BDL's Ranking Rosters: Measuring depth in the Southwest Division
Stars guide the NBA. Set your watch by LeBron James contending in June. Kevin Durant joined Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green in Golden State, and we all know how that will turn out. (Hint: Pretty good.) Fill out the rest of that roster with 11 Mark Madsens, and they’ll still vie for a title.
But few stars push teams to the playoffs alone. Ask Carmelo Anthony. Or DeMarcus Cousins. After 10 straight playoff appearances to begin his career, the former has seen his season end in April three years running. And the latter has landed in the lottery every season since entering the league in 2010.
Depth and continuity count in the NBA, too, and that’s why we’re here. We ranked every roster, one through 12, mostly because that’s how many players a team activates each game (and partly since 15 is more effort). Then, we broke divisions down by depth, sorting teams into four distinct categories:
• Stars: You know ’em when you see ’em
• Supporting actors: Starting-caliber NBA players
• Role players: Possess a very particular set of skills
• Extras: Putting the RP in VORP
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Likewise, we noted each roster’s additions (“standing in”) and subtractions (“edited out”).
These subjective rankings are based on depth and continuity, or lack thereof, and not a prediction of where teams will finish in the standings, even if they’re often intertwined ideas. Newly formed or existing star-studded squads may fare better than ones with longer-running or stronger supporting casts, although a revolving door or bottom-heavy roster is almost always a target for rotten tomatoes.
Without further ado: The Southwest Division.
1. San Antonio Spurs
• Stars: Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge
• Supporting actors: Pau Gasol, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Danny Green
• Role players: Patty Mills, David Lee, Dewayne Dedmon, Jonathon Simmons
• Extras: Kyle Anderson, Dejounte Murray
Standing in: Dedmon, Gasol, Lee, Murray
Edited out: Boris Diaw, Tim Duncan, Boban Marjanovic, David West
The Spurs are “The Bourne Legacy.” You’re used to seeing Matt Damon in the Jason Bourne series. And you’re used to seeing Tim Duncan on the Spurs. This time, they’re gone. Of course, the movie isn’t all that different with Jeremy Renner as the lead. He plays the same strong, silent type, and Leonard will be no different as the face of San Antonio’s franchise. “Legacy” was still pretty damn good, just as the Spurs will be in Duncan’s absence, because both franchises are really just about methodically kicking people’s [behinds] over and over. Of course, Damon returned for “Jason Bourne” after swearing off the franchise, so don’t lose hope that Duncan is indeed a killing machine with one more job left in him.
2. Memphis Grizzlies
• Stars: Marc Gasol, Mike Conley
• Supporting actors: Zach Randolph, Chandler Parsons, Tony Allen, Brandan Wright
• Role players: JaMychal Green, Vince Carter, Troy Daniels, Jarell Martin
• Extras: Wade Baldwin, Deyonta Davis
Standing in: Baldwin, Daniels, Davis, Parsons
Edited out: Chris Andersen, Matt Barnes, Jordan Farmar, Lance Stephenson
“No Country for Old Men.” Randolph is Javier Bardem’s Anton Chigurh — a ruthless villain who just keeps coming at you, no matter the circumstances. Gasol is Tommy Lee Jones’ Sheriff Bell — questioning his place in the world, now that the NBA is going small, and he’s just hoping to make it to retirement in one piece. And Conley is Josh Brolin’s Llewelyn Moss — falling into a boatload of money that may become more of a burden, as questions about how he got it won’t ever stop following him. Themes of “No Country for Old Men” include “navigating an uneasy passage between past and future” and “that the world goes on its way and does not have much to do with human desires and concerns,” which seems about right for this group of Grizzlies for whom we’ll always wonder what might’ve been.
3. Dallas Mavericks
• Stars: Dirk Nowitzki
• Supporting actors: Wesley Matthews, Harrison Barnes, Deron Williams, Andrew Bogut
• Role players: Devin Harris, Dwight Powell, Jose Juan Barea, Justin Anderson, Seth Curry
• Extras: Salah Mejri, Quincy Acy
Standing in: Acy, Barnes, Bogut, Curry
Edited out: Jeremy Evans, Raymond Felton, Lee, JaVale McGee, Pachulia, Parsons, Charlie Villanueva
“Danny Collins.” This 2015 independent movie was wildly underrated — and a reminder that, hey, this Al Pacino fella is still a damn good actor. That was Dirk’s 2015, too. I mean, it wasn’t Pacino in “The Godfather” or Dirk in the 2011 NBA Finals, but it was great nonetheless. Everyone wrote the Mavericks off last season, and they still made the playoffs. Likewise, the supporting cast in “Danny Collins” won’t blow you away. Annette Bening was solid, as Matthews is. But Jennifer Garner also played a major role, which makes Barnes the Garner to Dirk’s Pacino. Still, the lead performance was so undeniably good, even at an advanced age, that everything else didn’t really matter. Pacino has been in some bad films of late (“Jack and Jill”?), just as Dirk has been surrounded by some questionable casts in Dallas, but just when you think they should call it a career, they pull a “Danny Collins” out of their [behind].
4. New Orleans Pelicans
• Stars: Anthony Davis
• Supporting actors: Jrue Holiday, Tyreke Evans
• Role players: Buddy Hield, Omer Asik, Alexis Ajinca, E’Twaun Moore, Solomon Hill, Quincy Pondexter, Lance Stephenson, Terrence Jones, Langston Galloway
Standing in: Galloway, Hield, Hill, Jones, Moore, Stephenson
Edited out: Ryan Anderson, Luke Babbitt, Norris Cole, James Ennnis, Eric Gordon, Jordan Hamilton
Have you seen “Joe Versus the Volcano”? It’s unfathomable Tom Hanks would appear in such an atrocious movie. It’s an abomination — unwatchable, even with a perennial Oscar contender atop the bill. These Pelicans are Anthony Davis’ “Joe Versus the Volcano.” Granted, the movie came out three years before Hanks cemented his legacy with back-to-back Best Actor awards for “Philadelphia” and “Forrest Gump,” so there’s hope yet New Orleans can figure it out before Davis’ contract is up in 2021.
5. Houston Rockets
• Stars: James Harden
• Supporting actors: Ryan Anderson, Trevor Ariza, Eric Gordon
• Role players: Patrick Beverley, Clint Capela, Michael Beasley, K.J. McDaniels, Nene, Corey Brewer
• Extras: Montrezl Harrell, Sam Dekker
Standing in: Anderson, Gordon, Nene
Edited out: Dwight Howard, Terrence Jones, Donatas Motiejunas, Josh Smith, Jason Terry
Following “Four Weddings and a Funeral” in 1994, Hugh Grant was riding high, winning the Golden Globe for Best Actor. It wasn’t quite an Oscar, but neither was Harden’s MVP at the 2015 NBPA’s Players’ Choice Awards. Just when Grant’s first major studio film, “Nine Months,” was set to premiere in 1995, he was arrested with a Hollywood prostitute. Harden’s 2015-16 was the NBA equivalent, and not because he dated a Kardashian. You couldn’t believe a leading man would stoop so low. It was several years before Grant restored his reputation, and ultimately he found his groove in romantic comedies like “Notting Hill,” “Bridget Jones’s Diary” and “Love Actually.” Harden may skate a similar lane someday, but we fear this is his guest appearance on “The Nanny” before a three-year hiatus.
Thus concludes today’s uber-old pop culture references.
Previously, on Ranking Rosters:
Eastern Conference: Atlantic Division • Central Division • Southeast Division
Western Conference: Pacific Division • Southwest Division • Northwest Division
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is a contributor for Ball Don’t Lie and Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach
