In the shadows: Five underappreciated NBA players

Davis Bertans, Wizards

Few NBA players are more fun to watch than Bertans, a 6-foot-10 forward who averages 15.4 points. Considered a spot-up shooter when he came into the league, he has developed into a multifaceted threat with perhaps the most lethal jumper in the sport. The Latvian shoots 46.6 percent from the field and 45.6 percent of his shots from beyond the arc. The latter number is impressive enough standing on its own, but it’s a downright insane figure when you consider Bertans is attempting 8.5 three-pointers per game!

To put that in perspective, only one player in the history of the NBA has attempted eight threes a game and converted at least 45 percent of them in a season. That would be Golden State's Steph Curry in 2015-16 -- the year he won his second straight MVP award. He's one of the greatest shooters of all time.

The shocking fact about this leap toward offensive elite by Bertans -- a career 41.5 % shooter from beyond the arc -- isn’t that the Wizards' offense struggles when he sits. The stunner is that he’s even on the team. The Spurs, a franchise with a reputation as one of the smartest in the league, dealt Bertans to Washington (7-17) as part of an effort to clear salary to sign ... Marcus Morris. Worse for San Antonio, the Morris deal fell through in one of the weirder free-agency stories in the past decade. (He signed with the Knicks, and averages a shade under 19 points a game.)  So San Antonio traded one of this season's most lethal offensive players for a big bag of nothing.

Yikes.

Jalen Brunson, Mavericks

In pretty much every way, Brunson is the opposite of Bertans. Standing a sturdy 6-foot-1, the Mavericks’ backup point guard has little flair on offense. On defense, however, Brunson is a pit bull, more than willing to hound  ball-handlers, making them work for every inch. On the other end of the floor, Brunson is a steady hand guiding Dallas' offense.

It's rare in the NBA to find players willing to buy into and bring a controlled intensity to such a blue-collar role. Yet game in and game out, Brunson gets his hands dirty, with the Mavericks (17-8) reaping the benefits.

Brunson is the team leader in plus/minus (of all Dallas players with at least 150 minutes), posting a mark of +3.8 points per 100 possessions. That’s over four times better than +0.9 mark put up by MVP candidate Luka Doncic. Now before reading too much into that, it’s important to remember that Brunson benefits slightly from spending most of his time coming off the bench and playing against opponents' second units; Doncic typically starts and finishes games against the best players. 

But don't underestimate Brunson's impact. He is a key element of Dallas' defense. The Mavericks' ability to stop opponents craters without Brunson at the point of attack. With him on the floor, Dallas gives up 102.1 points per 100 possessions.  When he sits, that mark surges to 109.7. The backup point guard isn't the most entertaining player in the league, but you can bet the decision-makers in Dallas appreciate him.

Duncan Robinson, Heat

Five years ago, Robinson was starting his collegiate basketball career at Williams College, a Division III school in Massachusetts. Now he's starting for the Heat (19-7) and a key reason the team is off to an outstanding start.

For the past few years, Miami has been undone offensively by a lack of quality shooters. This season, Robinson teams with another surprising contributor, Kendrick Nunn, to balance the Heat’s starting lineup around Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. 

In 337 minutes playing with Butler and Adebayo, Miami has outscored opponents by 14.6 points per 48 minutes. Robinson isn't merely benefitting from starpower -- he actually has his own play calls. Miami's rise to third in three-point percentage this season from the bottom third of the NBA in 2018-19 has a lot do with Robinson, who averages 11.6 points and shoots 44% from three.

Devonte Graham, Hornets

He may not be Kemba Walker, who signed as a free agent with Boston after eight seasons with Charlotte, but he's doing one heck of an impression. After a pedestrian rookie year, the young guard is off to a terrific start, averaging nearly 19 points. From beyond the arc, he’s taking more shots than last season (8.9 to 2.6) and making more of them (42.2% to 28.1%).

In the 950 minutes Graham has played, the team has posted a respectable offensive rating of 107.8 points per 100 possessions. When he sits, that number plummets to 94.7. The Hornets (12-17), who play in virtual obscurity, might do better trying half-court heaves when Graham isn’t playing.

Graham works hard to score, bobbing and weaving with the dribble until space opens up. So far this season, just a shade over half of Graham’s shots have come after he has taken three or more dribbles.