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Blake Griffin, Detroit Pistons
2018-19 Per-Game Stats: 26.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.5 blocks, 48.1 percent shooting
Advanced Metrics: 22.0 PER, 2.78 RPM
Career All-Star Selections: 5
Maybe Father Time will eventually change this, but doesn’t Blake Griffin look like a $171 million player? He shares the floor with a paint-clogging center and usually a couple of perimeter players who’d be fringe rotation guys most other places, and he’s still 14th in potential assists per game with 11.7. (By the way, he’s 32nd in actual assists per game, which says everything you need to know about his supporting cast.)
Point Blake’s own days of space-spoiling are over. He’s not only up to 2.4 treys per night, but he’s also burying them at an above-average 36.6 percent clip. He’s also converting 75.2 percent of his shots within three feet, which is his best mark since 2012-13.
Want the best glimpse of his offensive impact? Try stomaching a full session of Detroit’s non-Griffin minutes some night (provided you aren’t squeamish, of course). When he sits, the Pistons’ offensive production craters by 10.3 points per 100 possessions.
Nikola Vucevic, Orlando Magic
2018-19 Per-Game Stats: 20.5 points, 12.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.0 steals, 1.2 blocks, 51.7 percent shooting
Advanced Metrics: 25.8 PER, 4.37 RPM
Career All-Star Selections: 0
Holy volume eruption, Voochman! Guys don’t usually break out at age 28, but how else would you describe what Nikola Vucevic is doing? Four of those five counting-category numbers are personal bests. The one exception is steals, where he’s 0.1 off his career high.
But the efficiency might be even more impressive. He only started attempting threes with semi-regularity two seasons back, and he’s already hitting 38.1 percent from outside. Tack on 54.8 percent shooting on twos, and you’re looking at another career high with a 57.6 true shooting percentage.
No matter your all-encompassing metric of choice, Vucevic likely grades out as elite. PER places him ninth overall, while RPM slots him 13th.
Jimmy Butler, Philadelphia 76ers
2018-19 Per-Game Stats: 19.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 2.0 steals, 0.6 blocks, 47.4 percent shooting
Advanced Metrics: 21.0 PER, 3.16 RPM
Career All-Star Selections: 4
This isn’t the most comfortable selection, since Jimmy Butler spent the early portion of this season sabotaging the Minnesota Timberwolves and forcing his way out. The choice gets even harder to make when guys like Pascal Siakam, Khris Middleton and John Collins all have compelling All-Star arguments.
But here’s where it swings in Butler’s direction: He’s the most talented player of the four. There might be more static around him, but the dude is still on a short list of the Association’s best two-way forces.
He’s still finding his way on the Sixers, and yet, his Philly version is already a 52.4/60.0/70.0 shooter in the clutch. Maybe coaches will hold the messy exit from Minnesota against him, but it’s hard to ignore the fact that he’s one of just four players who are averaging at least 19 points, four boards, three dimes and two thefts.
from Viral News Updates http://bit.ly/2MycLzM
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