I feel like I have let down my community. I claim to be the azsportsmeister but haven’t said anything about the 2001…I mean 2011 Arizona Diamondbacks. I love this team! And the best part is, they are finally starting to get some national pub. With their 35th comeback win on Monday against the Phillies, the D-Backs now have a 3.5 game lead over the Giants. Now, part of this publicity is because ESPN is promoting a Wednesday night game to be aired on their network. Whatever the reason, I’ll take it. This team deserves some credit and will certainly be getting a lot of national attention over the years with the promising (and affordable) young players that they have. Take a look at the list of young core players on this roster: Justin Upton, 23, $4 million; Chris Young, 27, $5 million; Gerardo Parra, 24, $400k; Miguel Montero, 28, $3 million, Stephen Drew, 28, $4.5 million; Paul Goldschmidt, 23; Ian Kennedy, 24, $400k; Daniel Hudson, 23; $400k. That is one heck of a young core. There isn’t a single everyday player over 30 years old, and this list doesn’t even mention the minor leaguers waiting in the wings. Consider this 2013 (possibly late 2012) starting rotation: Ian Kennedy, 27; Daniel Hudson, 26; Jarrod Parker, 25; Tyler Skaggs, 23; and Tyler Bauer, 23. All five of those players could realistically be in the starting rotation starting in 2013. The future is bright for this team, and I haven’t even mentioned the fact the Justin Upton, at age 23, is now becoming the player we all expected him to be when he was drafted as a 17 year-old high schooler. And the best part of that story is the fact that he is signed through 2015…giggidy.
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I’ve got a beef that I need to get off my chest. I don’t think I can take anymore of Dan Bickley. Like a lot of valley residents, Bickley is a transplant from the Midwest, Chicago to be exact. The problem with Bickley isn’t that he still holds onto his rooting interests from his youth. The problem is that tries to tell real Arizona sports fans how to support their teams. I don’t want to be lectured on how to be a fan by a guy who couldn’t hack it as a writer in his own town all the while continuing to root for his old teams. Dan Bickley, cool it on the lectures or go back and lecture your old pals in Chicago.
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My buddy John (That’s right John, you just got mentioned in a widely-read, masterful, sports blog) alerted me to Zach Lowe’s list of the top 100 NBA players and just how egregiously he ruined the list. After a careful review, Lowe’s biggest error was not putting The Jimmer in the top 5. (That was a joke…I promise. Actually, Lowe didn’t even have him on his list at all…and I’m okay with that.)
The problem with lists like these is that it is incredibly difficult to really accurately rate and compare players. Basketball is too reliant on matchups and specific roles. A better way to compare players might be their trade value, like Bill Simmons puts out every season; either way, its still fun to compare and argue. After looking at the list, the biggest problem I had was Blake Griffin rated #14. He is a great player, and under the trade value system he would be right at the top of the list because of his age and wow factor. On a list of the best NBA players, there is no way he ranks ahead of Tim Duncan, Steve Nash, Chris Bosh, Kevin Garnett, Amare Stoudemire and Paul Pierce.
This may be my homerism, but I can’t let Steve Nash stay at #18. Even at his age he has not slipped a bit. He should be right there in the top ten with Deron Williams and Chris Paul, at least for a few more seasons.
Next biggest issue is Dwight Howard at #2. Dwight Howard is great. As far as trade value goes, again, he is at the top of the list. However, he has been in the league for seven years and he is just barely beginning to develop an offensive game. I’ve written this before and I’ll write it again. Amare Stoudemire gets killed for his defense and rebounding, but Dwight Howard gets a free pass for his offensive skills because he’s got a million-dollar smile and McDonald’s commercial. Now, would I rather have Howard? Of course, but it still bothers me.
The last issue that I want to raise is Kevin Durant at #8. This guy is a scoring machine. Deron Williams and Chris Paul need other players around them to make a good team. Durant might be the closest thing to a one-man team next to LeBron.
With that said, here is my own top 10:
10. Dirk Nowitzki
9. Dwight Howard
8. Deron Williams
7. Steve Nash
6. Derrick Rose
5. Chris Paul
4. Kobe Bryant
3. Dwayne Wade
2. Kevin Durant
1. LeBron James
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