After preparing
my NBA All-Overrated team last week, I've put together my NBA All-Underrated team as follows:
PG - Devin Harris, New Jersey:
Harris is never mentioned among the top point guards in the league, yet last year he was in the top ten in assists among point guards, and only Chris Paul and Tony Parker scored more per game than Harris did. Throw in the fact that he was a top five point guard for steals as well, and you have someone who will, in time, be considered one of the elite point guards. He was chosen as a reserve for his first All-Star game in 2009, which is a step in the right direction. However, with all the big name veterans like Kidd and Paul getting the spotlight, and with the young point guards on teams that are more popular than the Nets (see: Rajon Rondo and Derrick Rose), Harris seems to still be under the radar with most fans, for now.
Honorable Mention - Andre Miller, Free Agent:
All he does is his job, and he does it well (16/6.5/4.5 last year). Yet as of this writing (7/19/2009), he's still a free agent.
SG - Kevin Martin, Sacramento:
Injuries, combined with playing in Sacramento, have caused people to forget how good Kevin Martin is. Martin is an elite scorer, especially from long distance, and is only getting better. But he has still never made an All-Star game despite being consistently in the top ten in scoring. He does need to work on other aspects of his game, but he is only getting better. Expect to see him become more well-rounded, and beyond that, expect to see him in his first All-Star game this upcoming season.
Honorable Mention - Joe Johnson, Atlanta:
The league has plenty of flashy players, so Johnson can go under the radar at times, but there are few players in the league that I'd rather have with the ball at the end of the game.
SF - Carmelo Anthony, Denver:
Carmelo had a lot of fanfare coming into the NBA after winning the NCAA Championship and the media made it clear that it wanted "Lebron vs. Carmelo" to be this generation's "Magic vs. Bird." When it became rather evident that this would not happen, mainly because pretty much no one is in Lebron's league, everyone seemed to forget about Carmelo. His career averages are 24/6/3, he has more total points and total rebounds than Dwyane Wade, he led his team to the Western Conference Finals last year, and only Lebron and Kobe scored more points than Carmelo in the last five minutes of the fourth quarter (or overtime) last season. Yet Melo has never been on the All NBA First Team or the All NBA Second Team. He wasn't even in the top ten for MVP voting the last two years. He's only been to the All-Star game twice, and one of those times was because a reserve got injured. That was in 2007, the same year he averaged 29 points a game. In time, I'm sure he'll get his due. But it's a shame just how little respect Anthony gets.
Honorable Mention - Stephen Jackson, Golden State:
His off-the-court transgressions have overshadowed his on-the-court leadership and ability. 21/6.5/5 is no joke.
PF - David Lee, Free Agent:
Lee is a double-double machine reaching the prime of his career. Last season, he averaged 16 points and 12 boards with a .549 field goal percentage. Yet after such a great season and after showing tremendous improvement each year, he is barely getting a sniff in free agency. Teams should be falling over themselves trying to sign Lee to an offer sheet (Lee is a restricted free agent) or go after him in a sign-and-trade, but thus far he gets nothing while Anderson Varejao somehow gets $50 million. Many teams have made a note of wanting to save money either for economic reasons or to be in line to go after the much heralded free-agent class of 2010. But the purpose of free agency is to improve your team, and David Lee would definitely do that for most teams. Is he elite? No. Is he vastly underrated? No doubt.
Honorable Mention - Chris Bosh, Toronto:
He needs to get out of Toronto, like Gasol needed to get out of Memphis, in order for most people to really understand just how good he is.
C - Kendrick Perkins, Boston:
Perkins single-handedly held Dwight Howard in check in the 2009 playoffs, never really allowing him to break out and actually shutting him down in more than one game. In the following series, Howard completely obliterated the entire Cleveland frontcourt, and that includes their supposed defensive specialist Anderson Varajeo, a member of my NBA All-Overrated team. Perkins will never be an elite center, but he most certainly deserves more credit than he gets as a banger down low who can give any other center in the league trouble. He fits perfectly in the Boston starting lineup and he and Kevin Garnett make a tremendous front court. He's also still only 24 years old, and will only get better.
Honorable Mention - Matt Bonner, San Antonio, and Jeff Foster, Indiana:
Two guys who are very good role players who will both end up with long careers due to their good skill sets, hard work and ability to compliment those around them.
