The NBA's 10 Most Underrated Players

"Underrated" is a very loose term. Players can be underrated by their peers, their coaches, fans, analysts and others. Since they're not getting their due elsewhere, I'll give these 10 players the attention they deserve in my list below. Let's start from No. 10 and count it down to No. 1...

#10-J.R. Smith, SG-Denver Nuggets

This one falls under the category of "underrated by head coach." George Karl hates this guy. Yes, Smith has been known to be a bit of a troublemaker, but he's relatively quiet when it comes to the media. I'm sure Karl has a vendetta against him because he comes late to practice every once in awhile, or he's lazy as hell during practice, but one thing's for sure -- Smith is an immensely talented player.

Smith is an extremely streaky scorer who can get as hot as anyone from behind the three-point arc. He recently had six threes in a game and then followed it up with an eight three performance -- both nights he came off the bench. Smith has been relegated to the bench as a member of Karl's doghouse since around the midway point last season. Karl's being stubborn. Smith is a perfect fit for the Nuggets' up-tempo offense and he'd probably be averaging around 15 points per game if he started alongside Allen Iverson.

There's no question that Smith's defense is suspect at best, but the Nuggets are already one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA. Their best defense is likely more offense...Smith can certainly give them that.

#9-Jose Calderon, PG-Toronto Raptors

Calderon would probably have made the top five if he didn't receive so much press after the All-Star selections. A few analysts pegged Calderon as one of the biggest snubs for a spot on the Eastern Conference All-Star squad. Prior to that point, this supremely gifted offensive point guard was gettin' no love -- that's why he maintains a position in my top 10.

Calderon leads the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio and he's the second-best player (after Chris Bosh) on one of the East's top teams. Calderon is lightning-quick with the rock in his hands and he penetrates with consistency. He's a very underrated outside shooter, as well. He can step outside the three-point line comfortably and has an excellent mid-range game.

Like J.R. Smith, Calderon is a defensive liability. He gambles and gets some steals, but he has a weak frame and stronger point guards manhandle him. Regardless, he has established himself as one of the league's top 12-15 point guards, which is highly impressive considering the fact that he's come off the bench for the vast majority of his career. T.J. Ford has returned from injury and is back in the mix for Toronto, so it will be interesting to monitor Calderon's production from now until the end of the regular season.

#8-Jamal Crawford, G-New York Knicks

Because the Knicks have been God awful for the past two years, I can't have Crawford any higher than this. The reason being, as well as he has played, he's clearly not doing enough to help the Knicks win in the weak Eastern Conference. Don't get me wrong here, I'm not blaming Crawford for the Knicks' struggles -- not at all -- I'm just saying that as talented as he is, he probably should be leading New York to a No. 7 or 8 playoff spot.

But enough about the bad. Plain and simple, Crawford is one of the most unstoppable offensive players in the NBA. Like Kobe Bryant, Iverson, Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James and Gilbert Arenas -- he's a scorer. Crawford has a plethora of weapons in his arsenal and he flat out knows how to score. He features a vicious crossover dribble, a soft foul-line floater, an indefensible pull-up jumper and a snap-quick first step. No one can totally clamp Crawford, he stops himself more than anyone else does. How? By forcing up unnecessary shots. Unnecessary because they are heavily contested or unnecessary because the Knicks don't need the shot at that particular point in time.

The sad thing is that Crawford's precision passing goes to waste. Occasionally he tosses out a pretty dime, but it's all too rare. Especially with Stephon Marbury out for the remainder of the season, Crawford should be using the threat of his scoring to free up easy opportunities for his teammates -- namely David Lee and Eddy Curry in the post.

#7-Rajon Rondo, PG-Boston Celtics

This was a tricky one. Rondo gets a lot of contradictory press. Of course he gets a pat on the back for being the point guard on the team with the best record in the league, but the true credit always goes to the Big Three. There are some nights when he puts up big numbers and the Celtics' announcers talk about him like he is Magic Johnson, but in the grand scheme, most analysts seem to be questioning if Rondo is going to be able to run Boston's offense well in pressure-packed playoff situations.

I think he can. He's not alone out there anyway -- Ray Allen and Paul Pierce can both handle the ball in times of need. This season, Allen in particular has shown himself to be a much better ballhandler than people generally believe him to be. But back to Rondo. In just his second season, Rondo has established himself as one of the top five rebounding point guards in all of basketball. An argument could probably be made that he's in the top three, after Jason Kidd and Chris Paul. Rondo is also one of the quickest players in the league (that list coming in a few weeks) and taking into account his position, he's unusually crafty around the rim. Rondo likes to show the ball, pivot and fake with one hand ala Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon.

Like Calderon, Rondo is an exceptional penetrator. He's not a consistent perimeter shooter, but he's shown improvement over last season. Rondo plays above average on-ball defense and I
don't think his adequacy as a No. 4 option should be in question. When the playoffs roll around, the Celtics' concern shouldn't be their point guard, it should be their Erick Dampier Jr. in the middle...Kendrick Perkins.

#6-LaMarcus Aldridge, PF/C-Portland Trail Blazers

The Blazers have had surprising success this season, including a 13-game winning streak as a member of the Western Conference -- a seemingly impossible task for the NBA's youngest team. Aldridge is supremely underrated because swingman Brandon Roy gets virtually all of the credit for the turnaround of the Blazers' franchise. While Roy is the better player at this point in their careers (both are sophomores), Aldridge is the Blazers' primary post option and overall, he's the second-best player on a very competitive team.

Despite being in just his second season, Aldridge is already one of the most skilled interior players in basketball. He can pivot both right and left and knocks down fadeaways to either side with regularity. Aldridge is lean and has great length, which allows him to get whatever shots he wants from the mid-range in. He's a good spot-up shooter off a dish and he's slowly improving his rebounding and shotblocking.

Depending on the match-ups, the Blazers will ride Aldridge offensively just as often as they will Roy. The two have the potential to be one of the premier 1-2 punches for a long time. As far as Aldridge goes, the sky's the limit offensively.

#5-Stephen Jackson, G/F-Golden State Warriors

Here's a guy with a poor disciplinary reputation who has been nothing short of an angel this season for head coach Don Nelson. The reason why? Prior to the season, Nelson controversially dubbed Jackson his team captain. Jackson has taken pride in his position and is having arguably the best season of his up-and-down, off the walls career.

Jackson is underrated because everyone is always preoccupied with his technical fouls or off the court antics -- as a result, his incredible offensive skills often go unnoticed. Like Jamal Crawford (listed above), Jackson is a natural scorer. He's one of the best streak three-point shooters in the league, sometimes he'll knock down four, five, six in a row without blinking. He can drive both left and right and contorts his body well to open up opportunities in the lane. Jackson is a crafty and -- believe it or not -- very savvy offensive player. He picks up the momentum of his home crowd well and knows when to continue firing away, or slow it down for a halfcourt set.

Above all, Jackson is an excellent clutch player. He has no conscience; he is never afraid to take and make big shots. Jackson knocked down one big triple after another in the opening round series against the heavily-favored Mavericks last year, and already has an NBA Championship ring from his days with the Spurs. The Spurs beat the Nets 4-2 in the Finals that year, a year in which I followed the Nets very closely -- I remember quite clearly that Jackson had a number of crucial buckets in that series as well.

He's a little crazy at times, but when the lights are shining brightly, Stephen Jackson delivers noteworthy performances.

#4-Andre Miller, PG-Philadelphia 76ers

When I think of Andre Miller I think of one word, "steady." This guy is a rock. Always poised, always getting his teammates the ball in a position to score and never getting much attention. Miller is a true point guard and despite playing for a few different teams, his numbers are consistently good. I don't think there's any question that over the course of the past 5-6 seasons, Miller has been one of the top 5-10 players at his position.

Something to note about Miller is since he's switched places with Allen Iverson, the Nuggets have had similar results. Denver is currently battling for one of the back-end Western Conference playoff spots. When Miller left Denver they had a playoff spot secured and may have been playing with better continuity than they are right now. Now I'm not suggesting that Miller is a better player than Iverson -- that would be plain wrong -- what I am suggesting is that Miller can be equally valuable to the success of his team given the right circumstances.

I'll further the point. About a year later, let's look at that deal from Philadelphia's perspective. When Iverson left the Sixers, what he left behind was arguably the worst team in the NBA. They were piling up losses (sort of like the Heat this year) and the entire franchise was in disarray. After acquiring Miller, the Sixers were over .500 for the second half of the season.

No, Miller isn't the messiah and he's not going to lead the Sixers to an NBA title anytime soon, but he does have them in contention for a playoff spot and he's enhancing the play of teammates Andre Iguodala and Samuel Dalembert. Iverson's me-first style of play stunted Igoudala's development; Miller has allowed the new "AI" to blossom into a fine all-around player. The bottom line...Andre Miller is solid, he improves his teammates and he finds a way to win.

#3-Chris Kaman, C-Los Angeles Clippers

It's awfully hard for any members of Los Angeles' "other" team to get attention, particularly when the Lakers are playing this well. The fact that the Clippers appear to have returned to their loser ways of the past doesn't help Kaman much, either. It's too bad, because talent wise Kaman is a "dream" center -- a franchise middleman to build a team around.

Kaman is averaging a high-end double-double this season and has been the lone reason for most of the wins the Clips have squeaked out. Corey Maggette is a fine tag-team partner for Kaman, but the rest of the Clippers are aging toward retirement or are so young they haven't developed a court identity yet.

Kaman is everything a scout could ask for in an offensive center -- he can knock down jump-hooks with both hands, finish strong around the rim, step back for a soft mid-range jumper and open up looks for his teammates. He's a scary-lookin' guy -- he often lets his hair grown too long and he looks like a crazed escapee from Rehabbing Rock Star Prison -- but it's OK, it adds to the intimidation factor down low (maybe...probably not). He's also a tremendous rebounder and shotblocker; I'd say the only knock on Kaman's game is he has a tendency to forget about his teammates when he gets on a roll. Although on the Clippers, I guess it's easy to think you're playing by yourself.

#2-Mo Williams, PG-Milwaukee Bucks

Here's a fantastic statistical point guard (a should-be favorite of fantasy coaches) who we rarely hear anything about. Williams is averaging around 17 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds per game this year, after averaging 17, 7 and 5 last year. He racks up the threes and steals, as well.

"Mo Will" has a smooth game, he never appears to be in a rush and he features a picturesque shooting stroke. He's undoubtedly Milwaukee's second-best player after prolific scorer Michael Redd, and he's the point guard the Cavs should have signed this offseason. With his ability to create for teammates and drill open shots, Williams would have been a perfect fit alongside LeBron James. Now Mo Will is wasted on a team that can't get any consistency out of its frontcourt -- specifically Andrew Bogut, Charlie Villanueva, Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons. On a nightly basis, it's a "your guess is as good as mine" type of team.

The only knock on Williams is a past sprinkled with various injuries. However, he has stayed healthy for the vast majority of this season and remains one of the premier 7-8 statistical point guards. I qualify it as "statistical" point guards because Williams' play doesn't translate into Bucks' victories, but he's not to blame. Elsewhere, he'd likely be getting the credit he deserves. For now, I'll be the one giving him credit.

#1-Baron Davis, PG-Golden State Warriors

There's no doubt that Davis is the most well-known player on this list. So how is he underrated, you ask? Well, when analysts talk about veteran point guards they go on-and-on about Steve Nash and Jason Kidd. When the focus is on young point guards, Chris Paul and Deron Williams get all of the attention. Come playoff time, Chauncey Billups and Tony Parker are the two getting all the love.

So where does my boy Baron fit in?

Apparently nowhere. "The Baron" or "B Diddy" as I like to call him, failed to make the All-Star team this season. This fact is both saddening and preposterous. Of course this is oversimplifying, but there are (at least) 24 players selected for the All-Star game who tentatively represent the NBA's elite 24 players.

Baron Davis is not one of the top 24 players in the league? He's not one of the elite 12 players in the Western Conference?

His exclusion boggles my mind. That said, I'll tell you what he is: Baron Davis is the third-best point guard in the NBA, arguably one of the best 10 players in the entire league and one of the top five clutch players of all. B Diddy can do it all -- penetrate, slash, drive, dish, dunk, shoot, swipe, block and quite simply, dominate. Best of all, he's a cold-blooded assassin under pressure.

The point is, I could go on all day about B Diddy...but no one else does. Give "The Baron" some love!