CD2's NBA Top Ten Players: Chronos Edition
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| Chronos, the Greek God of Time |
10. Anthony Davis (F/C) -
Time for further refinement of game and strengthening. The West is not a game and he probably will not be able to lead them into the 7th or 8th seed, but it is time for him to have them competing for the 9th seed and possibly be in the hunt for the 8th seed going into the last month of the season. Hopefully he takes a cue from Tim Duncan as in learning to use his amazing talent to set up teammate which would in turn make it impossible for him to be guarded.
T-9. Goran Dragic (G) - Phoenix Suns
T-9. Kyrie Irving (PG) - Cleveland Cavaliers
T-9. Stephen Curry (G) - Golden State Warriors
T-9. Damien Lillard (G) - Portland Trail Blazers
These 4 are the same player essentially. Each have a strengths and weaknesses in different areas, but the aggregate has them coming out the same. None are the best defenders, but guarding point guards in today's NBA is virtually impossible with the officiating and gauntlet of on-ball screens. Well, with the exception of that beast in Houston by the name of Patrick Beverly. It's time for all four to take their teams to the next level on both sides of the ball.
8. Kevin Love (PF) - Cleveland Cavaliers
Time for Love to show the world what he is about. He will be exposed to a plethora of big, national TV games. Sure he's been on national TV games such as T-Wolves vs. Pelicans on ESPN's Friday broadcast. Now he will be in monster Thursday/Sunday matchups against the Spurs, Heat, Thunder, etc. (Heat only a monster game due to the LeBron factor). He is polarizing. Some believe his rebounding is inflated by his refusal to really D-up, compromising defensive positioning for rebound positioning. Time for him to show us he is a championship-level player and I think he will show that.
7. Russell Westbrook (G) - Oklahoma City [Insert New Team Nickname]
Time for everyone to leave Russell the f*** alone. People have basketball DNA. He does not have the DNA of a Magic, CP3, Jason Kidd, John Stockton, etc. He is a shooting guard by basketball DNA that constantly gets played at point guard. And it is working for OKC as they have been one of the most successful Western Conference teams during the 2010s. He is high octane, so his turnovers will be a little on the high side. Two years ago, he would have been in that T-9 list above. However, he has the ability and willingness to turn up on defense and become a terror for nearly any point guard when he is not going directly for the steal.
6. Dwight Howard (C) - Houston Rockets
Time for a giant step towards leadership. It is easy to slam Dwight, and a lot of it is his own doing and some of it due to his personality which is not his own doing. Not everyone can be bulldogs like Kobe, CP3, or Westbrook, or smooth leaders like Duncan, LeBron, or Dirk. He does need take his place as the leader take this team beyond the first round. Having a star like Harden probably does not help him. He produces like no other center, but another early playoff bounce, goofy behavior, and displays of terrible basketball IQ will make me drop him next year.
5. Blake Griffin (PF) - Los Angeles Clippers
Time for the eff-you mentality. The league has made it clear that they do not like him on the court for whatever reasons. They will take any shot at him they could. The NBA is a lot like MLB only when it comes to Blake. He's has to just say eff-it and try to take over the league. He was playing at an MVP-level in moments last years especially when CP3 went down for a month or two. Eff the criticism. Eff the cheap shots. Eff worrying about the referees making calls or no-calls. Probably my most controversial post, but I'm betting on him.
4. Tony Parker (PG) - San Antonio Spurs
Time for another year and another championship run. He can pretty much hit cruise control and keep his performance maintained. At this point, he is never going to be a knock-down three point shooter, but that is just fine. He will likely get the Pop treatment even more, meaning we should expect him to play no more than 68 games.
3. Chris Paul (PG) - Los Angeles Clippers
Time for a serious championship contention. I hated to do this, but I had no choice. I had to drop him one spot from the last few years due to getting bounced by a team with 2 players and a hobbled third. It is not all his fault, but there were times he made some crucial mistakes down the stretch. He and Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers picture, are similar. Perhaps they are too wound up mentally and they grip high pressure moments in the playoff too much, causing them to not play like themselves. We shall see if they can at least get to the West Finals.
2. Kevin Durant (F) - Oklahoma City [Insert New Team Nickname]
Time for Evil KD. We are already seeing him snipe at fans and media, which is great. It's time to start going in on teammates, Westbrook included, when necessary. It's also that unfortunate time for media folk to bombard he and OKC with all the Wizards talk for when he's off the books after the 2015-2016 season. Broussard, Smith, Stein, et al. will talk about how sources within KD's camp are hinting at him doing the LeBron by going home. Anyway, go nuts KD. It's about time.
1. LeBron James (F) - Cleveland Cavaliers
Time for a peaceful LeBron. LeBron has some youngsters with game that will help his carry the load. Miami somehow turned into the old LeBron Cleveland teams. Being 30 years old in a couple months, it's about that time to coast to through the self-actualized phase of his career and start to climb the all-time charts. He may not be as peaceful when he realizes their weakness is one from Miami, average (at best) paint defense. Unless Haywood is somehow viable...
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