Hoops Tonight - Top 25 Players in the NBA: Does Kyrie Irving crack the top 20?

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all right, let's talk some basketball. So number twenty one one of my favorite players in the league, mister jay In Brunson, and I'm excited to dive into his game today because I think he's one of the more underrated players in the league. I think there's a pretty big gap between what the public perception is of Jalen Brunson and where he actually lands in this league. Like I'm showing you guys right now, I believe he's one of the I believe he's the twenty first best player in

the league. So let's take a look at his season. Twenty four points, four rebounds, and six assists in his first season as a legitimate number one option. Sixty percent true shooting, which is obviously very very good. One point zero eight points per possession in pick and roll. You guys, remember that list of the fifteen high volume pick and roll players that I was referencing in our last video. There were fifteen players who ran at least one thousand

this year. Jalen Brunson ranked fifth in efficiency at one point zero eight points per possession. Underrated passer. He passed out of pick and roll forty five percent of the time, which led to one point one five points per possession. He was actually a little bit more successful passing out of pick and roll than he was shooting. Also, one

point one zero points per ISO. Out of twenty five players in the league this year to run at least two hundred and fifty ISOs, Brunson ranked fifth in efficiency, So when we kind of filter things down to volume, he's a top five ISO player and a top five pick and role player, probably a fact that not too many people are aware of. He also scored seventy six points out of the post this season, and that's the key with Jaln Brunson. The story of him as a

player is he's super versatile. Obviously, he's got all the shot making forty eight percent on catch and shoot jumpers, forty five percent on dribble jumpers, fifty two percent on floaters, sixty three percent on hooks out of the post, and fifty five percent of the rim. All those numbers are way above average. Except for the rim numbers, that's pretty much average for a guard. And he's a very good passer. But it's not just him making those shots, it's the

way in which he does it. I picked the Calves to get upset by the Knicks in the first round in large part because of Jalen Brunson and his ability to surgically approach games, to strangle the pace and to consistently find the right action or matchup to target to get the best shot for his team. He sees the bigger picture of basketball games at an extremely high level.

They might have even beat Miami if they got anything out of Julius Randall, but he was hurt and in general just didn't play very well, and so it wasn't enough. But during the postseason he actually went up a level. Overall, Jalen Brunson went from twenty four points to game to twenty eight points per game with very little drop off in efficiency. He was still fifty nine percent true shooting,

five rebounds and six assists. He was twenty eight points per game on fifty nine per cent truugh shooting against two elite defenses. The Cavs were the very best defense in the league and the Miami Heat ranked ninth. If I told you a nameless player was going to go against two top ten defenses and score twenty eight points on fifty nine percent true shooting, you'd be thinking like

Dame or Steph Curry or someone along those lines. That's the level of production that is that is legitimate superstar production in the playoffs that you're getting out of Jalen Brunson. But again, it all comes out to versatility. There's so many players in the league that spam the same action every single damn time, whether it's you know a guy like Donovan Mitchell who just runs pick and roll, or Trey Young who just runs pick and roll every single

time down the floor. You know guys that need to come flying off of screens, off the ball, or whatever it is. There's a redundancy to that, there's a repetition to it that becomes easier regard, especially when you get to the postseason. And that's why you see a lot of players of that Trey Young, Donovan Mitchell ill kind of go down a level in efficiency when they get

to that point. Same thing with a lot of players that as scores, rely on one thing over another, right like Joel Embiid relies heavily on making mid range jump shots and getting to the foul line, and for whatever reason, that just doesn't materialize in the postseason and his volume and efficiency tank. But players that have many facets to the way that they attack tend to be the ones

that are most successful in that setting. Jal And can run pick and roll, but he's also a textbook matchup attacker. If he finds a smaller, thinner player, he's going to back him down to the post. And try to get to that little left handed hook shot in the lane.

If he's got a smaller, slower player like Cheeddy Osman in that first round series against the Cast, he's going to get the guard to guard screen to get the switch and attack him off the bounce to get to a jump shot that he knows that he can make. There is he will. If you, as a defense solve something that he's doing, he can just go in another direction. And that versatility is always the difference between the guys that go up a level in the postseason and the

guys that go down a level in the postseason. All three guys that were hitting on today are guys that are famous for playing better in the postseason, although one of the guys doesn't have quite as much experience. But the Knicks completely fell apart without Jalen Brunson on the floor. In the playoffs. They were plus thirty seven with him on the floor, minus thirty three with him off the

floor in a per possession basis. According to Cleaning the Glass, it was more than thirty points per possession and that they were points per one hundred possessions that they were better with Jalen Brunson on the floor versus off the floor.

You can kind of like see the beginnings of this Jalen Brunson rise to fame and power in that mav series from two years ago when Luka Doncic was out and he led the MAVs to a two to one series lead against the Jazz, including a big road win with a lot of the same stuff that you're seeing in this Knix jersey, a lot of that matchup attacking, picking on switches, that versatile half court surgery that is

so important to succeeding in the NBA playoffs. I think he's a legit star, and it's crazy to think that I have him as the twenty first best basketball player alive and the MAVs let him walk for nothing, and now his twenty six million dollar salary looks like a steal, and it kind of looks like it might have been a gigantic catastrophe for the Dallas Mavericks, although at this

point there's nothing to do but to move on. So in summary, you have a top five ISO and top five pick and roll guy on massive volume, underrated passer. His game goes up a level in the postseason due

to his versatility and his surgical approach. His only real weakness is he's not a dominant athlete, which obviously has some limitations for him on the defensive end of the floor, and just in generalizes lower ceiling than some of his peers at the top of the league because he can't athletically dominate the games the way that some of them can.

But Jalen Bronson kudos to him. First season on his own or at least as the primary focal point of an offense, finishes twenty first in my player ranking, number twenty Kyrie Irvin probably the biggest gap I've seen in the league in recent years between his reputation and his actual on court production. You guys who have been listening to the show for a while, you've heard me talk about this, Like, I get it. I understand why Kyrie is not the most popular guy in the world. Everyone

loves to hate Kyrie. I don't agree with everything that he does off the floor, obviously, but the dude is insanely good at basketball, and that needs to be the starting point for every single discussion about him. This season, twenty seven points, five rebounds, six assists per game, sixty one percent true shooting, all that's amazing. He was not at all to blame for Dallas missing the playoffs. He was lights out when he moved over there, twenty seven

points on sixty three percent true shooting. They won his shifts in thirteen of the twenty games that he played. They were fourteen points per one hundred possessions better when Kyrie was on the floor versus when he was off the floor. Honestly, I mean I said this right after the trade. Dallas is gonna struggle because they don't have

any athletes. That obviously ended up happening. But then you add in the fact that Luka Doncic was playing some of the worst basketball that he's played in the last couple of years over that tail end stretch of the season. That was the recipe for them to miss the playoffs, especially with how many other teams were playing well at

the bottom of the conference. So again, obviously it's an ugly thing for that team to miss the playoffs after making that trade, But it wasn't the craziest thing in the world when you look at it, and it certainly Wasn'te's fault. Kyrie is a proven number two option that can be the second best player on a championship team. We saw it obviously with the Cavs, and we've seen him succeed in the playoffs as a shot maker since that point, just not on teams that are good enough

to get over the top. As long as your number one is good enough, Kyrie can be your number two, and I think Luca is definitely good enough to be the number one next to a guy like Kyrie Irvick. His one point one to nine points per possession ISO mark that he put up in Brooklyn this year was number one in the entire league among players to attempt at least two hundred, so still the best ISO guy

in the league. Thirty nine percent on catching shoot jumpers, forty six percent on pull up jumpers, forty nine percent on floaters, and sixty two percent of the RIM. I basically view him as a better version of Jalen Brunson, another guard that can strangle the pace of games and attack matchups and play that half court surgery style that's so successful during the playoffs, but can do it in a bunch of different ways in ISO, out of the post,

also out of pick and roll. To me, he's just a higher level version of Jalen Brunson, a little bit more athletic pop, a little bit more skill from each spot on the floor. I think his reputation from off the floor has just caused people to kind of get off of his set for a little while. But I view him as one of the most valuable archetypes of

players in the playoffs. If you can have that big playmaking forward, the big rim pressuring playmaking forward like Luca, the best guy to compliment that is the surgical three level score and that's what Kyrie is. And he's also a much better passer than people realize. Obviously the six assists a game, but above and beyond that, like the really high level stuff, they're that game winner that the

I think Maxic kliba hit against the Lakers. That was a ridiculous cross court left handed push pass from Kyrie, irving that most players in the league don't even have the handle to be able to get the ball under control in their left hand, let alone throw that dart across the floor. He's arguably the most skilled player in

the league, though he's not the best player in the league. Obviously, you guys know those are two different concepts, but an incredibly valuable archetype to have success in the playoffs, a bona fide number two. And I'm excited to watch him play with Dallas because again, you saw a little bit of it in the twenty games he played. But he brings a different pace right like Luca, very strangle like, dribble the ball a million times like Kyrie, like will

be patient to find the matchup that he wants. But when he finds the matchup that he wants, he goes quickly and he hits the gas and he will generate real dribble penetration and driving kick and get the ball moving around earlier in the shot clock so that multiple guys get a chance to touch the basketball. It's kind of like a nice change of pace alongside Luca. And then the MAVs did their job this summer and they added some dirty work guys. They added Rashaun Holmes and

Grant Williams to bolster the front court. I think that helps a lot Seth Curry as an additional shooter and second side creation option. I think the maps are going to be pretty good this year. So in summary, yes, Kyrie has been a mess off the court in the past, and that needs to be factored in when we're having these discussions, But everything needs to be framed around the fact that Kyrie is an insanely good basketball player. Six players in the entire league this year averaged at least

twenty seven to five and five. Six guys in total twenty seven five and five Giannis Antennacumbo, Steph Curry, Lebron James, Kevin Durant, Lukadancic, Kyrie Irving. Like again, don't don't ignore the off court part, but let's remember that the on court part plays a big role here. And you know, obviously I have huge problems with him just up and leaving the team like he did with Brooklyn a few times. But there at the end of the trade deadline, it was kind of a business arrangement, is like it or

hate it was. He knew Brooklyn wasn't gonna give him a deal. He knew cap space was going to be tight this summer. His best bet was to get traded to a team that would be not a cap space team that would be able to extend him using bird rights. That was his best bet to get paid. It ended up blowing up a good team, There's no doubt. But again, as long as things in Dallas remained somewhat coherent and competitive, expect him to be bought in there over the course

of this season. All right, Moving on number nineteen last for today, Brandon Ingram twenty five, six and six last year fifty eight percent true shooting, only played in forty five games. That was the big thing that held him back. I actually think he's capable of being even higher on this list, but availability has been a concern for him. Is a big part of why their team missed the playoffs this year. Ingram is one of my favorite players in the NBA. He represents a specific type of archetype

of player that we don't see very often. As you guys know, I gravitate towards the big, rim pressuring forwards that are great passers, right, And that's why I've been a big fan of Lebron James throughout his career, Right.

But then there's this other archetype of player which is also super important in something that I've been a big fan of, which is like the dominant three level score right, And most of the three level scorers are they struggle with rim pressure and with playmaking, right, And most of the guys that are great rim pressuring playmaking forwards. They can struggle with some of the over the top shot making well. Brandon Ingram, I think, is the guy that has the best chance to be truly great at both.

He's a better passer than most of his peers at his position. He's a better passer than Jason Tatum, and then Kevin Durant, than Kawhi Leonard, than Paul George. He's got this ridiculous court vision that he could see over the top and see all the reads. He's amazing at this like right handed, like slingshot pass that he just hits dudes in the shooting pocket on time, on target,

non stop. He hits spot of shooters extremely well. He can make that cross court pass and pick and roll, which is so vitally important as you're getting downhill to the right and you're bringing that low man over to tag the roller that skip passes the one you have to be able to make. He hits that every single time with really good pace so that the guy doesn't

have a chance to close out. Is just an incredible playmaking forward who also is a dominant score It was over a points over a point per possession in pick and roll and in ISO one point one to three points per possession when he passed out a pick and roll one point two points per possession when he passed out ISO. And that's the key there, it's the mix

of both. He's got this three level scoring piece. Forty two percent on catch and shoot jumpers, forty four percent on pull up jumpers, forty nine percent on floaters, sixty two percent at the rim. So he's crossing all the boxes in terms of shot making. He's gonna hit all the crazy ISO pull up jumpers over the top of the defense. But at the same time, if you send multiple defenders at him, he's going to pick you apart.

And we saw that translate to the playoffs. And that's the key last year, not this just not the season that just happened, but the year before twenty seven six and six on fifty eight percent true shooting against the Sun six point two assists per assists per game, was magnificent, making roles in making reads in pick and roll. I think that I think that Brandon Ingram represents kind of the future of that position, that like super versatile forward that can score at a high level and can pass

at a high level. His biggest offensive weakness right now, it's getting to the rim. He averaged just two point three restricted area makes per game and shot just sixty two percent when he was there. Defense, that's a super common issue for the tall, lanky, skinny Wings because they have a high center of gravity. A lot of teams will put smaller defenders on them that are really quick and that can disrupt their base and so guys are good at cutting them off and forcing them to shoot

over the top. But the advantage is is that's what these guys specialize at. They specialize at making shots over the top of the defense, and that is this very similar problem that Kevin Durant has. As a matter of fact, brandon Ingram gets to the rim considerably more frequently than Kevin Durant does. But that is a common issue for the big, lanky Wings. His biggest overall weakness right now

is the defensive end of the floor. Brandon Ingram is capable of being an all defense level defender, but he just hasn't shown that since leaving the Lakers. And that's a problem because again, like we talk about, that's how you set the tone that trickles down the roster. I don't think it's a coincidence that teams that have stars that commit to the defensive end are typically the ones

that win. Obviously, Yoke and Murray, they're an exception that that Nuggets team was an exception that proved the rule. You go back the year before. Steph Curry obviously is an offensive player, but has always been committed to the defensive end of the floor. And Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. Obviously, Klay Thompson was an excellent perimeter defensive player. In the twenty twenty two finals straight up locked up Jalen Brown towards the tail end of that series. Draymond Green, you know,

top five defender in this entire era. Like you get the point, they're built on defense. Go back the year before, you know Jannison, Tennakupo, Drew Holliday. They commit to the defensive end to the floor. That's like their bread and butter. They won the title defending the year before, Lebron James and Anthony Davis they won the title defending. Twenty nineteen, Kawhi Leonard Sergebaka Pascal Siakam, they won the title defending,

and then even going back to the Warriors rosters. You know, even one of their KD titles, they were a top ten defense. So make no mistake that commitment to the defensive end is a prerequisite if you are not the best offensive player in the league the way that Nicola Jokich is. And so for brandon Ingram, that's the next

step to him. A commitment to the defensive end is going to be what it takes for him to get to that all NBA level instead of hovering around that nineteen twenty area and then obviously just learning to take better care of his body so that he's available to his team. So brandon Ingram at nineteen, All right, guys, that is all I have for today. We'll have eighteen, seventeen and sixteen tomorrow. As always, I appreciate you, guys, and I'll see you that the volume