2008-2009 Top 10 Small Forwards
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The small forward position has evolved over the years to become completely different than it’s original intent. I strongly believe that the shooting guard and the small forward spot have switched. In fact, every position has just become one based on size and not ability. As the position rises from the 1 spot to the 5 spot, the size of the player grows as well. Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant, and Dwyane Wade really all have the same game styles. What’s the difference? Their size on their particular team. Thats what determines whether they play the shooting guard or small forward spot. Either way, let’s get to the list…
1. Lebron James - Cleveland Cavaliers - 2008 Stats: 30 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 7.2 APG - Look at the stat line, need I say more? This guy destroys anything that stands in front of him. He is a monster. Lebron has the potential to be one of the greatest players to ever be a part of the game, but he has a few things he must work on in order to achieve greatness. He has been to the NBA finals once and has proven his worthiness. He is hard working and determined. However, his shooting touch and killer instinct are still lacking. I want to see more of a killer instinct from him as well as a more consistent shot. His release is quite awkward. With that said, watch out, this man is dangerous.
2. Carmelo Anthony - Denver Nuggets - 2008 Stats: 25.7 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 3.4 APG - Carmelo has been a really up and down player. The one place he has been stable is scoring. Anthony has proven his ability to put the ball in the basket in college, in the NBA, and even in international competition. The Nuggets have been unable to get over the hump, the first round of the playoffs hump that is, but hopefully something will happen soon. With a cumulative team salary as high as that of the Nuggets, Carmelo doesn’t have that many chances left to go deep in the playoffs. Camby has been given away for nothing and Iverson is in his last year.
3. Caron Butler - Washington Wizards - 2008 Stats: 20.3 PPG, 6.7 RBG, 4.9 APG - Butler has become a monster of an athlete and an even bigger beast of a player. He has learned how to incorporate his athleticism to jump start his game and take his scoring, rebounding, and passing abilities to the next level. When he played for the Lakers he was afraid to step up and make the necessary noise to move his game to the next level. In Washington, he has found his groove and has really become the leader of this team while Gilbert Arenas is unavailable.
4. Ron Artest - Houston Rockets - 2008 Stats: 20.5 PPG, 5.8 RBG, 3.5 APG - Artest has been around for years. His reputation has been one of the craziest roller coaster rides ever. He was very successful in Indiana until the brawl incident that cost him a significant amount of time. He finally got back on the court in Sacramento as the Maloofs believed in him and got him another chance. The unfortunate part was that by the time Artest landed a spot with the Kings, they had already lost their core and were no longer contenders. Once again, he has his chance. The Houston Rockets have traded for him and accepted him as a big piece of the puzzle. Together with T-Mac and Yao, Artest should be able to accomplish great things in Houston.
5. Stephen Jackson - Golden State Warriors - 2008 Stats: 20.1 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 4.1 APG - Another piece to the Indiana brawl. His suspension obviously wasn’t as big as that of Artest, but his reputation did take a hit. He was moved to the Warriors and has been a superb player since. He has really excelled under Don Nelson and Baron Davis. He has a much better understanding of the game and we hope to see even more great signs from him. His shooting is something that has really proven worthy.
6. Hedo Torkoglu - Orlando Magic - 2008 States: 19.5 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 5 APG - Torkoglu has had quite an interesting career. He played several years in Sacramento until he finally arrived in Orlando, found his groove, and became the Most Improved Player in the NBA. Hedo is an extremely versatile small forward as he is capable of shooting from the outside and driving with authority to the basket. Another part of his game that has really evolved is his passing ability. He shows great signs of a point guard at certain times. Look for this to be another great season for him.
7. Paul Pierce - Boston Celtics - 2008 Stats: 19.6 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 4.5 APG - Pierce has been a household name for years. He grew up in Inglewood, CA as a Lakers fan and has played his entire career with the Celtics. He’s the man that couldn’t do anything until he had two more all stars on his team. Garnett and Allen labaled Pierce as the team leader, afterall, it’s the least they could do for the guy that stuck with the franchise for so long. The Celtics finally won their first championship last season in quite some time and Pierce was a big part of it. The man doesn’t need any fancy nicknames, he goes out on the court and does what needs to be done in order to be competitive and keep the other teams honest.
8. Corey Maggette - Golden State Warriors - 2008 Stats: 22.1 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 2.7 APG - It’s not easy to spend this many years playing for a losing franchise and continuing to improve your game. Corey Maggette has done exactly that. In all his years with the Clippers, the team only finished with a winning record one time, made the playoffs one time, and really had no positive notes besides that. After the team was shaken up this summer, Corey signed a free agent contract with Golden State. With Monta Ellis running the point and Stephen Jackson playing the wing with him, Corey has a chance to really prove his value. I think he is the slasher this team needs. Look for Maggette to really make an impact this season with his first chance playing away from the Clippers.
9. Richard Jefferson - Milwuakee Bucks - 2008 Stats: 22.6 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 3.1 APG - After so many years playing with two all stars in Jason Kidd and Vince Carter, Richard Jefferson finally has his own team, kind of. Michael Redd is still on the roster and there are plenty of other pieces that fit well around Jefferson. Richard Jefferson has been an extremely competitive and consistent player for years. You can always count on his slashing, his scoring, and his passing to improve the team he plays on. He brings an added value to the offense as well as the defense. Hopefully he can help guide the Bucks to the next level in the Eastern Conference.
10. Kevin Durant - Oklahoma City Thunder - 2008 Stats: 20.3 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 2.4 APG - The rookie of the year and the number one option for the Thunder. After playing one season in Seattle it’s not time to save another town. Durant was the Sonics answer to losing and now he hopes to bring a winning tradition to Oklahoma City. I wouldn’t get too excited over making too much noise in this new city quite yet, but with a few more pieces and a bit more time, Durant has the tools to lead his team to plenty of success.
Leave a Comment
October 7th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Paul Pierce belongs at the 3 spot. And you could make a very good argument for him at the 2 spot too. But 7 is far too low for a player of his caliber.
October 7th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
I’ve got to disagree with you Brandon. 1 & 2 are clearly on a different level. Caron Butler is a superb player at the small forward position. Just because he is not as famous, doesn’t mean he isn’t as good. Ron Artest’s defense and versatility bumps him above the rest of the guys on the list. Stephen Jackson has proven to be a real leader as every team he has played on has had success. He has his social and media issues, however his game on the court cannot be questioned. The only spot that you can debate is that Pierce can be moved to the 6 spot. I had to give Hedo the tie breaker though because of his Most Improved Player award. There is a chance that he will be even better next year then he was last year. Pierce has no chance of being better in the upcoming season as his game is on the decline. Pierce cannot get all this credit for being a leader and top notch small forward since he hasn’t proven anything until he had two more Hall Of Famers on his team.
October 7th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
Daniel,
You said, “Pierce cannot get all this credit for being a leader and top notch small forward since he hasn’t proven anything until he had two more Hall Of Famers on his team.”
That’s not entirely true. Pierce was a SOLID player before KG and Allen arrived. Pierce was a two-time All-NBA third team selection and led the Celtics to within one game of the NBA Finals in 2001-2002. Boston’s 2001-2002 team had Antoine Walker. Pierce’s ability to lead a team with Walker on it has to count for something.
October 7th, 2008 at 8:02 pm
HAHA… that is a great point… anyone that can manage Antoine Walker on their team deserves some credit. Kind of reminds you of Kobe having Kwame as his starting center and taking the Phoenix Suns to 7 games. But he still had to take the heat for not winning the series, the same way Pierce has got to take the heat for not getting anywhere. And btw, the Celtics were two games from the Finals in 2002!! They lost 4-2 to the Nets in the conference finals who then got swept by the Lakers. Obviously, the Eastern conference didn’t have much competition if Antoine Walker was averaging 22 points and no one else on the team contributed! Paul Pierce is good, I didn’t say he wasn’t a good player, but we are looking to the upcoming season, and there is no way he is the #3 small forward in the upcoming season.
October 7th, 2008 at 9:39 pm
No one has any love for Shawn Marion?
October 7th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
No one has any love for Shawn Marion or Josh Howard? I know Marion is getting old but he’s gonna have a significant role on the Heat this year. Maybe a 19 and 8 guy. And i know Howard has all his off the court issues but he’s still a solid player on a more movement, less authoritarian offense is def gonna help him out more. What about Odom? Or Danny Granger? Iguodala?
October 7th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
Shawn Marion is a power forward… look for him in the next top ten list. Josh Howard is a great player. I had him in a tiebreaker with Kevin Durant for the last spot. The deciding factor, dedication to improving for the upcoming season. Howard clearly has other things on his mind…
October 8th, 2008 at 8:11 am
Pierce should of been # 3 this is the worse top ten ever given
October 8th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Allow me to explain one more time. The title of this is “2008-2009 Top 10 Small Forwards”… that means this is a list of who we expect to be the top ten small forwards in the upcoming season. If you’d like to offer a change to this list, be my guest, but make valid points to prove the case for the upcoming season.
October 12th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Paul Pierce number 7? Are you f#cking serious? Send me some of the sh*t your smoking. This guy just dropped 40 points to oust lebron and continued to outplay (or at the very least match) the best player in the universe in Kobe Bryant. Dont drink and type. Some of these players might have marginally better statistics than pierce because he shares the ball with two all stars but if u look at the numbers in seasons past where he could chuck shots like these bums hes destroying their numbers, heres a real list for ya
1 Lebron
2 Pierce
3 melo
4 Artest
5 Butler
ps the fact that Andre Iguodala is not on this list sickens me too.
October 12th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
First of all, I 100% disagree with you that Pierce will have a better season than Carmelo, or Caron, or Artest… Secondly, regarding Andre Igoudala not making the list, with everything changing in Philly this season, I think it will impact him big time. I don’t see him being as productive as the last few years. Andre Miller and Elton Brand are really going to be playing a strong two man game.
October 12th, 2008 at 8:37 pm
Alright, you say this is a list of top 10 small forwards right? But you’re just judging them by numbers and i think that’s not an accurate way to judge talent, simply because some people just dont get the shot opportunities other people get. To give you an example Bill Russell didnt put up the gawdy offensive numbers as say a Bob Petit in the 1960’s Because he had all stars like Cousy and Heinson and Sam Jones to score the ball. But if you try to tell me Bob Petit was better than Bill Russell just beacause he scored more points (Like a Caron or Melo might outscore Pierce this season because he shares the ball with KG and Ray) you’re nuts. You have to factor in winning and willingness to sacrifice and overall ability to play the game the right way. So Melo might score 30+ ppg but when he’s ousted in the first round because he doesn’t pass or play defense, does that mean hes had a “better season”? I look at it like this, Lebron is clearly the top dog. He’s better in all facets of the game then everyone on this list, except maybe killer instinct, id give that to paul, and perhaps artest has a slight edge on defense. But beyond that, none of these guys have the complete package pierce has. He’s a better playmaker than any of them, better offensive player than Caron or artest, and better defender than melo or caron. wins more than all of them. Not to mention I’d put my money on him in a one on one with everyone on this lits except for Lebron. You might not agree he’s number 2 and that’s fine, everyones list is different, but 7?
Come on!!!!
October 13th, 2008 at 11:36 am
You make some good points, again. However, I’d like to remind you one more time. This list is simply based on how I expect each player to perform in the upcoming season. Leadership in the locker room and ability to share the ball is used as a tiebreaker. These rankings are simply based on how the players are expected to finish at the end of the year statistically. In direct regards to Paul Pierce, I feel that his impact on the team this season will be different than seasons past. After finally winning his first title, he can say he wants it again real bad, but it takes a lot of mental strength to truly fight for it again. I hope his game gets better, but if I had to guess, I’d say he’s on the decline this season.
October 21st, 2008 at 5:53 am
Having Pierce at 7 is downright laughable. You say this is a top 10 list for what? Stats only, fantasy exactly a top 10 of what? Are you telling me that players who got blasted early in the playoffs like Caron Butler, Hedo Turkoglu and Ron Artest who didn’t even make the playoffs are better players than the Finals MVP? I value team success as much as single player stats and a player like Pierce who when Garnett went down for 20 some odd games last year still played at a high level is disrespected by some guy who clearly knows nothing of ranking basketball players it is sickening. SF list…
Lebron
Melo
Pierce
Butler
Artest
There is your real top 5.
October 21st, 2008 at 7:00 am
I almost agree with your list, but i’ll never put Durant at 10th place. In my opinion he should be unranked. He can’t be compired with other players on the list, reason: he’s too weak:) i’ll move-out Durant and Jefferson and put on their place Andre Iguodala (19.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 4.8 apg) and Rashard Lewis (19.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 3.4 apg).
1. LeBron 6. Stephen
2. Melo 7. Pierce
3. Caron 8. Maggette
4. Artest 9. Hedo
5. Rashard 10. Iguodala