2014 Draft Finally Living Up to the Hype

[LarBrd33]

2014 was thought to be an outstanding draft.  Early on it looked very disappointing.  Partially because multiple players missed significant time to injury.   Now that most of those guys are healthy, the draft seems to be finally living up to the hype in Year 3. 

Just take a look at them ranked by their conventional stats (points + rebounds + assists + steals + blocks ... subtract missed shots and turnovers)... these guys are finally producing.


#1 - Nikola Jokic - 19.85 EFF - 13.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 0.6 blocks, 0.7 steals, 59%/33%/80%

#2 - Jabari Parker - 19.47 EFF - 20.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 0.3 blocks, 1.1 steals, 50%/41%/73%

#3 - Joel Embiid - 19.20 EFF - 19.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2.4 blocks, 0.7 steals, 47%/37%/78%

#4 - Julius Randle - 18.47 EFF - 13.9 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.8 assits, 0.5 blocks, 0.8 steals, 50%/23%/72%

#5 - Clint Capela - 17.04 EFF - 11.8 points, 8 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 1.6 blocks, 0.4 steals, 64%/0%/45%

#6 - Zach Lavine - 16.97 EFF - 20.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 0.2 blocks, 0.8 steals, 47%/41%/86%

#7 - Andrew Wiggins - 15.24 EFF - 21.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.3 blocks, 0.8 steals, 44%/35%/73%

#8 - Elfrid Payton - 14.31 EFF - 11.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 0.6 blocks, 1.2 steals, 46%/26%/62%

#9 - Gary Harris - 12.44 EFF - 12.8 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 0.2 blocks, 0.9 steals, 47%/38%/70%

#10 - TJ Warren - 12.20 EFF - 14.3 points, 4 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.4 blocks, 1.4 steals 45%/29%/77%

#11 - Jusuf Nurkic - 12.15 EFF - 9.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.9 blocks, 0.7 steals, 53%/0%/52%

#12 - Marcus Smart - 11.68 EFF - 10 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 0.4 blocks, 1.3 steals 37%/31%/75%

#13 - Dwight Powell - 11.50 EFF - 7.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 0.6 blocks, 1.1 steals, 54%/23%/77%

#14 - Jordan Clarkson - 11.12 EFF - 13.8 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.1 blocks, 1.2 steals 45%/34%/77%

#15 - Aaron Gordon - 11.10 EFF - 11 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.5 blocks, 0.7 steals, 43%/32%/64%

#16 - Dario Saric - 10.00 EFF - 9.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.2 blocks, 0.5 steals 39%/34%/79%

Thanks to his last big game, Marcus has barely jumped ahead of Powell, Clarkson and Gordon and is just outside the Top 10 and hopefully climbing.  Obviously his impact (defense/intangibles) doesn't reflect in conventional stats, but he's off to a rollicking start in 2017. 

Guys like Parker, Embiid, Wiggins and Randle are certainly producing.  Capela and Lavine have been surprisingly solid.   The big name missing from the list is Dante Exum, but he's still only 21 years old and missed the last season with injury.  He was just sent down to the D-League.  Maybe still a little early to call him the bust of the draft. 

A lot of these guys are still 21-22 years old.  I imagine in the next couple years it's going to look even better. 

[The One]

And Marcus is the best defender of the group!!!

[Ilikesports17]

I still see this draft as a bit overhyped. Disappointed in Wiggins.

I'd go:
Embiid
Parker
Wiggins
Smart
Randle
I'm not sure about the rest

[mr. dee]

Only 2 guys in the top 10 are playing for a playoff team. One is Smart, the other is Parker.

[Emmette Bryant]

sorry for being the master of the obvious, but doesn't it usually take a 19 year old a couple of years to be able to play in the NBA?

[MJohnnyboy]

Where's Nikola Jokic? I'm pretty sure he's in the top 5.

[LarBrd33]

I still see this draft as a bit overhyped. Disappointed in Wiggins.

I'd go:
Embiid
Parker
Wiggins
Smart
Randle
I'm not sure about the rest

Yeah I mean Wiggins is only 21 years old.  He's like a year older than Jaylen Brown and averaging 22 points per game.  I wouldn't rule out him making a major leap in the next few years.

[LarBrd33]

Where's Nikola Jokic? I'm pretty sure he's in the top 5.

Good call I totally missed him.  He's actually #1 if ranked by production.   I'll add him to the list.

[Ilikesports17]

I still see this draft as a bit overhyped. Disappointed in Wiggins.

I'd go:
Embiid
Parker
Wiggins
Smart
Randle
I'm not sure about the rest

Yeah I mean Wiggins is only 21 years old.  He's like a year older than Jaylen Brown and averaging 22 points per game.  I wouldn't rule out him making a major leap in the next few years.

Yeah he is really good and I think he will just get better. I just don't see him as turning into the superstar he was billed as.

If Embiid stays healthy he looks like he could more than make up for Wiggins "just" being a star.

[tazzmaniac]

And Marcus is the best defender of the group!!!

Embiid may have something to say about that.  May need to scroll right to see Embiid on the chart. 
http://i.imgur.com/6mI9Umu.jpg

 

[Celtics18]

Interesting.

Here are the efficiency scores from the 2014 draft (widely hailed as one of the worst ever):

1.  Giannis Antetokounmpo, 30.4
2.  Rudy Gobert, 22.7
3.  CJ McCollum, 20.5
4.  Otto Porter, 18.6
5.  Mason Plumlee, 18.2
6.  Steven Adams, 17.4
7.  Gorgui Dieng, 16.5
8.  Dennis Schroder, 16.4
9.  Cody Zeller, 15.0
10. Victor Oladipo, 14.4
11. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, 13.8
12. Alex Len, 12.5
13. Lucas Noguiera, 10.7
14. James Ennis, 10.3
15.  Kelly Olynyk, 9.8

Maybe some day 2014 will catch up.

[tazzmaniac]

Interesting.

Here are the efficiency scores from the 2014 draft (widely hailed as one of the worst ever):

1.  Giannis Antetokounmpo, 30.4
2.  Rudy Gobert, 22.7
3.  CJ McCollum, 20.5
4.  Otto Porter, 18.6
5.  Mason Plumlee, 18.2
6.  Steven Adams, 17.4
7.  Gorgui Dieng, 16.5
8.  Dennis Schroder, 16.4
9.  Cody Zeller, 15.0
10. Victor Oladipo, 14.4
11. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, 13.8
12. Alex Len, 12.5
13. Lucas Noguiera, 10.7
14. James Ennis, 10.3
15.  Kelly Olynyk, 9.8

Maybe some day 2014 will catch up.

This is the 4th year of the 2013 draft.  How did they look last year?   A lot of the top 2014 draftees suffered significant injuries. 

[Celtics18]

Interesting.

Here are the efficiency scores from the 2014 draft (widely hailed as one of the worst ever):

1.  Giannis Antetokounmpo, 30.4
2.  Rudy Gobert, 22.7
3.  CJ McCollum, 20.5
4.  Otto Porter, 18.6
5.  Mason Plumlee, 18.2
6.  Steven Adams, 17.4
7.  Gorgui Dieng, 16.5
8.  Dennis Schroder, 16.4
9.  Cody Zeller, 15.0
10. Victor Oladipo, 14.4
11. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, 13.8
12. Alex Len, 12.5
13. Lucas Noguiera, 10.7
14. James Ennis, 10.3
15.  Kelly Olynyk, 9.8

Maybe some day 2014 will catch up.

This is the 4th year of the 2013 draft.  How did they look last year?   A lot of the top 2014 draftees suffered significant injuries.

Like I said, "we'll see if they can catch up."  They are a year behind. 

It does seem to indicate, though, that one should never judge a draft's strength on or around draft night.

I've been keeping a close eye on these two drafts based on how lauded '14 was and how derided '13 was.  I have long suspected that 2013 would end up much stronger than initially anticipated.  So far, it's looking promising.

[The One]

And Marcus is the best defender of the group!!!

Embiid may have something to say about that.  May need to scroll right to see Embiid on the chart. 
http://i.imgur.com/6mI9Umu.jpg

Is that measuring blocks?

[celticsclay]

So the LB classic? Creating an elaborate thread as another way of ranking Smart lower or calling him a role player? If your ranking system has powell and smart neck and neck redo the ranking system.