Top 100 NBA Players — Nos. 81-90

These rankings are designed to spotlight the 100 best NBA players, regardless of salary or current team context, based on where they stand at this very moment, approaching the (still theoretical) 2011-12 season. There are no objective criteria for these rankings. The list represents my opinion after watching far too many basketball games, scouring every statistic available, recalling conversations I’ve had while reporting on the league and poring over hours and hours of clips on Synergy Sports. And even with all that information, separating some of these guys amounts to making an impossible subjective call.

The overarching goal here is to find two-way players. If you’ve been a regular reader of this blog, you know how much attention is paid to defense and efficiency with the ball. Those 18 points per game look nice in the box score, but if a player gets them by chucking up contested 20-foot jumpers and lazily watching opposing ball-handlers stroll into the lane, he’s going to have a hard time making this list (hi, Andray Blatche). A one-dimensional player seeking to make the top 65 or so better be darn good at that one dimension. Finding truly accomplished two-way players for the bottom 10 spots was basically impossible, making those places more a matter of taste than I’d like.

On Monday I revealed the bottom 10, plus those who barely missed the cut. Today I bring you Nos. 81-90. Stay tuned over the next two weeks as I roll out the remaining guys on The Point Forward’s top 100:

Despite his flaws, Hedo Turkoglu is still a decent shooter from deep. (Mike McGinnis/Cal Sport Media)

90. HEDO TURKOGLU
SF, Orlando Magic
Age: 32
2010-11 Stats: 10.8 PPG, 44.6 FG%, 41.0 3PT%, 4.4 RPG, 4.2 APG

He’s aging, sort of cranky, overpaid, a so-so defender and his brief time in Toronto exposed him as something of a malingerer. But Turkoglu does two things well, and they are enough to earn a spot here:

1) As Sebastian Pruiti recently pointed out, Turkoglu remains one of the league’s best pick-and-roll ball-handlers, a guy who can still dish five or six assists per 36 minutes and generally make good decisions. Being able to do this at 6-foot-10 is a valuable skill.

2) He’s a reliable 38-40 percent shooter from three-point range, and shooting is a skill that tends to age well. It’s also a skill that makes Turkoglu even more dangerous as a pick-and-roll guy. He bombed out in the playoffs, but I trust a years-long sample size over a six-game brick-fest against the Hawks.

Turkoglu’s feet are slowing, which has hurt his defense, but he’s smart and team-oriented on that end. He’s a willing helper who knows where he should be, and he’s tougher than you’d imagine in the post. Turkoglu isn’t quick enough anymore to help and recover without sacrificing something, and opponents who are really good at catching a swing pass and driving can wrong-foot Turkoglu on their way to the rim. But he isn’t a big enough liability yet to kill a team’s defense.

89. RAYMOND FELTON
PG, Portland Trail Blazers
Age: 27
2010-11 Stats: 15.5 PPG, 42.5 FG%, 35.3 3PT%, 8.3 APG, 3.6 RPG, 1.7 SPG

Felton’s a tough guy to figure, since the Carmelo Anthony trade midway through last season took him out of his role as an entrenched heavy-minutes starter on a very good offensive team in New York and turned him into Ty Lawson’s backup in Denver. But if Felton can sustain the improved three-point shooting he has shown over the last two seasons, he can work as a league-average starting point guard — and when you list the point guards in the NBA, you realize pretty quickly that a league-average starter is a nice asset.

Felton’s a good pick-and-roll distributor in the right situation, even if he can be a bit trigger-happy with his shot and likes to toss high-risk passes that too often result in turnovers. His ability to push the pace should help a Portland offense in need of an occasional jolt.

Felton is also a rugged defender who works hard on that end.

88. WESLEY MATTHEWS
SG, Portland Trail Blazers
Age: 24
2010-11 Stats: 15.9 PPG, 44.9 FG%, 40.7 3PT%, 2.0 APG, 3.1 RPG, 1.2 SPG

Matthews’ story — undrafted free agent to big-money signing — and obvious hyperactivity are endearing and have resulted in his becoming perhaps a tad overrated. That hyperactivity comes from a good place, though. Matthews works hard and loves to fly around the court.

That tendency gets him in trouble on defense, however, as opponents shot 45 percent from deep against Matthews in spot-up situations — one of the worst marks in the league. But he’s a stout guy, and when he learns the right balance between helping and patrolling his man, Matthews should emerge as (at worst) a neutral defender.

On offense is where Matthews is already a strong asset. He’s a jack-of-all-trades who proved he can score in isolation, off cuts (and boy, can he cut), as a spot-up guy and coming off screens. He handled the ball on pick-and-rolls, too, and though he took a lot of bad, ultra-tough floaters in that role, he has a knack for using hesitation dribbles and other moves to get space. As he improves his finishing and passing, Matthews should work as a nice secondary pick-and-roll option.

87. ROY HIBBERT
C, Indiana Pacers
Age: 24
2010-11 Stats: 12.7 PPG, 46.1 FG%, 74.5 FT%, 7.5 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.8 BPG

Even though his numbers fell off after a hot start that had him leading the Most Improved Player race, Hibbert cut his foul rate to an acceptable level (3.2 per game) last season, improved his rebounding (a crucial thing for him) and logged a career-high 27.7 minutes per game.

And yet, his field-goal percentage dropped to a career-worst 46.1, a decline fueled by too many mid-range misses. His turnover rate increased (13.6, up from 12.3 in 2009-10), and he showed some of the issues on defense that make people worry. Hibbert tries hard, and he’s an active helper willing to shade over to help against shooters coming off screens. But he has trouble with quick releases in the post (guys like Al Jefferson eat him up), he can be bullied down there despite his size and he can’t yet rotate away from the rim aggressively and come back to clean the glass.

Some of this is the product of growing pains. Hibbert will either improve his jumper or his shot selection, and he’ll continue to learn all the complexities of being a big-man defender in the NBA. He should be higher on this list next season, but you’d be justified to wonder if his ceiling isn’t quite as high as we’d hope.

86. JAMEER NELSON
PG, Orlando Magic
Age: 29
2010-11 Stats: 13.1 PPG, 44.6 FG%, 40.1 3PT%, 6.0 APG, 3.0 RPG

Hopes are fading that we’ll ever see the 2008-09 Nelson — the All-Star selection who shot 50 percent from the floor, 45 percent from three-point range and turned the ball over at a career-low rate. Nelson’s Player Efficiency Rating topped the elite 20.0 mark that season before a serious shoulder injury kept him out until the Finals, but he has not topped 15.5 since.

Still, Nelson is a heady distributor who hit 40 percent from three-point territory last season and shoots well from all over the floor. He can run your team without mucking things up — on both ends — and he was a key figure in one of the league’s top five pick-and-roll attacks last season, according to Synergy.

Nelson has never been an especially dynamic passer, and though that pick-and-roll attack centers on Dwight Howard, the big fella rarely finishes those plays. That’s in part because of all the attention Howard draws from defenses, but it probably also stems at least a bit from the fact that Nelson, at just 6-foot, has never mastered those needle-threading interior passes the best point guards can pull consistently.

With all the great point guards in the league, this may be the last time Nelson earns a spot on this list.

85. ANDREI KIRILENKO
SF, unrestricted free agent (Utah Jazz)
Age: 30
2010-11 Stats: 11.7 PPG, 46.7 FG%, 36.7 3PT%, 5.1 RPG, 3.0 APG

The same may be true of AK-47, if he even stays in the NBA. Kirilenko, still a very good wing defender, will be 31 whenever next season starts, and it will be interesting to see how his game ages. His defensive numbers slipped last season, but that is linked in part to the fact that Kirilenko had to fly all over the court to make up for the limitations of Utah’s big men. He’ll also have to cut the habit of reaching into passing lanes as his quickness fades and he finds himself recovering a split second or two later than he did in his prime. But his length and his smarts should make him a very good defender for another couple of seasons.

It’s the other end that is worrisome. Kirilenko has never been much of a one-on-one player, and he thrived in Utah’s cut-heavy flex offense under Jerry Sloan. It’s fair to ask whether he can duplicate that kind of work in another team context. If he can’t, he’ll have to fall back on his shaky spot-up shooting.

84. DEANDRE JORDAN
C, restricted free agent (Los Angeles Clippers)
Age: 23
2010-11 Stats: 7.1 PPG, 68.6 FG%, 45.2 FT%, 7.2 RPG, 0.5 APG, 1.8 BPG

Remember those concerns about Hibbert’s slow feet, and his potential problems in making two or three hard cuts on every defensive possession? That’s not much of a concern with Jordan, which is why he sneaks ahead of Hibbert, even though Jordan’s shooting range does not extend beyond the length of one of his arms.

Jordan is an explosive defender who ranked among the top 100 players in defending every type of play Synergy tracks, even though the Clippers were a below-average defensive team. He might chase too many highlight blocks, but he is generally committed to the right things on defense.

His offense is limited mostly to dunks and putbacks; Synergy credits him with just 54 field-goal attempts all season on either post-ups or pick-and-rolls. But he gets a bit of credit for not sabotaging the offense by chucking bad shots, and his offense should come along.

Knowing your role is important on a team with two scoring studs (Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon), and Jordan should emerge as one of the league’s top defensive centers. That’s a rarity.

83. RON ARTEST
SF, Los Angeles Lakers
Age: 31
2010-11 Stats: 8.5 PPG, 39.7 FG%, 35.6 3PT%, 3.3 RPG, 2.1 APG

Ron Artest is simply a game-changer on defense: Opponents shot just 31.5 percent against him in isolation last season. (Icon Sports Media)

Sigh. It’s fine if you accuse me of going for name over game by including Artest on this list at all. He has shot the ball miserably as a Laker, and his numbers are down across the board. But Artest is still an absolute beast of a defender, and his versatility has allowed Kobe Bryant to guard less threatening offensive players during the regular season. That alone has major value for an aging Lakers team.

Artest is simply a game-changer on defense. Opponents shot just 31.5 percent against him in isolation last season, one of the best marks in the league. He was deadly on spot-up shooters, holding them to just 32 percent overall and 29.7 percent on threes, per Synergy. The Lakers’ ultra-skilled big men boost those numbers, since L.A.’s perimeter guys don’t have to help down low quite as much as their less fortunate peers. But Artest is among that elite group, with players like Tony Allen, who can swing an entire playoff series with their defense. That, to me, is a more unusual commodity than a caretaker point guard who can run a decent pick-and-roll.

And unlike Allen, Artest can hit open threes. It’s fun when the L.A. crowd shrieks at every Artest jumper, but here are his three-point marks for the last four seasons: 38 percent, 39.9 percent, 35.5 percent and 35.6 percent. He’s also a smart passer and a bully in the post against smaller defenders.

He clearly takes some awful shots, and he could stand to ditch those dreaded long two-pointers. But he won’t murder your spacing.

82. THADDEUS YOUNG
F, restricted free agent (Philadelphia 76ers)
Age: 23
2010-11 Stats: 12.7 PPG, 54.1 FG%, 27.3 3PT%, 5.3 RPG, 1.0 APG

I’m bullish on Young, who shot 54 percent from the field, cracked the top 50 overall in PER (18.46) and averaged just about a point every two minutes last season. There are obvious limitations here, though Young just turned 23 and should grow out of some of them. He’s something of a tweener forward who doesn’t rebound like a power forward should and isn’t quite equipped (yet) to defend the league’s most athletic small forwards.

He fights hard to deny position in the post, often fronting bigger players, but an accomplished post player can do serious damage against Young down low. Like just about every big man in his early 20s, Young is still learning how to attack pick-and-rolls and move around the court properly off the ball.

There’s no reason he shouldn’t become a better positional defender with time. The size/position issues will linger, even as traditional positions blur together, and teams that use Young as a small-ball power forward (his best role in Philadelphia last season) will have to surround him with good rebounders. But he’s athletic enough to become a good mobile big man defender.

And, man, can this guy score on the break and in the half-court. If he can develop a reliable mid-range jumper, he’s going to be a nightmare. The lack of assists and free throws is worrisome, but the raw material is here.

81. NICOLAS BATUM
SF, Portland Trail Blazers
Age: 22
2010-11 Stats: 12.4 PPG, 45.5 FG%, 34.5 3PT%, 4.5 RPG, 1.5 APG

The Nic Batum Explosion hasn’t happened yet, forcing his many devotees who are seduced by his length and unique skill set to continue to wait for his breakout season. His minutes jumped again last season, to 31.5 per game, but his numbers didn’t. His passivity on offense annoyed Portland coach Nate McMillan, who is waiting (along with the rest of us) for Batum to develop an attacking streak. He barely worked in isolation or on pick-and-rolls, relying instead on spot-up looks, cuts and screens to get his points.

Fortunately, he’s quite good at those things, making him yet another Trail Blazer (along with Matthews) who could fit seamlessly in any offense without getting in the way. The fact that Batum maintained a league-average mark on three-pointers while attempting nearly 200 more than he had in either of his previous seasons is encouraging.

Batum has a chance to be one of the league’s great wing defenders. Portland had him defend everyone from point guards to power forwards, and he struggled against some of the elites at those positions. But he’s a useful two-way player who should get better, soon. Right?