underrated players of the season...

[air gordon]

Also, aren't superstars supposed to step it up in the playoffs instead of just playing at the same pace?

If you compare his stats in the Detroit series with those of his regular season (32.1 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 5.5 APG, .457 fg%, .386 3PT%, .793 FT %) you can see that he clearly didn't step up during the playoffs. All of those numbers are down in the playoffs except for his rebounds.

yes, if you compare the numbers, it appears he 'did not step up'. but let me retort:

look at his first 2 games:
1)43pts, 7rebs, 3 asts, 53fg%.
2)46pts, 5 rebs, 1 asts, 61fg%

clearly monster games. and detroit was focusing much of its defense at him the rest of the series.

i'm not trying to make excuses for the guy. it just doesn't seem realistic to me to call someone overrated because his team couldn't get past the first round (let's remember orlando was seeded #8 and detroit did end up going to the conf finals).

also is it realistic to ask McGrady to average close to a triple double in the playoffs? this guy carried the team to the playoffs on a bad back. if anything, i think it would be more realistic to ask the other 11 guys to step up.

billups, wallace, & hamilton came up huge in piston victories and darrel armstrong virtually disappeared in them.

i think the magic lost that series because they couldn't contain billups&hamilton, detroit's defense got the stops when they needed to, and the role players on orlando didn't step up.

ugh tired now. McGrady overrated? fine go ahead and think so. i just don't agree

[TheBob]

yes, if you compare the numbers, it appears he 'did not step up'. but let me retort:

look at his first 2 games:
1)43pts, 7rebs, 3 asts, 53fg%.
2)46pts, 5 rebs, 1 asts, 61fg%

clearly monster games.

Yes and then he choked. He did not step up when his team needed him the most. It's not the role player's job to close out a series. It should be the cocky f*ck who tells the media that he can't wait to play in the conference semi-finals before he even gets there.

if anything, i think it would be more realistic to ask the other 11 guys to step up.

Why? He's the one being paid 10's of millions of dollars to carry his team and step up in clutch situations.

[Colin]

overrated - Vin Baker, Vince

How can Vin Baker be overated? Everyone thinks he sucks now. Also how can you say that Carter is overated? Everyone is bashing him like mad now that he's been injured for a bit, saying he wont take it to the rim, he's soft, he's made of glass etc.

Vin Baker because of opinions before the season started and the same with Vince. There were people talking about he could be a crucial 3rd scorer on Boston, but ended up going into rehab or w/e. Vince because most people though oh an injury, well he'll come back strong and play like he did when he was averaging 25 ppg, what happens, he falls apart again. Although Vince does fit onto both sides I'll agree that

Vince Carter - Played very well when he returned from injury. The season for the Raptors was over, so they kept him out at the end.

But playing well vs. the last part of the season vs. playing well the whole season like was expected are two very different things.

[air gordon]

i think it's proven throughout NBA history that one superstar alone cannot bring a team a NBA title.

He's the one being paid 10's of millions of dollars to carry his team and step up in clutch situations.

then KG is overrated/choked. and he makes more money. and add to the overrated/choke group the countless other stars who make ridiculous amounts of money and play on teams that haven't won nba titles or advanced past the first round.

i do agree that tmac is cocky tho

[Shep]

i think it's proven throughout NBA history that one superstar alone cannot bring a team a NBA title

Hakeem Olajuwon was the only superstar on the Rockets roster in '94 and '95

[benji]

this thread was on Operation Sports...so...all are underated...

Bobby Simmons (last seen in Washington)
Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Cleveland)
Vladimir Stepania (Miami)
Jeff Foster (Indiana)
Marcus Haislip (Milwaukee)
Ira Newble (Atlanta)
Gerald Wallace (Sacramento)
Desmond Mason (Milwaukee)
Corey Maggette (Los Angeles)
Lamar Odom (Los Angeles)
Shane Battier (Memphis)
Stromile Swift (Memphis)
Bobby Sura (Golden State)
Vincent Yarbrough (Denver)
James Posey (Houston)
Kenny Satterfield (Nowhere)
Darrick Martin (CBA)

[GloveGuy]

i think it's proven throughout NBA history that one superstar alone cannot bring a team a NBA title

Hakeem Olajuwon was the only superstar on the Rockets roster in '94 and '95

Clyde Drexler in '95...I'm not sure about '94

[Prototype]

Underrated: Matt Harpring, Wally Szczerbiak, Troy Murphy, Jamal Crawford, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Austin Croshere, Troy Hudson, Mike Miller, Shawn Marion, Bonzi Wells, Cuttino Mobley, Jamal Mashburn, Andrei Kirilenko, Michael Redd, Brent Barry, Emmanuel Ginobili, Zach Randolph, Chauncey Billups, Antawn Jamison, Jalen Rose, Jason Terry, and Ray Allen.

Overrated: Antoine Walker, Jerry Stackhouse, Michael Finley, Yao Ming, Chris Webber, Gary Payton, and Vince Carter.

[air gordon]

i remember an athletic robert horry and kenny 'pre the jet' smith, not hakeem, hitting clutch 3's to seal victories for houston

sure the superstar gets paid all that cash but he still needs a good supporting cast (and perhaps a little luck) in order to win a nba title. bird had mchale, parish, ainge. magic had worthy, jabar, cooper. jordan had pip, kukoc, rodman. the list can go on...

btw would one of the games most dominant (maybe the most dominant) players to ever to lace it up, Wilt Chamberlain be overrated with all those failed attempts at a nba final. same with jerry west, who only won 1 nba title?!

[paul_pierce_the_truth]

sorry i am so lame, but what is "IMO"

ps: I just got DSL Cable connection today, I download the movie Fight Club in like three hours, 700 MB.

The thing pulls down like 65-100kb per second, that is very sweet.

I am working on "Kids" and "Matrix Reloaded" right now.

I got 5 MB songs in just a couple of minutes and finally I can actually watch those videos on NBA.com.

WOW it's pretty cool!!

[TheBob]

sorry i am so lame, but what is "IMO"

I believe it's In My Opinion.

[Andrew]

You can also be humble in your opinion (In My Humble Opinion, IMHO), or not so humble (In My Not So Humble Opinion, IMNSHO).

Clyde Drexler in '95...I'm not sure about '94

Just for the sake of clarification, Drexler wasn't around in 1994, he came halfway through the 94/95 season. He was still an All-Star calibre player though, so the Rockets of the Playoffs had two stars, and a pretty decent supporting cast.

A better example of a team without much in the way of star power would be the 1979 Seattle Supersonics - or so I've read (Dennis Johnson is the only player from that team that I can remember offhand - a good player, but not a prototype superstar).

[Rens]

Thats because MJ is a living legend. People wanted to give MJ his props formally. We never got to say goodbye in 98 because people were not sure whether or not he would retire. If anything MJ was underrated by many people. Take a look at his numbers for god sakes. The man was out of the game for lets see...3 years or so? It's not like he was a young guy either that could magically get in shape.

I agree with you, but that still made him overrated by a lot of fans. But like I said, I also found it normal he wasn't the player he used to be.

McGrady overrated? fine go ahead and think so. i just don't agree

OK. He shouldn't talk all that smack if he can't deliver, that's what I think

But playing well vs. the last part of the season vs. playing well the whole season like was expected are two very different things.

That makes him both I guess. But a lot of people seriously saying he sucks, while he actually played very well, qualifies him for underrated more in my opinion.

[GloveGuy]

Overrated: Antoine Walker, Jerry Stackhouse, Michael Finley, Yao Ming, Chris Webber, Gary Payton, and Vince Carter.

You think Gary Payton's overrated? How so? If anything, I think he's very underrated and not given enough credit anymore. He has better stats than Steve Nash, yet Nash made one of the All NBA Teams. He averages more points that Kidd and is better at offense, and before he went to the Bucks, he led the NBA in assists.

[Andrew]

I don't think Gary Payton is underrated per se - just overlooked. I maintain there's a difference.

All you need to do is look at Payton's numbers, the way he plays, consider his age, and then you can appreciate how good he is. I think the problem definitely lies in his age - not so much in his play, but in how he is viewed. It's a matter of "Well, he's had his day in the sun; let's give credit to these stars on the rise."

I don't think anyone would grossly underrate him, when asked to assess his ability and performance. But they'll overlook him without fail when naming the best at his position, and as you said, won't give him enough credit for what he does.

[GloveGuy]

Actually I might say he's both.

He's not rated as high as he should be. He's rated lower than others that he should be rated higher than. So he's UNDER-RATED.

I do agree that the reasons he's overlooked are because of his age, but it still doesn't make sense. His stats are awesome, but he isn't given the credit(judged by ratings) that he should get. Age shouldn't matter so much. How old was MJ when he won his MVP, in his last season? It seems as if he isn't given the credit he deserves and is just losing his popularity. He might be losing it because of his age, or maybe because his play isn't up to date with what the NBA fan-base is looking for. You don't see any dunks out of him or any flashy plays. But he gets the job done. Maybe once he gets on a championship caliber team, he'll get a ring, and get some credit.

[Andrew]

I guess in that sense you could say he's underrated. But team success seems to have really played a part in this year's award winners and All-NBA teams. In that sense, I think GP is more overlooked than underrated. His individual skills and production aren't being questioned as much as the success of his team is being factored in.

Now, I don't agree with that. I can't and won't argue that GP deserves more credit. I'll have to concede that he is underrated. But I maintain that it's more a case of being overlooked, not given consideration due to team success, rather than a knock on his individual performance.

Unfortunate but true, his age is working against him. Not on the court, but in the minds of sportswriters and probably a lot of fans. I'm sure if anyone was asked to analyse his play, look at his statistics and then conclude where he ranked amongst his peers, then he would get due credit. But he's not given attention for one reason or another - rather than being billed as a lesser player than what he is, he's simply not being mentioned at all.

Again, you can say he's underrated, but perhaps more accurately, it's a matter of gross oversight. Still, whatever you want to call it, he's not getting his due.

[bballer22]

i think u guys judge if the player is underaded or overated by how many time u hear his name on TV. now that will depend on what program or game ur watching, if u keep on watching Buks and hear GP's name that whole time, yes u might think his overated.
NBA is way too big to keep an eye on ever good player, every player in NBA is good, thats y they are in NBA. and no matter how many players get more recognition some1 will find a player who playes hard but has not heard his name in a long time.

for me the most ENOYING thing is watching DIRK, HOW MANY time can u possible mention that he is a 7 footer with great skill, stroke!!!! HOW MANY. i think they say it every time he gets that ball!!!!

[Rens]

for me the most ENOYING thing is watching DIRK, HOW MANY time can u possible mention that he is a 7 footer with great skill, stroke!!!! HOW MANY. i think they say it every time he gets that ball!!!!

Very ENOYING indeed
But the thing is, Dirk is actually such a great offensive player, it keeps amazing people.

[steadycow]

Why hasn't anyone mentioned Walter McCarty?

Also, this may sound biased, but do you people really think Antoine is overrated? The Celtics wouldn't have made the playoffs in 01-02 or 02-03 without him.

[steadycow]

I meant Walter was underrated, not overrated.

[Andrew]

Also, this may sound biased, but do you people really think Antoine is overrated?

I don't think he's overrated. He's certainly not underrated though, except perhaps in terms of his leadership. I think the Celtics would be better off keeping Walker and adding to their current core, rather than making sweeping changes.

[Vins15]

underrated:Troy Hudson,Jason Collins,Jason Terry,Richard Hamilton,Chancey Billups,Gilbert Arenas, James Posey,Cuttino Mobley,Quentin Richardson,Malik Rose,Morris Peterson...

[LeBron James]

overrated:paul pierce and elton brand (brand more than pierce)

underrated:matt harpring (c'mon who in this forum said that he *rules`*???? and antawn jamison

paul pierce overrated?are you KIDD-ing with me?he just played well man.

[scubilete]

Antoine is too lazy, that's why he might get into the overrated category, a PF who doesn't get there to fight for a rebound. He used to be a great rebounder and player but now he finds it's easier to shoot 3s than getting involved in a fight for a rebound. If it wasn't for him the Celts wouldn't get to the Playoffs every year. But if it wasn't for his laziness, the Celts would be a much better team.

Terrific getting his points but I don't see why he has to go from behind the 3 pt. line to shoot if wherever he was before had the basket closer, 1558 Shots during the season, 582 of those were 3 pointers. Plus he misses and doesn't even get there for the rebound, it's like "oh well, too bad, I missed, maybe next time".

He reminds me Oliver Miller, is just that Oliver wouldn't shoot a 3 at all,