OT: Chad Ford on the Bobcats

[tzznandrew]

Nerlens Noel

Charlotte Bobcats (25 percent chance to win lottery )​

COLLEGE: Kentucky​

AGE: 18​

HT: 6-11​

WT: 215​

POS: C​

Analysis: The Bobcats need help everywhere. With the possible exception of small forward (where last year's No. 2 pick Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is holding down the fort), Charlotte doesn't really have an A-list player on its roster. The Bobcats already have a young, athletic project in Bismack Biyombo, but every scout feels that Noel has much more potential than Biyombo and most GMs feel Noel has the most upside of any player in the draft. Noel's ACL injury is an obvious red flag, but even that could turn into a blessing. If the Bobcats have to sit Noel for much of the season, they'll likely finish with the best chance of winning the lottery in 2014. With Andrew Wiggins and a stellar high school class of 2014 coming up, it might be worth the wait.​

Gotta say, I'm annoyed. You want to say Kemba isn't an A-list player? Sure, I'll buy that. PG is stacked in the NBA (Paul, Westbrook, Parker, Rondo, Rose, Irving, Curry as the first set, and Kemba's in the next with Lilliard, Lawson, D. Williams, Holiday, Wall, and Rubio), so unless you're great, it's sort of a fair statement. But what has MKG shown to suggest higher praise then Kemba? ​

 

[ibleedhuskyblue]

Not like he has anyone to take the pressure off him either.

Put him with a couple decent players, and he's an all-star candidate

 

[tykurez]

Although he's had a lot of opportunity to show that he truly is the real deal, I so wish Kemba wasn't with the Bobcats. What an abysmal franchise ...

 

[nomar]

I'm not one to feel "disrespected" (by ESPN, CBS, whatever, whoever), but that's just dumb. Kemba is having a terrific season, and not just because he's got a green light. He's playing really well.

 

[tzznandrew]

The suggestion that they could/should draft another PG--like Kemba has been some sort of flop--is what really irritates me. Totally right, nomar: he's playing great.

 

[UCDaveD]

17.4 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 5.7 APG, 2.0 ST on that dodo team? Kemba's doing just fine.

 

[UChusky916]

The fact that he's not even mentioned is somewhat bizarre.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

who is chad ford?

 

[HooperScooper]

The fact that he's not even mentioned is somewhat bizarre.

Well Chad Ford is somewhat bizarre!

 

[Burnsbros23]

Ty Lawson deron Williams jrue Holliday Damian lillard are quite a but better than kemba. He is right there with wall and Rubio tho. Don't get how u don't mention him.

 

[nomar]

Ty Lawson deron Williams jrue Holliday Damian lillard are quite a but better than kemba. He is right there with wall and Rubio tho. Don't get how u don't mention him.

I disagree. Williams is better. Kemba's on par with Holliday & Lillard and better than Lawson. Rubio? Hell naw.

 

[aceboon]

Ty Lawson deron Williams jrue Holliday Damian lillard are quite a but better than kemba. He is right there with wall and Rubio tho. Don't get how u don't mention him.

I thought Kemba was on par with Wall while he was out, since he's come back he's completely changed my perception of him. Wall is a bit better than Kemba and the Wizards would probably be competing for a playoff berth if Wall was there the entire season.

 

[tykurez]

I thought Kemba was on par with Wall while he was out, since he's come back he's completely changed my perception of him. Wall is a bit better than Kemba and the Wizards would probably be competing for a playoff berth if Wall was there the entire season.

Wall is a stud and his size and athleticism will always provide an advantage for him. If he can stay healthy he'll have an all-star career.

 

[Burnsbros23]

I disagree. Williams is better. Kemba's on par with Holliday & Lillard and better than Lawson. Rubio? Hell naw.

Thats crazy Lawson is quite a bit better than Kemba. Putting up better numbers on a way better team. Kemba to me is with guys like Jeff Teague, Goran Dragic, Jeremy Lin, Kyle Lowry, Brandon Knight, Brandon Jennings, and George Hill.

 

[Burnsbros23]

I thought Kemba was on par with Wall while he was out, since he's come back he's completely changed my perception of him. Wall is a bit better than Kemba and the Wizards would probably be competing for a playoff berth if Wall was there the entire season.

Wall has been on tear. Your right.

 

[nomar]

Thats crazy Lawson is quite a bit better than Kemba. Putting up better numbers on a way better team. Kemba to me is with guys like Jeff Teague, Goran Dragic, Jeremy Lin, Kyle Lowry, Brandon Knight, Brandon Jennings, and George Hill.

That's pretty insulting to Kemba, gotta say.

The PER model likes Kemba a heckuva lot more than you do, FWIW. He's ahead of every guy you named.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/statistics/_/position/pg

The fact that Lawson is on a better team doesn't help your argument. Kemba's on an island. Recently Gerald Henderson stepped it up, but before that defenses didn't have to respect anyone else on the floor. Give Kemba scorers like Gallinari, Iguodala and Chandler (and swap out Biyombo for Faried), and he'll flourish. Lawson peaked last year. Kemba's a second-year player. If he's not better already, he will be soon. Of all those other guys, Lin and Teague are the only ones who are comparable to Kemba in terms of production and upside. And that's charitable to Lin. Brandon Knight is #56 among PGs in PER.

 

[nomar]

RK PLAYER GP MPG TS% AST TO USG ORR DRR REBR PER VA EWA
1 Chris Paul, LAC 65 33.4 .597 36.8 8.9 23.9 2.7 10.4 6.6 26.36 497.1 16.6
2 Russell Westbrook, OKC 78 35.3 .531 22.8 10.1 31.1 4.9 12.1 8.7 23.94 532.4 17.7
3 Tony Parker, SA 63 33.1 .591 27.3 9.2 26.7 1.1 9.1 5.3 23.52 389.6 13.0
4 Kyrie Irving, CLE 54 34.9 .556 19.8 11.0 29.0 1.9 10.7 6.1 21.66 300.1 10.0
5 John Wall, WSH 45 32.4 .531 26.8 11.7 28.5 2.3 11.1 6.7 21.01 217.6 7.3
6 Stephen Curry, GS 74 38.3 .585 23.6 10.7 25.2 2.2 9.1 5.7 20.81 414.6 13.8
7 Deron Williams, BKN 74 36.5 .570 28.5 10.5 24.6 1.1 8.7 4.9 19.89 358.3 11.9
8 Jose Calderon, DET/TOR 73 29.6 .616 39.4 9.6 16.6 1.1 8.7 4.8 18.84 252.8 8.4
9 Mike Conley, MEM 76 34.6 .555 28.1 11.0 21.3 1.8 7.7 4.7 18.70 302.2 10.1
10 Kemba Walker, CHA 78 34.9 .513 22.6 9.6 24.5 2.3 9.0 5.6 18.59 308.2 10.3

 

[superjohn]

Thats crazy Lawson is quite a bit better than Kemba. Putting up better numbers on a way better team. Kemba to me is with guys like Jeff Teague, Goran Dragic, Jeremy Lin, Kyle Lowry, Brandon Knight, Brandon Jennings, and George Hill.

Kemba would probably throw up if he saw that someone compared him to Brandon Knight.

 

[Burnsbros23]

I shouldnt of thrown knight in there. Kemba would not score 17 a game on the nuggets his assist would go up but scoring would come down quite a bit. OK so according to you Jose Calderon is the 8th best pg in the league.

To me averaging 17 an 5 on a terrible team isnt impressive at all. He is shooting 42 percent from the field and 31 percent from three.

 

[Jerry1714]

I disagree. Williams is better. Kemba's on par with Holliday & Lillard and better than Lawson. Rubio? Hell naw.

I don't think you have been watching Holliday this season. He has been great. He was an All Star

 

[Burnsbros23]

Kemba is a boarderline top 15 Point guard. you could put him anywhere from 13 to 17.

 

[nomar]

I don't think you have been watching Holliday this season. He has been great. He was an All Star

Well, I have. And I know he was an All-Star. All of which is why I said he was on a par with Kemba despite Kemba's superior TS%, A/TO ratio and steal rate (all of which contribute to Kemba having the #10 PER and Holiday being ranked #20).

Holiday's always received a lot more hype than Kemba. Doesn't mean he's better. I'm not saying Kemba's better. But just because Holiday was named an All-Star and is having a good season doesn't mean Kemba's not equally deserving of recognition. People are not paying attention to Kemba because the Bobcats are garbage. They are missing out. If Kemba develops his 3-point shot, he's can move into the top tier of PGs. (Also, while I can concede that Kemba is not better than Holiday, I will point out that Kemba's in his second year and Holiday's in his fourth, and Holiday really stepped it up this season but was not as good in his 2nd or 3rd as Kemba has been in his 2nd.)

 

[UConn990411]

Thats crazy Lawson is quite a bit better than Kemba. Putting up better numbers on a way better team. Kemba to me is with guys like Jeff Teague, Goran Dragic, Jeremy Lin, Kyle Lowry, Brandon Knight, Brandon Jennings, and George Hill.

Kemba is significantly better than Dragic, Lin, Knight and Hill. I'd also take him over Teague, Lowry and Jennings too, although I'd put them all in the same tier.

I think you're completely underestimating how good an all-around player Kemba is already. He defends well for a guy his size, he's a solid rebounder and he can fill it up offensively. He'll need to get better as a playmaker, but a 2.4 assist/turnover ratio is certainly trending in the right direction for a second-year player.

I'm not sure Kemba will ever be better than a third option on a great team ... but in today's NBA, that's still really freakin' good.

(Kemba's not better than Holiday or Lawson, at least not right now. They might be the two most underrated point guards in the NBA.)

 

[nomar]

I shouldnt of thrown knight in there. Kemba would not score 17 a game on the nuggets his assist would go up but scoring would come down quite a bit. OK so according to you Jose Calderon is the 8th best pg in the league.

To me averaging 17 an 5 on a terrible team isnt impressive at all. He is shooting 42 percent from the field and 31 percent from three.

I said "FWIW" with respect to PER, because it is what it is -- it's hardly perfect. But your citations of stats are really shallow. Nobody cares about overall FG percentage. TS% is where it's at. (As for Calderon, I really dislike when people misquote me or attack strawmen -- or do both simultaneously, which you managed to do. Calderon is #8 in PER mostly because this year happens to have an unreal TS%. Dude isn't missing. He also has a terrific A/TO ratio. Is he the #8 PG? No, and I never said he was, but he's having a really good year.)

And saying "17 and 5 isn't impressive" just...isn't impressive analysis. In addition to being wrong -- he's actually averaging 17.4 and 5.7, as well as 2.0 spg, in less than 35 mpg. Minutes matter.

 

[nomar]

Kemba is a boarderline top 15 Point guard. you could put him anywhere from 13 to 17.

That's pretty good, actually. But it seems like you want to put a lot more than 16 guys in front of him.