The Mid-Range Theory: Scouting, stats and the Hall of Fame case for Vince Carter

Kevin Pelton (@KPelton), NBA analyst for ESPN Insider, joined FanSided Senior NBA Editor Ian Levy (@HickoryHigh) and SNY.tv and OG contributor Tommy Dee (@ThomasCDee) on The Mid-Range Theory podcast to talk basketball. The trio took a deep dive on the career of Vince Carter including parallels with the career paths of Paul Pierce, Carmelo Anthony, and others.

They also discussed the early returns of ESPN’s Real Plus-Minus and how incredible Chris Paul has been thus far this year, in addition to revisiting the “Wiggins vs. Parker” draft decision of 2014.

Pelton also breaks down the New York Knicks’ Kristaps Porzingis, how Real Plus-Minus is starting to see him as one of the elite players in the NBA and whether it’s time to start putting Porzingis in the All-Star discussion.

Check out the whole episode here.

Topics:

Intro
The Life and Times of Vince Carter
Is Vince Carter a Hall of Famer (:30)
The Museum Definition of “Hall of Famer” (3:18)
The Paul Pierce Parallel and Evolution (6:03)
Active Hall of Fame Probability and Carmelo Anthony’s Carter Career Track (8:24)
Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker 2016 (9:48)
The need for both to learn to shoot (14:00)
How Towns and Wiggins ultimately mesh in the half court under Thibodeau (15:25)
Wiggins’ defensive reputation- the eye test vs. numbers (17:22)
Talking Chris Paul’s #1 real plus/minus ranking (19:22)
Porzingis 15th in Real Plus Minus and where he factors amongst the league’s best (25:11)
Early returns from Porzingis and Nikola Jokic (27:20)
Porzingis and PIE splits home/road (29:22)
Early thoughts on University of Washington’s Markelle Fultz and statistics and draft prospects (31:19)
Advanced stats and mid-major NBA prospects (35:00)
Ian’s Draft Projection based on situation (39:09)

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The Mid-Range game is a collaboration between FanSided’s NBA team and The Outside Game, FanSided’s sports media, business, culture, and technology site. Check more podcasts from The Outside Game here.