(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Mid-day talker: Is Kevin Love one of the 10 best players in the NBA?
Good times.
January 19, 2012 at 6:17PM
Quantifying a pecking order of NBA players is near-impossible considering much of is dependent upon subjective notions. Even if you use quantifiable numbers -- points, rebounds, assists, PER -- beauty is very much in the eye of the beholder. That said, we went through the top 100 in the Hollinger PER today, where Kevin Love is currently tied for 6th with Dwight Howard. PER is a measure of a player's efficiency. It is not perfect, but it provides a tidy framework for which players at least deserve to be in the conversation of "who are the best in the NBA?"
In taking what we hope is an objective view of things -- factoring in age, but relying mostly on performance -- here is how we view the top 10 players in the league:
LeBron James Kevin Durant Derrick Rose Kobe Bryant Dwight Howard Dwyane Wade Chris Paul Dirk Nowitzki Kevin Love Russell Westbrook Did it surprise us when we concluded that Love belongs in the top 10? Yes. Could it be argued that Carmelo Anthony, LaMarcus Aldridge, Blake Griffin, Rajon Rondo and others could be in the top 10? Sure. For our money, though, Love's versatility and growth have propelled him into that group. And that's saying something considering we weren't convinced he was a worthy All-Star a year ago. Speaking of money, it's not our money. But here's what we know: Love is in that conversation. He's become at least that. And if Westbrook really just agreed to a max-deal (5 years, $78 million) as is being reported, then that's what Love is worth. Your thoughts on a Love contract and the top 10 players in the NBA in the comments.
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Dawson Garcia’s 20 points and Femi Odukale’s 18 led Minnesota to its first victory at Carver-Hawkeye Arena since 2015.
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