:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/48859779/usa-today-8261473.0.jpg)
Mike Prada wrote about the best role-players in the NBA this season, and also wrote about the top snubs, for the mothership yesterday. You should read them here and here. But I will spoil it for you, Prada didn't include any Utah Jazz players on these lists, and not even in the extensive 'honorable mentions' participation ribbon section. As a hyper-defensive Utah Jazz fan this is obviously something I have to get upset over. It's nuts that national writers don't hype up my team every chance they get -- and this oversight shall not stand!
Effectively, what Prada did to cull the league down to a more manageable size was to focus on role players. And by role players, he meant someone who plays less than 28 mpg or uses less than 20% of his team's possessions. I took to this be a USG% of fewer than .200, so I'm taking the easy way out. The players he picked were:
- Point Guards: Jrue Holiday, George Hill, Cory Joseph
- Shooting Guards: J.J. Redick
- Small Forwards: Jae Crowder, Andre Iguodala, Jared Dudley
- Power Forwards: Serge Ibaka, Tristan Thompson
- Centers: Zaza Pachulia, Tim Duncan, Robin Lopez
- Biggest Snubs: Taj Gibson, Justise Winslow, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and other Golden State Warriors and/or San Antonio Spurs players
It's hard to argue with such a great list of "role players," even those who have been All-Stars or Finals MVPs or whatever. But still, I get it. These guys are really helping their teams win while being content with a smaller role with the team. The other guards considered were: Kyle Korver, Jeremy Lin, Matthew Dellavedova, Wes Matthews, Raymond Felton, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Shaun Livingston, Patrick Beverley, Mario Chalmers, Tyler Johnson, Manu Ginobili, Patty Mills, and Garrett Temple.
Two guards who were not considered were Trey Burke and Alec Burks. Alec has been out a lot, and Trey is just a scorer this year. So I can see why you don't put them in the Top 15 Role players this year. But for reals? Garrett Temple? The dude scoring 8.1 ppg and shooting 39.9% from the field? Okay. I don't watch enough Washington Wizards games to get it, I guess.
According to Prada there are AT LEAST 17 role playing guards better than the Burkescourt. I'm not making an argument for Trevor Booker, Raul Neto, Trey Lyles, Jeff Withey, or any other Jazz player. But I will make the argument that Burke (23.6 mpg, 11.8 ppg, 2.6 apg, 2.0 rpg, 1.5 3ptm, 0.6 spg) and Burks (27.1 mpg, 14.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.0 3ptm, 0.6 spg) are better than Garrett freakin' Temple.
Both Burke and Burks are under 28 MPG, but have a USG% above 20.0%. By Prada's original rules it was *or* between the two, not *and* for both categories. I demand a recount!
Obviously, I'm not serious about this stuff. I just find that in a season of massive injuries and still somehow a potential Western Conference playoff spot, the Jazz players deserve some credit. And not just the Big Three + Rodney.