People In The NBA Who Deserve More Credit
This season’s buzz has been dominated by a few major storylines: the crumbling Cavs, the race for the top seed in the West, and the future whereabouts of LeBron James. But as we near the end of the season and the beginning of the playoffs, many teams, players and coaches have been underlooked, and deserve much more attention than they are getting for what they’ve done this season.
Nate McMillan, Head Coach, Indiana Pacers
The Pacers, who somehow currently hold the third seed in the Eastern Conference with a 40–29 record, are the biggest surprise of this season. After what looked like a raw deal for them in which they sent a disgruntled Paul George to Oklahoma City for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis, Oladipo has blossomed into a legitimate All-Star, and the Pacers just keep winning. And while Oladipo has more to do with that than anything else, McMillan is not generating any Coach of the Year buzz, when he should very much be in the running for the award. Even now, Indiana’s roster is rather underwhelming on paper once you get past Oladipo and Myles Turner. But despite this, they’re just a really good team, and they keep picking up quality wins.
Julius Randle, PF, Los Angeles Lakers
Randle was disgruntled amid being the focus of many trade rumors, but since he was inserted into the starting lineup, he has quickly ascended into becoming one of the better power forwards in all of basketball this year. In 10 games in February, Randle averaged 19.4/9.0/4.3 with a 60.5 TS%. And in 8 games in the month of March so far, he is averaging 23.1/9.4/3.1 with a 67.0 TS% and an absurdly high Offensive Rating of 124. The Lakers have been very good in recent weeks, and Julius Randle is the biggest reason why. If he keeps playing like this, the Lakers will be hard-pressed to let him walk in restricted free agency.
Dario Saric, PF, Philadelphia 76ers
No person on this list has had a more difficult transition this season than Dario Saric. He came into the league billed as a point forward with great court vision and passing ability, but with limited range- a player best served with the ball in his hands. He showed flashes in his rookie year last season as he got free reign to make plays with the ball, but with the arrival of Ben Simmons, he has been restricted with a role where is he almost exclusively playing off the ball, and he needed to turn his biggest offensive weakness, shooting, into a strength. And somehow, he has. After shooting about 31% from beyond the arc last year, and undesirable clip, he is now making 39.8% of his triples, significantly above the league average. He has turned into a weapon in every way possible offensively. He is a lethal catch-and-shooter who can facilitate, make great passes, and he has also become an elite offensive rebounder off of his tremendous basketball IQ alone. He is still a liability on the defensive end due to his below-average quickness, but he has been an absolute gem on offense in every way imaginable this year.
The Toronto Raptors
In most years, this Raptors team would be the favorite to win the NBA Championship. But unfortunately for them, they have become an afterthought thanks to the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets. And Toronto’s past postseason struggles have deterred many from believing in them- but this team is different. Head Coach Dwayne Casey, who should win Coach of the Year, has implemented a brand new system much more reliant on shooting, they have one of the best second units in recent memory, and DeMar DeRozan has transformed into an undisputed #1 option. They likely won’t be able to take down Golden State or Houston, but they are far an away the best team in the Eastern Conference, and should be considered the heavy favorite to get to the NBA Finals.
