5th Annual SI Player Rankings: #2 C

[RipCity32]

We will be starting our 5th annual SI player rankings.  Last year we only go to the SF position, but I'm quite determined to get the rankings completely finished this year.
 
Don't be afraid to share your opinion, whether it's a popular one or not.  We will once again be going 10 spots deep at all 5 positions.
 
Please remember these two things, please vote on the polls and vote for the best player, don't be a homer.  Most of the polls will be open 24 hours, but if the first place vote getter gets 5 or more votes than the second vote getter than I will close the thread if I'm around. Nola and I will be guys running the polls in order to try to get this done this time around. 
 
 
Remember, this is based on who is currently the best player, not who has the potential to be the best.  Who would you take today?
 
2015 SI C Rankings
1) Marc Gasol
2) 
3) 
4) 
5) 
6) 
7) 
8) 
9) 
10) 
 
2014 SI C Rankings
Incomplete
 
2013 SI C Rankings

 
2012 SI C Rankings
Incomplete

2011 SI C Rankings

 

[jonathanlambert33]

Dwight

 

[Pugz]

dwight

 

[elcheato]

Boogie Nights

 

[dez]

Boogie

 

[cruzg24]

Boogie! Dwights overrated now.

 

[CameronCrazy06]

Boogie has always been overrated though

 

[jonathanlambert33]

Boogie has always been overrated though

Yep, volume scorer who isn't as good as the stats make him out to be. Lets be honest, that's why he's getting votes, not because of his actual impact on the game.

 

[jonathanlambert33]

One of the debates was, "well they missed Cousins for this long, so if they had him they would have finally eclipsed 30 wins." That's true, but you know how many wins that team has if you take the 59 games Cousins did play and use it to get to 82 games? A hair less than 32 is the number. The second best center led his team to the equivalent of 32 games.

 

[dez]

When's the last time a player (who isn't playing a facilitator role) done that?

Every other big Yall would put ahead of him, has had way more help then boogie has

How many GMs and coaches (and offensive game plans) has he had to adjust to?

 

[CameronCrazy06]

Every other big I would put ahead of him also makes their team better, which I don't think Boogie really does

 

[jonathanlambert33]

He makes his team better, just not as much as people seem to believe. Not as much as the actual top 2 or 3 centers in the league do. Infact, I wonder how much people even take his overall impact on the game into consideration when voting. Which is really wag they should be considering. They just see his raw volume stats and say "hm, that guy is really good." But like the argument I've already made, he isn't getting his stats because he's some historically good big man, he's getting them because his usage rate is significantly higher than any other big man in the NBA and Sacramento feeds him possession after possession. You put him on an actual NBA team, his numbers aren't going to be reflective of what they are now, because he's going to play inside a system. So he gets these buckets, and it's not like he's doing it efficiently. He's below average at the rate he scores, 55th percentile among NBA centers versus guys like Gasol (39th percentile) and Dwight (12th). To recap what I've said before, if Sacramento were to pull off a straight up trade, Cousins for Gasol, Dwight, or even Horford they are better tomorrow than they are today, which is the entire point. Who is the better player?

And for the record, I agree with Dez. Cousins has had it hard, I said it in the last thread, I wish he could get out of Sacramento. But that's not what these polls are about. They aren't about talent, they aren't about who is in the better situation, and they aren't about imagining what a guy could be rather than what he currently is.

 

[CameronCrazy06]

I'd take DeAndre and Gobert over Cousins

 

[CameronCrazy06]

And no I don't think either is close to being as talented as Cousins, just how I choose to build a team

 

[jonathanlambert33]

And no I don't think either is close to being as talented as Cousins, just how I choose to build a team

Exactly, most talented? Cousins by a mile.

But the mans style just isn't effective. And people keep saying, "well he doesn't have this, and doesn't have that." He's a big catalyst behind what he has never had. You think if Ben McLemore comes in, and as far as he knows DeMarcus is this superstar and god in Sacramento, and sees the Cousins is taking a ton of possessions off defensively, pouting and throwing fits about this and that, that McLemore is still going to give 100% defensively?

It all goes back to the Spurs model, and you hear it all the time, they bring these young guys in and within the first few days they see Popp jump down Duncan's back, or Parker, or Ginobili. The first thing those guys think is "if Popp is going to yell at them then I better do my best because he wouldn't hesitate to get on me." People want to blame the coaches and players Cousins has worked with when in reality it's on him, the star and leader, for not installing a winning attitude in that team.

 

[dez]

I agree with a lot of what both of you are saying as far as his impact, and I don't think he'd make Memphis better or Atlanta.. But I think that's an invalid argument being those teams would have been built to better suit Boogie if he were in their place.

To each his own lol

When it comes to building a team, idk if I'd pick Boogie over a player like DeAndre because I rather the traditional rebounder/defender myself but talent wise I can't put any big ahead of him

 

[jonathanlambert33]

Make Memphis or Atlanta worse you mean?

 

[jonathanlambert33]

Basically what I'm trying to say is something that shouldn't be taken into account with the rest of these guys because they're all great needs to be taken into account with DeMarcus Cousins. That's what kind of person he is, what kind of teammate he is, and what kind of leader he is. Because of those things, his effectiveness and ranking knocks him down a few notches, imo.

 

[cruzg24]

He has never had proper tutelage and mentorship in this league. Its easy to criticize when he has shown some signs of unrest with his team, but its because he wants to win. Hes had 6+ different starting point guards and over 4 coaches since he started playing in the league. The Kings are the most dysfunctional team in the NBA. Put Cousins on the Hawks and they are a 3 seed easily.

Nola talks all this bullshit about how Pelicans players are going to be better under Gentrys system. Why cant the same be applied to Cousins with great coaching and NBA veterans that take that leadership role? He already puts up the great stats and if he actually had a good coach and a decent supporting cast they would be in the playoffs with Cousins as the main catalyst. The West is loaded and thats a big reason why he hasnt won more than 30 games.

 

[Hurricane Season]

One of the debates was, "well they missed Cousins for this long, so if they had him they would have finally eclipsed 30 wins." That's true, but you know how many wins that team has if you take the 59 games Cousins did play and use it to get to 82 games? A hair less than 32 is the number. The second best center led his team to the equivalent of 32 games.

 
That isn't quite what the debate was about. 
 
They were playing well in the first 15 games or so last year.  I believe they were even a few games over .500.  Cousins goes down, and then their season starts to go off the rails.  They fire Malone, who Cousins loved, and now they're right back into that toxic downward spiral that they've been in for years.  I just feel like they're in a much better situation at the end of the season had Cousins not missed that first wave of games.