NBA Small Forward Rankings

Part 3

30. Bobby Simmons – New Jersey Nets – 7.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.4 apg, 39% FG, 40% 3PT, 81%FT. Yikes.
29. Nicolas Batum – Portland Trailblazers – 4.7 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 0.9 apg, 43% FG, 38% 3PT, 69% FT. Doesn’t play much now, even though he starts, and will play a lot less when Martel Webster comes back from injury. He has a lot of potential though.
28. Jamario Moon – Toronto Raptors – 6.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.3 spg, 1 bpg, 45% FG, 34% 3PT, 82% FT. He can jump and defend, plus you always have to root for the guys that took the road less traveled to the league.
27. C.J. Miles – Utah Jazz – 10 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.7 apg, 49% FG, 41% 3PT, 84% FT. He’s a good glue guy for Utah and apparently fits in with what Jerry Sloan wants to do.
26. Quentin Richardson – New York Knicks – 12 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1 spg, 40% FG, 35% 3PT, 80% FT. We share the same birthdate.
25. Luke Walton – Los Angeles Lakers – 3.5 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.8 apg, 39% FG, 26% 3PT, 8-8 FT. He didn’t play much in the beginning of the year, as he was in Phil Jackson’s dog house. A good enough rotation player, who knows where he or his minutes will end up as the season moves along.
24. Grant Hill – Phoenix Suns – 9.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.1 spg, 51% FG, 30% 3PT, 78% FT. It was nice to see him get a few healthy years in Phoenix as his star-crossed career winds down.
23. Ryan Gomes – Minnesota Timberwolves – 9.9 ppg, 4 rpg, 1.8 apg, 42% FG, 37% 3PT, 73% FT. A versatile defender and scorer, while the casual NBA fan has probably never even heard of him.
22. Michael Finley – San Antonio Spurs – 10.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.7 apg, 44% FG, 38% 3PT, 77% FT. He spent the best years of his career in obscurity in Phoenix and in the collective shadows of Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash in Dallas. Now he’s a merely a serviceable role player for the Spurs.
21. Peja Stojakovic – New Orleans Hornets – 13.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.3 apg, 41% FG, 43% 3PT, 86% FT. He can still shoot, but he just isn’t healthy enough to be the guy the Hornets need him to be at the three.
20. Thaddeus Young – Philadelphia 76ers – 12.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.1 apg, 1 spg, 47% FG, 33% 3PT, 74% FT. Young is turning in to a nice player in Philly. Don’t be surprised if he supplants the other A.I. as the Sixers go-to guy.
19. Shane Battier – Houston Rockets – 7.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.1 apg, 42% FG, 40% 3PT. Perhaps the league’s ultimate glue guy, he still starts and gets 30 minutes a game despite the team’s off-season acquisition of Ron Artest.
18. John Salmons – Sacramento Kings – 19.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.1 spg, 49% FG, 41% 3PT, 81% FT. With Kevin Martin on the shelf for most of the season, Salmons is making the most of a bad situation by putting up career numbers.
17. Al Thornton – Los Angeles Clippers – 16.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1 spg, 1 bpg, 44% FG, 24% 3PT, 77% FT. It’s going to be interesting to see how he develops on those bad Clipper teams.
16. Luol Deng – Chicago Bulls – 13.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1 spg, 44% FG, 33% 3PT, 80% FT. Deng has been steadily regressing since his breakout 2006-07 season, which is a bad sign for Bulls fans.
15. Marvin Williams – Atlanta Hawks – 13.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.6 apg, 47% FG, 38% 3PT, 81% FT. Although he’ll never make fans forget the Hawks picked him over Chris Paul, he’s at least gotten himself out of Sam Bowie territory.
14. Richard Hamilton – Detroit Pistons – 17.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.2 apg, 45% FG, 36% 3PT, 89% FT. The Pistons have been playing a whole lot better since going to a small-ball lineup of Rip, A.I., Stuckey, Tayshaun and Sheed.
13. Shawn Marion – Miami Heat – 11.7 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.3 spg, 1.2 bpg, 46% FG, 21% 3PT, 73% FT. I’m sure the Suns are way happier that he’s in Miami than he is that he got traded at this point.
12. Hedo Turkoglu – Orlando Magic – 17 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 4.6 apg, 1.1 spg, 40% FG, 34% 3PT, 83% FT. Hedo’s a big part of the ever improving and increasingly gelling Orlando Magic nucleus.
11. Stephen Jackson – Golden State Warriors – 19 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 5.9 apg, 1.3 spg, 39% FG, 28% 3PT, 81% FT. Getting traded to Oakland not only is one of the best things that happened to Captain Jack’s career, when you include his lack of off-season issues since arriving in the Bay Area, it might have saved his life.
10. Gerald Wallace – Charlotte Bobcats – 16.7 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 2.4 rpg, 1.9 spg, 1 bpg, 47% FG, 28% 3PT, 79% FT. Easily the least known and least wanted franchise player in the NBA.
9. Richard Jefferson – Milwaukee Bucks – 17.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1 spg, 43% FG, 40% 3PT, 79% FT. Richard isn’t having the type of season you would think he’d have as the guy with the Bucks.
8. Rudy Gay – Memphis Grizzlies – 19.6 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.3 spg, 44% FG, 31% 3PT, 81% FT. After a slow start, it seems like he and O.J. Mayo are finally learning how to play well together.
7. Josh Howard – Dallas Mavericks – 18.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.7 apg, 45% FG, 35% 3PT, 76% FT. Unfortunately, he’s becoming known more for off-season gaffes than his play
6. Caron Butler – Washington Wizards – 21 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 4.5 apg, 1.6 spg, 47% FG, 31% 3PT, 87% FT. Without Caron and Jamison, I’m not sure the Wizards wouldn’t still be winless right now.
5. Kevin Durant – OKC – 23.5 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.2 spg, 1 bpg, 46% FG, 42% 3PT, 84% FT. Its one thing to be on a bad team in Seattle but its far worse to be on one of the worst teams in NBA history in Oklahoma City. At least he might get the chance to run with Blake Griffin next year.
4. Danny Granger – Indiana Pacers – 24.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 3.2 apg, 1 spg, 1.3 bpg, 46% FG, 38% 3PT, 85% FT. If this guy isn’t an all-star …
3. Paul Pierce – Boston Celtics – 18.2 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 3.8 apg, 1.1 spg, 42% FG, 37% 3PT, 85% FT. The truth, and still number three, although by this time next year he’ll likely be number five.
2. Carmelo Anthony – Denver Nuggets – 20.8 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 3.4 apg, 1 spg, 42% FG, 43% 3PT, 79% FT. His scoring is down, but Melo is becoming a more complete player and is doing more to help his team win.
1. LeBron James – Cleveland Cavaliers – 27.5 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 6.4 apg, 2 spg, 1.1 bpg, 51% FG, 28% 3PT, 78% FT. Happy 24th Birthday King James!