#NBA2015: Who Are the Top Ten NBA Players Right Now?

The Golden State Warriors are the consensus best and hottest team right now. I mean, they’ve won 20 of their 22 games so far and, as of this writing, fifteen straight. Preseason favorite Cleveland, meanwhile, seemed to have settled into a groove until they lost to OKC a few days ago and to the Pelicans a night after that. As for the defending champion Spurs, they’ve won seven of their last ten, but remain quite inconsistent, which is why they’re perilously perched at the fifth spot out West.

The simple fact is this season has unloaded a lot of surprises already, and looking at the list of the top ten players right now wmay yield even more jaw-droppers. See for yourself.

Six of the best this season. 

Note: These rankings on simple Player Efficiency Rating (EFF) as calculated by HoopsStats.com.

The Top Ten NBA Players to Start the 2014-2015 Season

The start of the new NBA season (yehey!) has churned out a lot of storylines. There’s Klay Thompson getting that huge contract (and playing like he deserves it), while Kawhi Leonard’s efforts at getting his own extension didn’t pan out (he’s not playing like he deserves it, by the way). There’s Derrick Rose getting injured (again), which is starting to feel like an annual event in itself, and the OKC Thunder getting decimated, which is actually too weak a word. Of course, we’re also wondering how the Rockets, Warriors, and Grizzlies have remained unbeaten, while title contenders Cleveland, San Antonio, and the Clippers have tumbled out of the gates.

It’s all been hella entertaining, which is why I wanted to look at something that has made me go, “Well, will you look at that?” I wanted to see who have actually been performing at the top of their games in the first week or so of 2014-2015, and, well, let’s just say there are some surprises here.

No Lebron. No Durant. No Rose. No Kobe. No Dirk.

Without further ado, here they are – the top ten players  to start the 2014-2015 NBA regular season (this is based on the Player Efficiency ratings as calculated by HoopsStats.com as of the morning of November 7, 2014 – Manila time):

#NBA2015: Players to Watch Part Five

With the 2014-2015 NBA season beginning in fewer than 10 days, I found it just right to look at some players we should all keep tabs on. There are no-brainers like LeBron, KD, CP3, and James Harden, of course, but there are also many other characters on whom we should put the spotlight. In this first of five parts, we’ll take a look at some key guys for the Blazers, Kings, Spurs, Raptors, Jazz, and Wizards.

In our final post in this series, we take a look at a host young guys on the verge os stardom.

Nicolas Batum (POR) - The high-flying Frenchman had a great stint in the 2014 FIBA World Cup, averaging abotu 15 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal a game as France bagged the bronze medal for the first time in tournament history. One would think that his awesome showing would translate to better numbers this season, right? Yes, but that hasn’t happened just yet. As of this writing, Portland is 1-2 in the standings and Batum is putting up a pretty pedestrian line — 9 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals per game while shooting a career-low 35% from the field. If Portland is to, at the very least, duplicate its great postseason run from last season, then Batum will definitely have to flash the form he had in #Spain2014.

The NBA: April 2014 Position Battle – The Top 5 Centers Right Now

In this Position Battle post, we will focus on the top five centers at this point in the season. We will take into account just the players’ stats for the latest five games of their respective teams. This will, hopefully, give us a more current picture of each player’s production.

This is the last Position Battle post for the regular season, as all teams have played out their 82 games. The next series of Position Battles will focus exclusively on the players in the postseason.

In this list, a resident Sacramento bad boy remains at the top spot, while a troika of playoff-bound big men crowd him. Oh, and quite possibly the league’s worst free throw shooter is here, too. Go figure.

The league's best centers are comprised of a curious sort.

Note: All of the following stats are based on each player’s stats as computed by HoopsStats.com. They were taken on April 17, 2014 (Manila time).

The NBA: March 2014 Position Battle – The Top 5 Centers Right Now

In this Position Battle post, we will focus on the top five centers at this point in the season. We will take into account just the players’ stats for the latest five games of their respective teams. This will, hopefully, give us a more current picture of each player’s production.

Don’t look now, but the Chicago Bulls are sneaking up on the Toronto Raptors and might actually steal third seed in the East. That’s awesome news for Bulls fans, and, more importantly, it might make Heat fans a little edgy. The main conduit for Chicago’s recent rise, of course, has been the awesome play of Joakim Noah, who is joined by a hodge-podge of young bigs and old bigs in this top five list.

And, for all the Lakers and Magic fans who despise Dwight Howard, you’ll be happy to know he’s nowhere on this list.

Note: All of the following stats are based on each player’s stats as computed by HoopsStats.com. They were taken on March 23, 2014 (Manila time).

These are the NBA's top five centers right now.
(composite image by Enzo Flojo/Hoop Nut)

The NBA: 2014 All-Star Snubs

At this time every year most of the deserving players are voted in by fans as starters. The final seven are chosen by the head coaches. It's uncanny to see how often the coaches manage to select the less "deserving" player for the All-Star game. Thus, the term "snub" was designated for those omitted by the coaches.

This year is no different from other years. There are snubs on both the East and West teams. Now, who are they?

Kyle Lowry has played so well that the Raptors are considering NOT trading him
(Image from: CBS Sports)

EASTERN CONFERENCE

1. Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors
The Raptors are potentially the 3rd best team in the East primarily due to Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. DD made it to his first All-Star while KL was snubbed. Lowry has been playing the best ball of his career. He is doing it all for the Raps: score, rebound, pass and defend. Lowry has career-highs for points, assists, steals and three-point shooting. He is arguably the best all-around guard in the East who can defend PGs and smaller SGs.