In his defense, you simply asked who was the 5th best player without mentioning "actual positive production towards winning the game on the court playing basketball" as a measure of what "Best" is so of course he/she's going to assume you meant talent. I think it's a toss up among Beverly, Lin, and Jones with Harden, Howard, Asik, and Parsons in the top 4.
Voted other as 5th best Rocket is either Beverley or Parsons. I would go with Parsons, but it is very close.
I assumed the first 4 because that is who I believe the polls would reflect as the top 4. We could go back and put a poll up about who is the 3rd and 4th best players and perhaps I was in error in assuming they would show Parsons and Bev. My personal belief is Asik is the 3rd best and 3rd most valuable player on this team with Parsons and Bev 4 and 5. I started at #5 for that reason. I simply thought it would be more efficient to begin there. If you want to poll who is 3 and 4 on this team...go for it. But my guess is the results will show Parsons and Bev at 3 and 4. And in any case it won't make a difference to me. Jones isn't in the top 5. I'm basically wondering if the polls will show him at 6 over Lin. Kinda doubt that one too.
If we are being totally honest and unbiased and looking at talent, potential, and play, the order should be: 1) Harden - He is clearly the future of this team. Franchise player. 2) Howard - Clear second. Star player still but starting to see a slow decline. 3) Asik - Arguably the most valuable player last year with James being the most dominant. Even with Howard, he remains to be one of the most important player of this team. 48 mins of elite paint defense and insurance for Howard as we just saw. Valuable trade asset. 4) Parsons - The glue guy. Without him or a viable substitute for him, we would play as efficient and smooth. 5) Lin - He is the best point guard on this team, just not the best fit at point guard for us in the starting lineup. We will need him to play well in the playoffs if we hope to make a run. 6) Beverley - Best perimeter defender on team. Our team's backbone and gut most nights. 7) Jones 8) Dmo 9) Hamilton 10) Garcia 11) Casspi 12) Canaan
Yes, I did say fifth best player. I did not say fifth best talent. If the poll were about "talent" it would probably break down something like this: 1. Harden 2. Howard 3. DMo 4. Jones 5. Parsons 6. Lin 7. Asik It would look way different than an actual "best player" list. I specifically mentioned "best player" for this reason. Talent does not make the best player.
I agree with your top 3 in order. I agree with your 4-6* but not necessarily in that order. I actually think 4-6 are pretty close. 7-12 is a toss up in my opinion. I wouldn't necessarily assign those positions simply based on minutes played. *I also believe if Canaan were given minutes that he would have become a better player than Lin this season. But his lack of experience knocks him down.
First of all, no way Beverley is 4th best player...Asik is way better, he's definitely 4th best. Whats with your polls? This looks like another bash Jones/Dmo thread.
What has Dmo or Jones done to make you think their talent level is above Parsons, Asik, or Lin? Just because they were drafted in the 1st round? Parsons is an all-around talent. Lin showed you what he could do when put in a system that played to his strengths. Asik is a supremely talented defender. Sure sometimes talent doesn't measure up to actual production but with this team, I don't see how you can say "Bev's the 5th best player on this team" and not bring up the man's talent on defense. Hustle, hard work, and knowing where to be are all a part of his talent to defend.
I didn't say I think their talent level is above Parsons, Asik, or Lin. What I said is a poll would probably favor them over the Parsons, Asik, or Lin. The reason I said that is people tend to OVERVALUE guys on rookie contracts that are athletic.
1. Harden 2. Howard 3. Asik 4. Parsons 5. Lin 6. Jones 7. Beverley 8. Motiejunas 9. Hamilton 10. Casspi
So far only Jones is close to Lin and Asik in the polls and that's how it should be. Your poll is questionable because of Asik's inclusion since he's easily the 4th best player on this team. The tossup should have been Beverly, Lin and Jones like some of the other posters have said.
My rankings are as follows: Tier 1 1 Harden 2 Howard Tier 2 3 Asik Tier 3 4 Beverley 5 Parsons Tier 4 6 Motiejunas 7 Lin 8 Jones 9 Hamilton Tier 5 10 Casspi 11 Canaan 12 Garcia 13 Covington 14 Daniels 15 Smith
Based on PER here are 5 best players: James Harden, SG Dwight Howard, C Terrence Jones, PF Chandler Parsons, SF Jeremy Lin, PG Obviously Asik has played so little his numbers are kind of meaningless. I would say he is one of the 5 best players. So It between him and Lin I would think.
Asik and Lin are 4 and 5. Asik might even be number 3. Beverley is too inconsistent on offense. He fits on our team but not many others.
The proper question would be who is the most valuable to the team. In which case there is an answer. Spoiler
If Beverley is your first option, you will not be a good NCAA team. Talent, skill, and value to the Rockets are different.