Underrated and Underappreciated players in the NBA

[GrizzlyJuler]

One player that fits both bill to me is Al Horford.

I believe he is one of the most complete big man in the NBA. First of all his offensive game is not flashy but he knows what shot he wants and he knows how to execute them hence his consistently high shooting percentage. Also a decent passer out of the post and he has good natural instincts playing down low. Defensively, he plays with heart. Al is gonna be around the ball challenging passing lanes, contesting shots and going after rebounds. When I see Al play he always seems to make sound decision and always in control. He shows a good sign of a leader and a winner. To me, the only team holding him down is the team he plays for.

[AlexBrady]

Re: Underrated and Underappreciated players in the NBA

Horford? Decent player, good shooter, very active. Overwhelmed by the biggest bigs since he is only about 6-8 and 240. Has trouble when he is doubled on the move. Also tends to wait too long before initiating his post up moves. Good 3 space rebounder. Susceptible to face and go players in man to man situations. And I've always been disappointed in his baseline rotations.

Kirk Hinrich, Reggie Evans, Nick Collison, Joakim Noah, Chuck Hayes, and Matt Barnes are my current favorites in this category.

[Vni]

Re: Underrated and Underappreciated players in the NBA

I don't think you can call Noah underrated nowadays. He was an all-star.

[SteelersFreak]

Re: Underrated and Underappreciated players in the NBA

If you think about work put in with no reward for it, just look at Shawn Marion. Some how he's never made it on to one of the All-Defense teams.

DeShawn Stevenson fits in here I think.

[GrizzlyJuler]

Re: Underrated and Underappreciated players in the NBA

Horford? Decent player, good shooter, very active. Overwhelmed by the biggest bigs since he is only about 6-8 and 240. Has trouble when he is doubled on the move. Also tends to wait too long before initiating his post up moves. Good 3 space rebounder. Susceptible to face and go players in man to man situations. And I've always been disappointed in his baseline rotations.

Kirk Hinrich, Reggie Evans, Nick Collison, Joakim Noah, Chuck Hayes, and Matt Barnes are my current favorites in this category.

Despite that size difference he can still hold his own for most of the time and with the extinction of the true big man in the NBA that benefits Al skills even more. Those tendencies you mentioned I haven't seen that much to really stick out but I'll agree he does wait a bit too long at times to make his post move but thats very fixable as a player at least he doesn't try to his force shots.

[JODYE]

Re: Underrated and Underappreciated players in the NBA

Sticking with the Al theme, Al Jefferson.

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: Underrated and Underappreciated players in the NBA

How are we defining "underrated" and "underappreciated"?

[GrizzlyJuler]

Re: Underrated and Underappreciated players in the NBA

How are we defining "underrated" and "underappreciated"?

Players when you talk about a certain position or his overall game never gets the credit/praise he deserves.

[d11king]

Re: Underrated and Underappreciated players in the NBA

Players when you talk about a certain position or his overall game never gets the credit/praise he deserves.

Tony Parker.

[JerzeyReign]

Re: Underrated and Underappreciated players in the NBA

Tony Parker.

Who underrates/under appreciates Tony Parker in the basketball world? No real bball head underrates/under appreciates Parker. Was this stated because of that other thread or do you really feel that way. None of the hardcore basketball heads I converse with or even follow on twitter neglect Parker. He always gets some love.

He's not a Lebron/Kobe type of star because he isn't in a market that could lead to a worldwide presence.

And I'm not attacking you sir but that was an interesting response and I just wanted to know what circles neglect Parker so I can label them squares haha.

But my vote for unsung hero is Kendrick Perkins. He really solidified the bad boy look Boston had a few years ago and his presence in Oklahoma has really propelled them to the front of the Western Conference rather quickly. He does all the dirty work and is a key member of that team but he rarely gets any love as he's surrounded by KD and Westbrook.

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: Underrated and Underappreciated players in the NBA

Players when you talk about a certain position or his overall game never gets the credit/praise he deserves.

If this is the case, then any player that was already mentioned should not be in this thread. Al Horford might be the only exception but everyone else either gets their due or decent amount credit/praise or we and everyone else already knows the kind of player they are.

All things considered, I can't think of too many players that underrated/underappreciated but I can think of plenty of players that are overrated.

[wwharton]

Re: Underrated and Underappreciated players in the NBA

But my vote for unsung hero is Kendrick Perkins. He really solidified the bad boy look Boston had a few years ago and his presence in Oklahoma has really propelled them to the front of the Western Conference rather quickly. He does all the dirty work and is a key member of that team but he rarely gets any love as he's surrounded by KD and Westbrook.

Couldn't disagree with you more, but I guess I said as much in the thread about him getting traded there when he was being overhyped. Perkins is a good role player, no more no less. The shortage of actual centers in the NBA today is the only reason he has any relevance at all. The Thunder was good before they got Perkins (remember, he was supposed to be the key to them jumping the Lakers) and the Celtics have been good since he left. He mean mugged a few people in the Finals, when all eyes are on the same 20 players for a good two weeks. If the Celtics (as a team) never made the finals, his name would barely be mentioned... and it'd be crazy to say he's the reason they won.

Of course, if you disagree with me I'm proving your point. But I always thought it was funny how propped up Perkins got back then. He's been exposed a bit since getting to OKC so I'm surprised he's still being mentioned in that light.

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: Underrated and Underappreciated players in the NBA

I've always thought he's got a bad rap from fans. That's not to say that I think he is underappreciated but between him and Westbrook, I don't know who's the bigger scapegoat on that team.

[bigbob]

Re: Underrated and Underappreciated players in the NBA

No doubt the most underrated, underappreciated man in the history of the NBA..

Brian Scalabrine.

[wwharton]

Re: Underrated and Underappreciated players in the NBA

I've always thought he's got a bad rap from fans. That's not to say that I think he is underappreciated but between him and Westbrook, I don't know who's the bigger scapegoat on that team.

Bad rap, I'll agree with. But I think it's a result of the overhyping. When he was traded it was said that the Thunder got the big piece they needed to win a championship. He was going to single handedly stop Gasol and Bynum, and be the leader on defense to make the Thunder look like the Celtics... he ain't that good. And his offensive deficiencies are exposed more on a team that doesn't have as many options to swing the ball to as well.

At the same time, you've got Rondo crying and the media pushing that he was the heart of the team and how it'd all fall apart without him. We now see that Rondo is just emotional period, and Perkins just filled his role very well on the Celtics. He's still just a good role player for the Thunder. People shouldn't kill him for not being more than that but that's what the hype made him.