NBA's True Most Valuable Players (part 1 Of 5): Scorers

In the NBA more than in any other league, individual players are stood up back-to-back, toe-to-toe, head-to-head, or whatever you want to call it. What is it about this sport that makes this such a popular topic?

In the MLB, we compare rotations, lineups, defenses, bullpens and benches.

In the NFL, we compare QBs and Head Coaches, but besides that, we look at running games, passing games, run defense, pass defense and special teams.

In the NHL, we compare top lines, defense, goalies and forward depth.

But in the NBA, we love to compare one team to another, player by player, position by position. This makes sense. Basketball is a game where one guy scores or doesn't score every trip down, one guy leads the team in scoring every night, one guy grabs every rebound. Whoever is the best at doing everything is considered the best player.

But there are a couple major problems with this.

First of all, teams don't win because they have a guy who does it all, or two guys who do it all. Teams win because their entire lineup, point guard through center, does it all, everyone bearing certain responsibilities.

Just because Mehmet Okur can score inside, hit threes, and grab rebounds, he isn't a better center than Marcus Camby, even though all Camby can do is rebound and block shots. But Portland relies on Wesley Matthews to hit threes and LaMarcus Aldridge to score inside, so Camby's value doesn't lie in his versatility, but his ability to do what no one else on the team can: defend the paint. So, he's a better center than Okur will ever be, a better team guy, and therefore a more valuable basketball player.

Which brings me to the other main reason that "do-it-all" evaluations don't work.

Everyone has a different criteria for what's important. Even if you agree that centers need to dominate the paint, not hit threes, you still may disagree about what it means to dominate the paint. Does it mean out-rebounding the other center? Does it mean blocking shots? Does it mean low post scoring? Does it mean forcing the opposing low-post scorer out of the paint?

All these things matter, and they are all different skills. So, I am going to attempt to take a look at what really matters in terms of the best the NBA has to offer.

In a five-part series, I will be breaking down the top five players in the league in five major categories: scoring, playmaking, rebounding, defending and clutchness.

However, I won't be putting the top five scorers in the league up. I will be doing each list with one PG, one SG, one SF, one PF and one C. And as a result, the definition of "playmaking" or "defending" and all five of the categories can and will change.

For a PG, playmaking is the ability to dribble-penetrate, distribute the ball, and read passing lanes. For a PF, it's the ability to pass out of the post and block shots.

For a SG, defending is the ability to keep his man in front of him and force him to either give up the ball or take a contested jumper. For a C, it's the ability to keep the other C as far from the tin as possible, to alter lay-ups, and to avoid fouling penetrating guards.

I hope to come up with five lists that are different from the typical names that come up in these discussions, in an effort to better understand the value of a basketball player.

Each article will be linked back to this one, and I will add the links to this article as well as I make each list. But for now, I will start with scoring, the most exciting thing to watch in sports.

NBA's Top Five Scorers

PG- Tony Parker, SAS- For a team that's so dominant offensively, the individuals on this team are not looked at as dominant offensive players. They are looked at as savvy defenders and gritty vets, the offense coming from everyone contributing. This is all true. What is even more true is that Tony Parker is a scoring force, and the best scoring PG in the NBA. 

It all started when he stopped shooting three=pointers in the 2005-06 season (credit Pops). He's shot over 51 percent since then and in the process has increased his scoring average to over 18 PPG during this span.

Parker is as quick as anyone and can blow by quality defenders and get to the hoop, where he is an excellent finisher who puts it in before big men can even foul him, let alone block his shot.

As a result, coaches around the league have stressed staying in front of Parker, and the threat of his quickness allows him to have open looks from mid-range that most people can't get from anywhere approaching 20 feet or closer. With a great mid-range jumper, this doesn't work either, and Parker is an impossible cover.

SG- Monta Ellis, GSW- Before this season, Monta was viewed as a talented guy who scored a ton because he played on a run-and-gun team where scoring was easy and winning was unimportant. While that reputation still sticks to Monta (and the Warriors), it simply is no longer true.

While it's not directly related to Monta's scoring abilities, the Warriors are 23-29 this year, not great but not awful. They would be a playoff team in some conferences, and to even flirt with .500 out west means you do as much right as you do wrong as a team. And the most important aspect of this team is Monta Ellis' scoring ability.

Ellis is the top scoring SG in the NBA (25.4 PPG). But his efficiency matches his productivity. His 46 percent on FG's and 37 percent on threes are among the top marks for off-guards.

Like any great scoring two-guard, Ellis scores in too many ways to defend. His bread and butter is a mid-to-long range pull-up jay that may simply be the only one of it's kind. Monta can get up quicker than his defender, hang in the air longer, and hit from anywhere, whether he's driving left or right, stepping back, or drawing the and-one from the triple threat position.

Monta is also, quite possibly, the NBA's most incredible finisher. He uses unmatched speed to blow by any and all defenders, and once he gets into the paint, he can take off from anywhere. His mid-flight maneuvering is impossible to defend, and he is a smart finisher, using the rim as a shield and going under rather than through shot-blockers. He has also added a Kobe, LeBron-like three point game, where he may not shoot 40 percent, but his ability to pull up and hit big threes with a hand in his face is rarer than the catch-and-shoot specialist is.

SF- Carmelo Anthony, DEN- The fact that Kevin Durant has surged past LeBron in terms of scoring SF's is warranted. The fact that Carmelo often isn't part of that conversation is absurd. Truly, with the ball in his hands, Melo is the NBA's best threat to put two or three points on the board. Especially when it matters.

Statistically, Melo does not appear to be as good as LeBron or Durant. He scores less than either one, while shooting worse from the field than LeBron and worse from the line than Durant. Being fortunate enough to have seen all of these guys play in person, as well as countless times on TV, this is really one of those situations where slight statistical shortcomings are made irrelevant by simply watching the man play.

Melo's arsenal of moves isn't giant, but that makes it all the more deadly. When he has the ball, defenders must immediately establish contact or very close proximity. If they don't, he is strong and skilled enough to drive them out of the way or to move into them, initiate contact, and finish a three-point play.

However, due to his superior size and strength, even a close defender cannot keep Melo out of the lane and away from the rim. He can back people down like the best PF, but is so much more quick and lethal with soft stuff around the hoop. And if his strength is matched and his angles to the hoop cut off (aka defended perfectly), he can rise and hit from anywhere on the court with the best of them. 

PF- Dirk Nowitzki, DAL- Like the three players already discussed, Dirk Nowitzki is somewhat underrated. Ever since his Mavs playoff collapse to Golden State in his MVP-season, everything he has ever done and continues to do is taken less seriously. Frankly, it's ridiculous.

Dirk is having his most efficient season yet, shooting 52 percent from the field and scoring 23 PPG in a career-low 34 MPG. But it's his career achievements that really define his ability. He shoots over 47 percent on FG's, 38 percent on threes and 87 percent from the line. In his 12 seasons prior to this one, he missed a total of 27 games (irrelevant in a sense, but it makes his statistical consistency all the more impressive).

Dirk is arguably the best shooter the NBA has ever seen. The numbers he puts up from the long-range and on three's are matched by no other big man ever, and even smaller sharp shooters aren't as deadly as Dirk. A great defender could occasionally make Reggie Miller miss, but no one can get a hand in the seven foot Dirk's face. And unlike other great shooters, his ability to score near the basket is just as impressive.

His size and natural fade-away element to his shot make everything he puts up impossible to contest, and because he can wreak so much havoc with his close-to-midrange shot, he gets to the line a lot. Way too much for an automatic free-throw shooter. Like every other scorer on this list, his greatness is due to the pick-your-deadly poison element that is attached to attempting to defend him.

C- Amare Stoudemire, NYK- People like to call Amare a PF, if for no other reason than that he is too offensively skilled to be considered a Center. This title fails to represent him, however, as opposing coaches are forced to put their Center on Amare every night. Although, more often than not, the opposing PF is helping their poor C out with Stat.

Stoudemire's career FG percentage of .54 is really something when you look at his 22 PPG, but he's taken it to a whole new level this year in New York. He's scoring 26.2 PPG, and is causing opponents to sit due to foul trouble nightly.

Stoudemire is as strong as they come. He can back anyone down, and get to that point-blank range where he feels so comfortable. If a defender gives ground, Stoudemire won't settle for a hook shot or turn-around floater like most bigs. His quick first step and insane ability to climb the ladder means that any space Amare is given anywhere near the hoop means a crowd-engaging jam or a crowd-silencing hammer, depending on where the Knicks are playing. He is so strong and quick to the hoop that he will split a double team and slam one home.

To keep Amare's hands off the rim, teams must completely collapse and allow him space to work in the mid-post and paint. Stoudemire's mid-range to short-range shooting ability is lethal, and allowing him to dominate a game is unavoidable unless you go huge with your lineup, or triple-team. While everyone else on this list dominates through a plethora of talents and skills, Amare simply does so through two skills and one fool-proof method.