Rookie Ladder - 3019 (189 views)

[delap]

PreSeason Standings

No homer... Lew is the top. The rest of the class looks to have a strong number of starters/high-end starters in the future, but maybe not too many All-League types... but we'll see. There are some fascinating builds and players that I'm excited to review as the season progresses. I see 4 tiers on the ladder right now, then a BIG 5th tier we're calling "Honorable Mentions". The other tiers are 1, 2-3, 4-6, and 7-10.

1. Lew Alcindor - Toronto Raptors

Obviously TOs are the big issue. If he can get under 3.0/g by the end of his rookie deal I'm calling it a major win. The FT% is a tad low, but is very fixable. The rest is pretty near perfection in a rookie. 2nd in rebounding, t-1st in blocks, 1st in stocks/bleals, 1st in scoring, and Top 10 in P/TSA.

2. Elvin Hayes - Milwaukee Bucks

Not a defensive maven, but a great looking big with hands for stealin', Elvin Hayes is poised to be an elite inside scorer and very strong rebounder in a few short seasons. Give him a few points to FT% and the rest can be used for shoring up the fringes.

3. Bingo Smith - Milwaukee Bucks

Bingo, bango, bongo... he's 3rd in P/TSA, has minimal TOs, and is a rebounding machine.  He's the type to make a huge jump with uppies, so it wouldn't shock me to see his stock soar to #2 and be the real threat to proto-Kareem for the rest of this season's ladder.

4. Phil Jackson - Chicago Bulls

The .75 version of Bingo, Jackson lacks the upside/potential of Mr. Smith, but the production is very similar right now. If he can improve his defense at all he can be incredibly valuable for the Argentine Delegation.

5. Wes Unseld - San Antonio Spurs

He's the most intriguing player to me (outside of my own players), given his proclivity to pass and his decent defensive stats. The 5.0 version of Unseld never scored or played defense, this 6.0 version will end up doing both, apparently. He's the player in this tier that has the biggest upside to jump up, I believe. That depends on pointy upgrading him, though, so we may not see it until mid-season.

6. Walt Frazier - Seattle SuperSonics

The rich get richer? Frazier looks to be a very solid fit in the new Emerald Dynasty as a facilitating, defense-playing, inside-schemed point guard. His rebounding acumen is incredible and his TOs, while not great, are not unplayable either.

7. Jim Burns - Toronto Raptors

A high-potential, high-stealing SG, Burns looks to have the build of a SG that is just waiting for upgrades before he's a strong two-way player. This ranking right now is a futures bet.

8. Cliff Anderson - Pittsburgh Pipers

Our first 2nd rounder of the Ladder, Anderson is 2nd in P/TSA and turns it over less than once/36. His upside may not be super-high given his pedigree, but his play of the moment is absolutely Ladder-worthy.

9a. Luther Rackley - Houston Rockets

9b. Otto Moore - Utah Jazz

If you manage to tie Lew in shot-blocking, you had a good PreSeason! Which is exactly what Rackley did, all the while scoring at a solid rate and doing some rebounding, too. Moore also showed some real quality defensive chops, but needs work on efficiency and rebounding.

Honorable Mentions:

Points:

Louie Dampier - Chicago Stags (though he pretty clearly only played SG in the PS)

Ron Williams - Anaheim Amigos

Bob Verga - Charlotte Bobcats

Wings:

Dick Garrett - Chicago Stags

Earl Monroe - San Antonio Spurs (would've made the Ladder if his sample size was larger)

Jimmy Walker - Vancouver Grizzlies

Bigs:

Don Dee - Indiana Pacers

Lamar Green - Portland Trail Blazers

Ron Dunlap - Anaheim Amigos

Bob Rule - Miami Heat

Manny Leaks - Milwaukee Bucks

[delap]

Day 30 Update
A day early and a dollar extra, that's my motto. Early update on how the rooks looks. Next update will be either Day 70 or 80.


1. Lew Alcindor - Toronto Raptors (previous: 1)
Turnovers are slightly down (win!) and blocks are incredibly up (big win!) from the PS. Leads the entire TMBSL in bpg. 6th in the class in P/TSA. Rebounding is a slight disappointment, but given his measurables it should tick back up (or it is because he plays alongside great rebounders, as the Raps are #2 in rebound % right now... not sure if we have ever proven that individual stats are impacted in that way by teammates... I would assume they are.).



2. Earl Monroe - San Antonio Spurs (previous: HM)
4th in P/TSA among eligible rookies, Monroe is the top scoring wing in the group by a decent margin. He's a low-TO guy who is at least stealing as much as he gives it up, which is the balance you want to see. I want more sample, as always, and he may slip in the next update because of it (he's the 2nd lowest total MP of anyone on the ladder today).



3. Wes Unseld - San Antonio Spurs (previous: 5)
The Outlet leads all rookies in raw scoring and rebounding is above league average in efficiency. Like Lew, he's a high passing big, averaging over 5 assists/36... which means his TOs are also pretty high. Unlike Lew, he doesn't have a strong defensive game, but it isn't utterly hopeless either.



4. Ron Dunlap - Anaheim Amigos (previous: HM)
3rd in P/TSA, with strong stats across the board, Dunlap is very well-rounded and still has high potential. A lot to like here.



5. Bingo Smith - Milwaukee Bucks (previous: 3)
He does a lot of things well, especially rebounding and defense... but will his scoring volume ever catch-up to his potential? He needs to be more efficient on his FG attempts, where he is well-below average. A decent FT stroke is keeping his P/TSA from tanking right now.



6. Elvin Hayes - Milwaukee Bucks (previous: 2)
A strong 20/10 type of big... but can he make the leap to be more than that? His defensive numbers are not great and his TOs put him in a deficit compared the TOs he creates.



7. Luther Rackley - Houston Rockets (previous: 9a)
The RackMan is putting up very similar numbers to Dunlap, but his upside isn't quite as high. Seems like a real steal in the draft process for the Rockets even if he doesn't improve greatly from this point.



8a. Ron Williams - Anaheim Amigos (previous: HM)
8b. Walt Frazier - Seattle SuperSonics (previous: 6)
Two PGs with wildly different looks so far... neither makes me feel great, but I can't leave either of them off the list right now either. Williams is a scoring guarding, sitting at #2 in P/TSA... but his TOs are a big mess. He doesn't seem too strong defensively either, but C+ shown defense could mean a little something. Frazier, on the other hand, is really inefficient and shoots too much for how inefficient he is. However, he simply doesn't turn it over, averaging less than a TO per 36. He's also a strong rebounder for a PG sitting at 5/36. But most impressive is his 2.5 steals per 36... the sample is small, but he still has big potential if he could just be more efficient.




10. Jim Burns - Toronto Raptors (previous: 7)
1st in P/TSA, shooting a decent amount, rebounding well for a shorter SG, and (barely) positive in the bleal/TO ratio, Burns still has upgrades to receive and very high potential.



Honorable Mentions:

Points:
Bob Verga - Charlotte Bobcats

Wings:
Bill Turner - Cleveland Cavaliers
Jimmy Walker - Vancouver Grizzlies
Phil Jackson - Chicago Bulls
Bobby Lewis - Philadelphia 76ers

Bigs:
Otto Moore - Utah Jazz
Dick Cunningham - Miami Heat
Bob Greacen - Anaheim Amigos

[delap]

Day 70 Update


1. Lew Alcindor - Toronto Raptors (previous: 1)
Improved P/TSA (up to #2 in the class), improved scoring, improved rebounding (Top 10 in the league), improved TOs (barely), and still the top shot blocker in TMBSL... Lew is still the easy pick for #1. That isn't to shame the guys behind him though, as the Top 10 is filled with quality right now.



2. Earl Monroe - San Antonio Spurs (previous: 2)
3rd in P/TSA, high scoring volume from a rookie 2-guard, and virtually no TOs, Monroe should be a All-Star type player once he gets his upgrades (still sitting on +30).



3. Ron Dunlap - Anaheim Amigos (previous: 4)
Maxed out, but still probably has high upside, Dunlap may never be an elite scorer, but he's very good at most everything you want a big to be good at. 4th in P/TSA, 5th or so in blocks, and a pretty steady hand in the TO game.



4. Bingo Smith - Milwaukee Bucks (previous: 5)
Sits just below league-average in efficiency, but is great at everything else. Like Dunlap, he's gotten his uppies, but should have natural upside left. He's an especially solid rebounder for a wing, narrowly edging out Phil Jackson for the rookie lead in that category.



5. Wes Unseld - San Antonio Spurs (previous: 3)
Unlike his teammate, Unseld has received his upgrade points and thusly doesn't have the upside... but his current iteration is pretty solid. He's not a terrible terrible defender... just not great. His TOs are high, of course, but the rebounding (1st in the class) and efficiency/volume on the offensive end is a real weapon (1st in volume, 8th in efficiency).



6. Luther Rackley - Houston Rockets (previous: 7)
Probably a stronger player today than anyone expected, Rackley doesn't have a hole in his game at all. He's 1st in P/TSA, has great counting stats, and 3rd in PER. If anything I'm short-changing him here because of his draft status/name. If he maintains through the end of the season he should probably jump Unseld and maybe even Dunlap to take the crown of the 2nd best big in the group.



7. Phil Jackson - Chicago Bulls (previous: HM)
The Zen Student finds himself back on the ladder after drastically improving his P/TSA, maintaining a solid TO rate, and rebounding like a fiend. He's a perfect glue guy if he can just get his defensive numbers (at least steals, but preferably blocks) up a bit. He's sitting on decent potential and a +30... so he could definitely find it.



8. Elvin Hayes - Milwaukee Bucks (previous: 6)
All the offensive game of Rackley and Dunlap... but none of the defense. Heck, he doesn't even have the defense of Unseld. I see a good starter, but fail to see an All-Star here in the future.



9a. Walt Frazier - Seattle SuperSonics (previous: 8b)
9b. Ron Williams - Anaheim Amigos (previous: 8a)
Same pairing as last ladder, same reasoning... but just flipped. For today I've decided I love Frazier's steady hand and defensive grips over Williams' scoring punch. Both are good players, but Frazier also has more uppies left.




Honorable Mentions:

Points:
Bob Verga - Charlotte Bobcats

Wings:
Jim Burns - Toronto Raptors
Bill Turner - Cleveland Cavaliers
Jo Jo White - Los Angeles Lakers
Cliff Anderson - Pittsburgh Pipers
Jimmy Walker - Vancouver Grizzlies

Bigs:
Otto Moore - Utah Jazz

[Trofie]

Hayes and bingo aren't fully upgraded. Gbr

[Deleted]

dunlap had 91 rookie potential so its at 83 at worst by now. he's done with his uppies, but he has no weaknesses and any seasoning anywhere and he becomes an allstar

[delap]

Final Standings

Congrats to delap... TinyTimPig , please don't give my money to anyone this year.

The rest of the class is strong, IMHO. I see some real quality here and many of you should be very happy with your future stars. #s 2-7 are all in the same tier to me and you can really argue them in any order and I'd agree, so don't get too upset about their placement there. The 4 bigs are all eye-of-the-beholder in order... then the wings are both solid players now with high upside.

1. Lew Alcindor - Toronto Raptors (previous: 1)
Wire-to-wire winner without any collusion from the Rookie Ladder Maestro. Big Ferdinand led all rookies in scoring/36, blocks/36, was 2nd in reb/36, and 2nd in P/TSA. The software ROTY and DPOTY, he's an easy choice for #1 here.



2a. Ron Dunlap - Anaheim Amigos (previous: 3)
2b. Wes Unseld - San Antonio Spurs (previous: 5)
2c. Luther Rackley - Houston Rockets (previous: 6)
Unseld is slightly better on offense and rebounding (where he is #1 in the class) and Dunlap is much better on defense... so he wins the day. Both are relying on TC growth for the future, so may the d20 be in their favor. After those two, we have Rackley... Maybe just a flash in the pan, but what a flash! #1 in P/TSA, a strong defender and rebounder, and honestly no holes to worry about in his game. Without seeing his scouts... we have to assume he played above his potential this year, but maybe he's just the crown jewel after Big Lew? It's worth considering.





5a. Bingo Smith - Milwaukee Bucks (previous: 4)
5b. Earl Monroe - San Antonio Spurs (previous: 2)
The wings with both TC love and upgrades remaining, Smith is probably the better overall prospect, but Earl the Pearl is a better scorer right now and is almost as good as Bingo on defense. Bingo has a decided advantage on the board and by virtue of his position, probably more versatile in terms of playing style and potential upgrade allocation.




7. Elvin Hayes - Milwaukee Bucks (previous: 8)
The caboose of the 2nd tier, Hayes is an elite offender, but woeful on defense. It may be worth just leaning into that and only upgrading scoring because he'll never get to adequate on the other end.



8. Walt Frazier - Seattle SuperSonics (previous: 9a)
His P/TSA has crept up over the last 50 days, the stealing has come down a bit, but the rest of the game has maintained. Tim got himself a player.



9. Cliff Anderson - Pittsburgh Pipers (previous: HM)
A debutante! Similar output to Bingo so far... even better on defense... but probably pretty low likelihood of future improvement. He's a starter in the future, but probably not anyone that will garner MAX deals or be the center of a big trade.



10. Otto Moore - Utah Jazz (previous: HM)
If Frazier's small sample doesn't keep him off the list, I won't let Moore's either. He looks really good! In almost no sample whatsoever! Who knows here, but if his output stays the same, he's a real player for sure.



Honorable Mentions:

Points:
Ron Williams - Anaheim Amigos
Bob Verga - Charlotte Bobcats

Wings:
Jim Burns - Toronto Raptors
Jo Jo White - Los Angeles Lakers
Phil Jackson - Chicago Bulls
Bill Turner - Cleveland Cavaliers
Jimmy Walker - Vancouver Grizzlies

Bigs:
Bob Greacen - Anaheim Amigos

[TinyTimPig]

Jan 16, 2022 22:25:49 GMT -5 delap said:

Wire-to-wire winner without any collusion from the Rookie Ladder Maestro.

Then how do you explain the KCP snub?

85,000

[Handsome Pete]

80k

[20s]

75k