the squad with enough experience to get them into in the playoffs in an Eastern Conference that is weak the closer you get to the bottom.

9-1. Steph Curry

Steph is in the same boat as Irving; he is not quite there as a complete player, and is here due to the circumstances. In my lifetime as a coherent person, I do not think I have ever seen a knockdown shooter with the potency as Curry. Wide open jumpshots are layups for him and I am not speaking in hyperbole. He has a chance to be the greatest shooter to ever play the game. What makes him different from typical shooters is that he can shoot lights out in any way, not just by spotting up. He can shoot off the dead run, while set, has the runner, long range, mid range and short range, off the screen, off the step back, off the dribble, and because of all this he is not a bad penetrater and finisher near the rim. Coming out of college, he developed into a better passer than I thought he could be. He is lacking defensive awareness, but that can be improved with more experience. He's one of the main reasons why the NBA League Pass is a must.

8. Gasol the Younger

Gasol the Younger probably does as much as anyone in the league when it comes to embodying the style and attitude of his team, along with Z-Bo of course. He the most solid center in the league. He's a decent scorer on the low block and has a decent mid range jumper; he's a decent pick and roll/pop player; he can handle the ball a little; a very good defender; decent shot blocker; and great passer. While Chandler and Ibaka are more dynamic shot blockers, Gasol the Younger is a better position defender. Howard is better overall defensively and has a better offensive output in terms of points, but Gasol is the more refined overall offensive player. And unlike many centers in the league, he's a great free throw shooter, especially for a center.

7. The Beard

I guess being left handed is an advantage because defenders tend to forget lefties are lefties at times and get exposed. He gets to his left very often as he is one of those type of players I hate guarding. I can typically guard fast and quick players. However, the shifty, crafty players were are more challenging as you never know when they are going to pull up, hesitate, stop and go, cross, pump fake, step back, or explode. It like guarding my childhood boy Chub. He wasn't fast at all, most dubbed "Chub" aren't going to be, but I hated guarding him because he did a lot of herky-jerky stuff. Now The Beard is deceptively fast and quick, but it really does sneak up on you. With Kobe out, he is sitting on top of the 2 guard throne. His next move is to see if he will elevate to hall of fame level especially since he is squad up in Houston.

6. Paul George

I saw this coming once he got into the NBA. It was strange because he was sort of a late bloomer and relatively unknown as he played at Fresno State. Once he got to the league, I could see all the physical tools on display. Last year he made a huge step and now sky is the limit. The only reason why I cannot call him LeBron lite is body size and his not as great court awareness (it's still pretty good though...it's just that LeBron is one of the all time greats in this field). His frame will not allow him to be as versatile as a LeBron on defense, but he can still guard 3 positions, rather than 4 or 5, pretty easily. He's squad up in Indy, though they could probably use one more guard/wingman, so it should be fun watching him lead them over the next presumably decade.

5. Dwight Howard

D12 is one of those guys that are just damned by who he is. There is something missing about his thought processess at times, but nonetheless he has innocent intentions. We tend to overlook what he is on the basketball court because we do not like the aesthetics of his post moves. However, he is a great defender that is more healthy and in better shape as he had to spend half of last year getting in shape after back surgery. He uses up a teams' fouls. While he shoots poorly from the stripe, he provides more free throw attempts for his better free throw shooting teammates and his team will be in the bonus sooner and more often. Interesting how Houston has two top ten players (according to me at least) and he actually chose where he wanted to play, which was the right move in my opinion. His legacy will be up to him from here on out.

4. Tony Parker

Parker is still riding that wave from a couple seasons ago when he took his game to the next level by being even more efficient and increasing his assists per game by 1 all the while Duncan and Ginobili have been in perpetual decline as far as how much they can give on a game to game basis. Parker started early at 19, and him seemingly never shaving, leads people to believe he is much older than 31. He still has plenty of game left and Pop does a good job at managing minutes. I expect him to have the same year he's been having the past couple years.

3. Kevin Durant

It's crazy how we, me included, assumed how he was going to lead OKC into at least a Western Conference Dynasty and perhaps an NBA dynasty. However, his sidekick's injury is quick reminder as to how fragile NBA careers and team success is. He got a whiff of what LeBron had to endure while he was at Cleveland when Westbrook went down. It's HARD. His offensive efficiency is laughable given how much he scores; he just doesn't miss often even while going for 30-40 any given night, unlike other players that score a lot. I'm only wondering if he is going to make that jump defensively and actually challenge LeBron as being dominant on both sides of the ball. I don't know if that's possible, but that's what's keeping him from challenging for the 1 spot for now.

2. Chris/Cliff Paul

I've been on the CP3 boat since his early days in New Orleans and constanty whined about him being the most underrated player. In the past couple years, I'm feeling and seeing that he's getting his due as a top 3 players. Pretty much everyone has Durant above him, and that's fair. I have him at 2 because of he overall impact on a game even while being the smallest on the court most of the time. I still feel like he does more because if Damien Lillard, Derrick Rose, Steph Curry, etc roll into town, he's guarding and challenging all of them while Durant is typically hidden on the worst wingman or power forward or whichever comes first. He has zero weaknesses. He's now getting a little backlash because "he hasn't won anything." He's never had a great supporting cast with a good head coach. Go look at those New Orleans teams and the Clippers' head coach last year then tell me if that's on him...

1. LeBron

This this point, if you are still denying him as the best (I'm looking at you Laker fans) right now then you need to publicly hanged. I won't call you crazy if you don't think he will challenge Jordan for GOAT, but it is still naive. Don't be fooled by Jordan speaking out against LeBron saying he wouldn't be a match for him. He says Kobe is the one that would challenge him, but he knows that nobody is ever going to put Kobe above him on any list. LeBron, on the other hand, is a legitimate threat which is why Jordan is very reluctant to praise him and consider him a worthy adversary. LeBron is a mutant or alien or something, so I expect him to have about 3-4 more peak years.