Where Do Your Rockets Rank On #NBARank?
By Yoni Pollak
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
ESPN has ranked 500 NBA players this preseason and have finally made it to the final five. The Rockets had 19 players represented on the list though two of them are not on the current roster anymore.
How does ESPN rank the players?
From the ESPN website:
"We asked our ESPN Forecast panel to rate each player on a 0-to-10 scale, in terms of “the overall level of play for each player for the upcoming NBA season.”"
Let’s take a look at where each Rockets player is ranked.
ESPN NBA Rank
#4. James Harden – Score 8.94 – Last year ranked #26 – Link
#7. Dwight Howard – Score 8.69 – Last year ranked #3 – Link
#58. Chandler Parsons – Score 6.54 – Last year ranked #152 – Link
#64. Omer Asik – Score 6.30 – Last year ranked #99 – Link
#106. Jeremy Lin – Score 5.59 – Last year ranked #78 – Link
#174. Patrick Beverley – Score 4.59 – Last year ranked NR – Link
#239. Francisco Garcia – Score 3.97 – Last year ranked #264 – Link
#244. Donatas Motiejunas – Score 3.91 – Last year ranked #324 – Link
#261. Ronnie Brewer – Score 3.80 – Last year ranked #167 – Link
#283. Aaron Brooks – Score 3.50 – Last year ranked #189 – Link
#288. Omri Casspi – Score 3.45 – Last year ranked #208 – Link
#297. Terrence Jones – Score 3.33 – Last year ranked #311 – Link
#300. Greg Smith – Score 3.29 – Last year ranked #484 – Link
#319. Reggie Williams – Score – 3.11 – Last year ranked #283 – Link
#363. Marcus Camby – Score – 2.77 – Last year ranked #127 – Link
#419. Isaiah Canaan – Score – 2.39 – Last year ranked NR – Link
#478. B.J. Young – Score – 1.95 – Last year ranked NR – Link
#493. Robert Covington – Score – 1.69 – Last year ranked NR – Link
#498 Jordan Henriquez – Score – 1.56 – Last year ranked NR – Link
Based on this list, the Rockets have two of the top seven players in the NBA. It’s been clear in NBA history that a championship team needs at least one superstar and if you have more (Heat) then it’s even better. Daryl Morey finally got his two superstars within one year and this team now seems poised to make a championship run. Chandler Parsons seems to have been noticed last season. Parsons jumped up nearly 100 spots since last year and has cemented himself as a top 60 player in the NBA. Omer Asik had a 35-spot jump in the rankings with ESPN taking notice to his elite defense and rebounding.
Thomas Campbell-USA TODAY Sports
The two “starting” point guards on the Rockets are ranked a bit low. Jeremy Lin is poised for a big year as the 3rd or 4th option on this Rockets squad. Whether Lin starts or not isn’t so important because his minutes will be there regardless. If Lin stays healthy and with the Rockets, he should move into the top 80 next season. Beverley was not ranked last year and made his debut on this list at 174. Beverley should be getting plenty of minutes in this Rockets system. He’s a top-of-the-line defender at the PG position and a perfect fit in this offense. Beverley is severely underrated and could vault himself into the top-100 with a full season of “classic” Patrick Beverley play.
Seven of the nineteen players listed had a lower rank this year than last year. Dwight Howard‘s 4-spot drop isn’t much of a surprise after a disappointing season with the Lakers. Lin also took a drop after not repeating his “Linsanity” run in his first season with the Rockets. Brewer, Brooks, Casspi, Williams, and Camby all took warranted drops in the rankings from last season. Casspi will likely take a nice jump after this season though the others are ranked pretty well.
The two Rockets rookies were ranked in the 400 range. Canaan and Covington won’t get much run with the Rockets though they should play well in the D-League. Young and Henriquez were the first of the cuts during the last month and their are likely a few more coming.
What do you think Rockets fans? Were some players ranked too high? Too low? Let me know in the comments below?