Great read, I agree with most parts of your list but, I have some reserve.

1) Jason Maxiell is way too low in my opinion. He was under the radar last year but still, he has proven to be very very efficient on and off the ball and even though he is a bit undersized and is game is not quite polished yet but there’s no way he sould be listed below the likes of Troy Murphy, Leon Powe, Chucky Hayes and so on. I would have put him just ahead of K-Mart on your list, maybe above Diaw as well.

2) Udonis Haslem is kind of high. Yes, great defender, great teamate and superior Basketball IQ but sometimes, he’s just good god awful and must stay long stretches on the bench to avoid catastrophe. I Might have squeezed Millsap in is place just because he is on the rise and Haslem has pretty much stalled in the last couple of years.

But anyway, great read as always.

West was also a huge component in Dirk having terrible second halves against the Hornets two years ago, and Duncan having a number of un-Duncan like nights in the second round. Tyson Chandler was a major factor, but West’s defense was equally as forceful.

And with Love, I’ll see. It’s his second season, and most second-year players make big jumps. He’ll have to really improve his stroke and use his smarts to succeed because he just can’t move well enough. Perhaps he’s wise enough to compensate.

DONTBUYTHEHYPE, In fairness, Green probably has as much upside as Landry, and Landry is immensely benefited by better talent and superior coaching which really improve his game. Green and the Thunder mostly freelance, of course he’s not going to be well-refined and developed.

In a year or two, I wouldn’t be surprised if Green vaults up 10 or more spots. Right now, if you’re the Boston Celtics or San Antonio Spurs, you want Landry because of how effective an interior scorer and rebounder he is.

I agree with much of your analysis on Chris Bosh. I like how you sought to evaluate players irrespective of their supporting casts, but the fact is, Bosh is Toronto’s go-to guy. He faces double and triple teams on a nightly basis, which forces him to expend more energy on the offensive end, and limits his efforts on the defensive side of the ball. (Bosh played fantastic defense in the Olympics last summer.)

Bosh isn’t afforded as many high percentage looks either, because his supporting cast pales in comparison to West’s (Chris Paul) and Boozer’s (Deron Williams).

I think you’re overestimating West’s defense as well. He was chumped by Kenyon Martin and Nene in last year’s playoffs.

As for Love, I think you’re going to be surprised by his development this season. Look for him to develop into one of the league’s top shooting big men.

Even with that considered, I categorize Balkman more as a small forward anyway, so it’s comparing apples to bananas.

Not much to say, most of the things I agree.

But about Denver-Martin. He’s on the down side of his career and I think that the suprising 20th pick Renaldo Balkman is slightly better thatn Martin. He’s a better on ball defender, quicker and he’s a major energy guy.

Perhaps I didn’t give as much love to Varejao as he deserves. I do think he’s a winning player, and a good defender as each of you has pointed out.

In fairness, he’s worse offensively than everybody ahead of him except for Chuck Hayes, and Hayes is an elite defensive player. I wish Varejao had any kind of offensive skill though he is worlds improved from earlier in his career. I also think Varejao isn’t an exceptional defender. I’ll give as much love to defensive specialists as anyone, but Varejao isn’t a player who will lock down opponents. This hurts him a bit in my eyes.

JUEGOS, you’re love of Gasol is well-placed. He’s a fantastic year who’s improved his weak spots considerably. That’s the mark of a winning player.

BRANDON, I agree with Brand. If he returns to his Clipper form, he’s 3rd on the list. He’s that good. A

nd I’d like to see Love prove me wrong, but he looks like a backup. He reminds me of Brad Miller in so many ways, and while Miller is decent, I’ve never felt he was a special player. I have the same feelings about Love. He plays with so little creativity. Let’s see if his offense and defense evolve to match his rebounding.

First STAN, I have Stoudemire as a Center. I’d expect the Suns to play with either Louis Amundson or Jared Dudley at power forward, or even a radical lineup with Nash, Barbosa, Richardson, Hill, and Amar’e to take full advantage of Phoenix’ desire to run and gun. In both scenarios, it’s likely Stoudemire will be center.

BRANDON, MATTRICK, and TSUNAMI, I don’t feel that Bosh’s game translates well to extended playoff successes. I don’t trust poor defenders who have no power in their game to come through in important moments. Gasol is a bit of an exception, but he’s worked very hard on playing through contact and he’s really improved his defense. Bosh doesn’t have that yet.

So when comparing him to other players, West is solid in everything he does except being aware of double teams, and Boozer’s an offensive monster who can score from all over. Bosh is a better defender than Boozer, but not enough to overtake Boozer’s ability to score in the post and rebound.

MATTRICK, I guarantee you that not a single GM would take Bosh over KG. He’s not more versatile than Gasol because he can’t pass or finish anywhere as close as Gasol. And KG’s a defensive game-changer who also happens to be potent offensively.

If you want to know how bad Bosh’s defense is at times, coachingbetterbasketball had a piece midway through last season looking at Toronto’d defense. http://coachingbetterbball.blogspot.com/2008/11/raptors-cannot-stop-ball-and-lose-badly.html

In the first screenshot, why is Bosh so high and on the wrong side of the screen? An easy backcut by KG gives him an alleyoop dunk.

In the second, why is he crowding KG 20 feet from the hoop and in no position to provide any help? It’s carelessness like that that leads to busted plays and lost games.

I agree with most of your assessments, but like Brandon, feel that Bosh and Varejao are a little low on the list. But nice list, nonetheless, and good analysis to go with it.

Although, in Varejao’s defense, he has excellent footwork and knows exactly how to position his body to take contact in the chest while being flatfooted. It may look like a “flop” but I’ve watched him for years now – he’s just an expert at it. He gets to spots quickly, puts his feet down flat and stands straight as a board, and then takes the hit and lets it knock him straight over. There are a lot of players, even incredible defensive players, that cannot make that play.

He might play C next year at time but chances are good he will play his natural PF position.