With the 2012-13 NBA regular season all wrapped up, it’s time to present the final edition of the Hornets’ Player Power Rankings. As always, we hope you enjoy them, and if you have any suggestions on how to improve these rankings next season, please feel free to share them in the comments section below!

Final Season Rankings

1) Ryan Anderson, PF – 81 GP, 30.9 MPG, 54.8 TS%, 15.9% DRR, 7.0% TOR, .125 WS/48, 18.2 PER; Last Week: 1

Davis made one hell of a late season push, but Anderson hangs on by a hair to finish the 2012-13 NBA season atop the Hornets’ player power rankings (sorry, Ryan!). Had the two been closer in minutes played, AD would have almost certainly taken the top spot away from Ryno, but Anderson played about 35% more minutes than Davis this year, a pretty sizable margin. His ability to score efficiently without turning the ball over cannot be overlooked – he was the only player in the NBA this season to post an effective field goal percentage over 21% and a turnover percentage under 8% with a usage rate over 24%, only one of seven players in NBA history to do so (though not the only New Orleans Hornet on the list). Overall, Ryan Anderson certainly lived up to most people’s expectations for him this season, and should improve with more weapons around him next season.

2) Anthony Davis, PF – 64 GP, 28.8 MPG, 55.9 TS%, 23.5% DRR, 10.5% ORR, 9.6% TOR, 0.159 WS/48, 21.8 PER; Last Week: 2

On a per-minute basis, there was no better player on the Hornets this season than Anthony Davis (with apologies to Henry Sims and Hakim Warrick). He finished 5th on the team in USG%, 4th in TS% & eFG%, 3rd in TOR%, 2nd in ORR, DRR, & STL%, 1st in BLK%, PER, & WS/48. AS A ROOKIE. Clearly, great things are in his (and the Pelicans’) future. He probably won’t win the rookie of the year award due to his volume stats disadvantage when compared to Damian Lillard, but he was certainly the more efficient of the two and made a much bigger two-way impact than Lillard.

3) Greivis Vasquez, PG – 78 GP, 34.4 MPG, 50.2 TS%, 13.3% DRR, 34.7% AR,  12.2% TOR, .067 WS/48, 16.3 PER; Last Week: 3

The gap between the top two players and Greivis is pretty wide, but Vasquez managed to keep himself just ahead of Lopez to finish third in these rankings. While he has put up some of his best numbers against lottery teams and worst numbers against playoff teams, his season overall has certainly been one of the strongest on the team, giving the Hornets production at the point that few people expected before the season. While I personally put Vasquez second to Jrue Holiday in my own Most Improved Player ballot for the ESPN forecast panel, I have been more than satisfied with the job he has done this year.

4) Robin Lopez, C – 82 GP, 26.0 MPG, 57.3 TS%, 12.4% ORR, 11.2% TOR, .126 WS/48, 19.0 PER; Last Week: 4

In terms of production and overall efficiency, Lopez probably deserves to be ahead of Vasquez in these rankings. However, the role that he played for much of the season was not nearly as important as Greivis’, so Robin fell to 4th. Overall, Lopez had a season almost as surprising as Vasquez’s in relation to what was expected of him. He led the team in both true shooting percentage and offensive rebound rate, all while sporting the highest usage rate of his five year career. Add that to the fact that he was the only Hornets player not to miss a single game all season long, and Robin’s season was clearly a pretty successful one.

5) Eric Gordon, SG – 42 GP, 30.1 MPG, 52.3 TS%, 14.6% AR, 12.5% TOR, .042 WS/48, 15.4 PER; Last Week: 5

Gordon’s season has been a series of peaks and valleys. There have been times when he has been the player that the Hornets thought that they were getting, repeatedly driving and attacking the rim and getting to the free throw line. Other times, however, he’ll get lazy, settle for contested long 2-point shots, and not give full effort on defense. Even if he was able to play in every single game throughout the duration of his contract, he would be vastly overpaid if the latter style of play is what becomes more common from him. The chances of the Pelicans receiving desired value in return if they pursue trading Gordon is likely low, so let’s just hope the aggressive  assertive Gordon is the guy who suits up for New Orleans next fall.

6) Al-Farouq Aminu, SF – 76 GP, 27.2 MPG, 51.9 TS%, 26.2% DRR, 13.7% AR, 15.4% TOR, .073 WS/48, 13.7 PER; Last Week: 6

Aminu finished off the best season of his three year NBA career with a 16 point, 20 rebound performance in Dallas, including an impressive 8 offensive rebounds. Aminu was an absolute force on the defensive glass all season, posting the best defensive rebound rate in the entire league among small forwards.  Unfortunately, that’s about the only area Aminu dominated; he shot poorly outside of the paint, he turned the ball over a bunch, and he was an average defender at best despite his athleticism. The key for Aminu going forward will be whether or not he can live up to his defensive potential, as his limited offensive skill set seems pretty much defined already.

7) Brian Roberts, PG – 78 GP, 17.0 MPG, 50.9 TS%, 26.3 % AR, 8.5% TOR, .078 WS/48, 14.7 PER; Last Week: 7

With increased minutes as the season culminated, Roberts’ efficiency slipped a bit, but at this point, it’s all about giving him experience and the tools to succeed going forward. With the exception of Greivis’ significant rebounding advantage, Roberts and Vasquez were not separated by all that much statistically; Roberts’ assist/turnover ratio was about 3.1, while Vasquez’s was about 2.85, and Roberts barely edged Vasquez in true shooting percentage 50.9% to 50.2%. Of course, Greivis faced the opposing team’s best players far more frequently, so take those numbers with a grain of salt. Still, these numbers give added credibility to Roberts’ rookie season, one that earned him a second-team all-rookie spot for Scouts Inc.’s David Thorpe.

8) Jason Smith, PF – 51 GP, 17.2 MPG, 54.4 TS%, 16.9% DRR, 11.6% TOR, .095 WS/48, 16.8 PER; Last Week: 8

Roberts’ late season play may have allowed him to jump Smith, but make no mistake – had Smith continued to play at the level he played all season, he would have given Eric Gordon a run for his money at that 5th spot. Jason was an underrated defender in the middle (the Hornets were 3.5 points per 100 possessions better defensively with him on the court), and a guy who could spread the floor on offense thanks to the range on his jumper. As long as Smith continues to work with the coaching staff on his post defense, he is certainly talented enough to come off of the bench and play heavy minutes at either front court spot.

9) Roger Mason Jr., SG – 69 GP, 17.7 MPG, 57.0 TS%, 12.0 % DRR, 16.5% AR, 11.4% TOR, .057 WS/48, 10.0 PER; Last Week: 9

Mason did everything expected of him and more for the Hornets this past season. While he rarely contributed in any other areas apart from shooting, he posted the second highest percentages of his career in that regard (eFG% & TS%), beaten only by his 2007-08 season with the Wizards. The Hornets would likely love to have him back on another minimum deal, but his play may have earned himself a similar deal with a team closer to title contention.

10) Lance Thomas, SF – 59 GP, 10.9 MPG, 56.5 TS%, 8.0% ORR, 8.6% TOR, .087 WS/48, 10.1 PER; Last Week: 10

Down the stretch, most of the available minutes for the end of the Hornets’ bench were given to either Darius Miller or Xavier Henry, leaving basically nothing for Thomas. Nonetheless, he has a team option for the league minimum next season, so it is likely that he returns to the Pelicans in the fall.

11) Austin Rivers, SG – 61 GP, 23.2 MPG,  43.1 TS%, 19.9% AR, 11.6% TOR, -0.038 WS/48, 6.0 PER; Last Week: 11

Rivers finished the season playing easily his best basketball of the season, but his overall lackluster body of work cannot be ignored for that reason. He struggled in almost every aspect of the game, whether it was shooting, finishing at the rim, or taking care of the ball. He was able to get to the rim fairly frequently, though, which is a good sign that he could eventually become a serviceable player if he can continue to improve in other areas. He also improved his defense tremendously from the start of the season, which will hopefully be another trend that continues. Next season will be key in determining Rivers’ NBA potential.

12) Darius Miller, SF – 52 GP, 13.3 MPG, 52.9 TS%, 24.6% AR, 13.2% TOR, .034 WS/48, 6.3 PER; Last Week: 12

Before March hit, Miller looked like a guy who may not make the Pelicans’ roster next season. However, while his PER is far from passable, he showed off some skills late in the season that made him more than worth keeping around for at least another year. He displayed some point forward characteristics with his above-average ball handling and passing for his position, and also looked fairly strong from beyond the arc. His rebounding and defense are areas in which he needs to improve, but doing so is a very realistic possibility for him. It will be fun to see what an offseason of work can do for his game.

13) Lou Amundson, PF – 18 GP, 11.6 MPG, 44.9 TS%, 13.4% ORR, 19.7% DRR, .065 WS/48, 11.7 PER; Last Week: 14

While Amundson played just 18 games with the Hornets, he did more than enough to make many people want him to return as a Pelican next season. Given his very limited offensive game, he may be a slight stretch as the team’s fourth big man, but he would be an ideal fifth big with his defensive ability and rebounding skill. Expect the Pelicans to make him an offer to return next season; if it were up to me, I’d offer him a deal in the neighborhood of 2 years & $2.5 million total, possibly with only the first season guaranteed.

14) Xavier Henry, SG – 50 GP, 12.5 MPG, 48.1 TS%, 13.4% DRR, 12.6% TOR, .002 WS/48, 7.7 PER; Last Week: 13

Henry played a couple solid games at the end of the year, but they can’t mask his immense struggles throughout his career thus far. He will probably find a new NBA home next season, but don’t rule out the possibility of him either heading overseas or becoming a guy who routinely moves back and forth between the NBA and the D-League.

15) Terrel Harris, SG – 13 GP, 8.3 MPG, 12.6 TS%, 17.6% AR, 19.3% DRR, 32.6% TOR, -.267 WS/48, -3.8 PER; Last Week: 15

Harris may have been okay defensively, but his offense was simply horrendous throughout his brief Hornets tenure. Don’t expect him to be back next season.

All season long, these player power rankings will be presented alongside various “advanced stats” in order to more accurately evaluate each Hornets player’s impact (click here for a glossary of the statistic abbreviations). In addition, we also have created a chart with the goal of standardizing advanced stat categories to distinguish the good numbers from the bad ones. Hopefully, these tools give each of you the means to comprehend the advanced statistical metrics used in these rankings as well as other columns throughout Hornets247.com.

For historical power rankings, click here.

All stats were obtained from ESPN.com except for WS/48 stats, which are a product of Basketball-Reference.com.

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