The NBA’s under appreciated players

Five weeks into the season, what we had been expecting of the stars taking over and willing their teams to perform happened. Stars like James Harden, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Blake Griffin, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard, Damian Lillard, Joel Embiid and vintage performances from Derrick Rose and Kyrie Irving routinely drop at least 25-plus points per game.   Some of them go for consecutive 40-plus scoring nights, en route to 5th all-time on the NBA’s top scoring list. And there’s the latest 60-point explosion from Kemba Walker.

Except for Griffin, Rose and Irving, all of the above named players are on the league’s top 8 season scoring leaders. LeBron leads the pack with per game averages of 28.8 points because despite his ability to find the open man, his teammates tend to stay put and watch him.   Notice every Laker game when it takes him more than 8 seconds in an offensive set to find somebody free and finding none, finally takes the shot.

Yep, these are legit superstars but there are others whose value to their teams are important and are also putting up big numbers.  But they happen to be under the radar.  Here’s a few of them.

TIM HARDAWAY, JR. – The son of former NBA All-Star Tim Hardaway, he was a first draft pick of the New York Knicks in 2013 but only played for two seasons then was traded to Atlanta.  Returning to the Knicks in 2017, he posted a 17.5ppg that season.Because New York is still without their main man Kristaps Porzingis, the shooting guard had risen to the occasion and is the team’s top scorer, in 16 games averaged almost 24 points.   Sadly, the Knicks can only show 4 wins in 17 starts.

NIKOLA MIROTIC – The 6-10 power forward has found a career renewal after he shaved his beard.  He’s having a career season with New Orleans with per game averages of 19 points and 11 rebounds. The Spanish international can score inside as well as from beyond.  His plays had been consistently solid and provide relief for fellow bigs Anthony Davis and Julius Randle.

WILLIE CAULEY-STEIN – Sacramento’s third year center had a good year last season and has apparently continued the trend. There are games that he scores above twenty points but some games scoring below 9 points.  If only he can be consistent, the athletic 7-footer is a joy to watch with his monster slams and has the handle to drive past opposing bigs. His 15 points per game is third on the team and leads the Kings in rebounds with more than 8 boards per game.

JOSH RICHARDSON – Also a third year pro, Richardson had a career average of 11 points but this season, he upped his production to 20.4 per game.  He had a good game versus the Lakers the other day but it cost him $25,000 in fines for throwing his shoe towards the stands.  The Heat have seven players scoring in double figures in any given night and with GoranDragic out, he’s Miami’s number one scoring option.  Coach Erik Spoelstra had given him the license to shoot and Richardson just needs to be confident in his shots.

ZACH COLLINS – Portland’s point production is owned by the guard combo of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum but they are getting a big lift from their sophomore power forward.  Again, consistency is the key here but Collins is getting there. He has improved on his stats as compared to last season, especially on the defensive end.  He could be scoring only above 9 points per game but his rebounding and shot blocking is a plus for the Blazers.

CARIS LEVERT – this kid definitely had a breakout season but the basketball gods have other plans for him.  Indefinitely out with a dislocated right foot, LeVert had been Brooklyn’s top scorer with his 18.4ppg.  Hopefully, he recovers well from the foot injury as could be the Nets’ future.  The shooting guard has a variety of moves that opposing players are often left flat footed.  Brooklyn is struggling and hopes to have him back in a few months.