Meet The MURPs

Instead of titling this piece "The Most Underrated Role Players," I originally wanted to call it "The Ryan Anderson Awards," in honor of a former role-playing great who finally got promoted to starter status this season--and consequently star status--with the Orlando Magic.

Anderson, mind you, always had great plus-minus and PER stats when he was a 14- and 22-minutes-per-game role player the previous two seasons. And when he finally started getting 31 minutes per game in 2011-12, the 23-year-old power forward showed the Magic he was indeed an All-Star caliber player all along.

Likewise, most of the MURPs on this list could be making greater contributions to their teams, if only they got more playing time.

For all intents and purposes, my definition of a role player is someone who has not averaged 24.0 minutes per game in either of the last two seasons.

And for what it's worth, when picking The 15 Most Underrated Role Players, the main statistics I used were Jeremias Engelmann's RAPM stats and John Hollinger's Player Efficiency Ratings.

Nick Collison, Thunder power forward … +5.7, 497 minutes, 19.9 mpg, 2.40 Victory Value, 12.88 PER ... They used to have a saying that Player X did all the "little things" that didn't show up in the box score. Well, now with RAPM, those "little things" can be measured and those new stats show Collison's importance to a team--at least on a per-minute level--is just as important as anyone in the league, including RAPM leaders Dirk Nowitzki and Chris Paul. Granted, Collison barely plays more than half the minutes of the superstars, but on a per-minute level, he is just as valuable to a team's success. Why else do you think head coach Scott Brooks increased Collison's playing time to 27 minutes per game against the Mavs in the 2011 Western Conference Finals?

Matt Bonner, Spurs power forward … +4.0, 521 minutes, 20.0 mpg, 2.07 Victory Value, 14.20 PER ... Bonner is a perfect example of how a stretch 4 can really impact the game in a big way, ala Ryan Anderson. He is a part of three of San Antonio's four best lineups and is a huge reason why the Spurs have been one of the two best teams in the West in spite of Manu Ginobili's absence. Throw in fellow Spur MURPs Danny Green and Tiago Splitter, and it's easy to see why San Antonio also has the NBA's best bench.

Kyle Korver, Bulls shooting guard … +2.2, 624 minutes, 23.1 mpg, 1.92 Victory Value, 13.20 PER ... Simply put, your teammates love you when you make 45, 43 and 49 percent of your 3's for three years running. Add the fact that Korver's defense has always been solid as well (+0.3) and you quickly see why the shooter is a big part of Chicago's bench success.

Taj Gibson, Bulls power forward … +2.8, 460 minutes, 19.2 mpg, 1.56 Victory Value, 14.83 PER ... Gibson is another Bull who puts the go in Chicago--really amping up the team's defense, in his case. Gibson is just a big block party waiting to happen (1.3 rejections in 19.2 minutes per game) and when he's teamed with backup center Omer Asik, opponents simply do not score.

Danny Green, Spurs shooting guard … +1.3, 567 minutes, 21.8 mpg, 1.50 Victory Value, 14.41 PER ... The former third-stringer has shown that hard work and professionalism can elevate game, especially in San Antonio, where Green has become the Spurs No. 5 man in minutes played. His all-around NBA game is one of the biggest surprises in the league, but it really shouldn't be since we all saw Green play this way en route to a 2009 NCAA championship with fellow North Carolina seniors Ty Lawson, Tyler Hansbrough and Wayne Ellington.

Chase Budinger, Rockets small forward … +2.6, 451 minutes, 20.5 mpg, 1.48 Victory Value, 16.27 PER ... Veteran plus-minus great Shane Battier took the lion's share of small forward minutes in Houston last season, while rookie Chandler Parsons splits time with Budinger this season at the 3. But in both cases, Budinger showed he was a budding star, playing great team ball, spacing the floor, while also showcasing his athleticism running up and down the floor.

Vladimir Radmanovic, Hawks power forward … +2.5, 434 minutes, 18.1 mpg, 1.40 Victory Value, 13.13 PER ... There's a reason why Phil Jackson started Vlad on the 2008 Lakers NBA Finals team. Again, it is so nice to have a stretch 4 who can knock down 39 percent of his 3's. The Hawks, who have not enjoyed such a luxury since Toni Kukoc 11 years ago, definitely make the most of Radmanovic's appearances.

Ekpe Udoh, Warriors power forward … +2.7, 404 minutes, 18.4 mpg, 1.35 Victory Value, 9.44 PER ... Head coach Mark Jackson doesn't seem to fully appreciate what he has in Udoh, but no matter. The Golden State power forward keeps on producing at high levels defensively (+1.5), just as he did for former head coach Keith Smart (+1.3), just as he did at Baylor.

Anthony Tolliver, Timberwolves center … +2.5, 407 minutes, 19.4 mpg, 1.32 Victory Value, 6.97 PER ... You'd be surprised to see how well a 6-8, 240-pound man can do at center, but Tolliver shows that hustle and brains can make up for lack of height. And even though his shot has been off, the team seems to excel with Tolliver, no matter what lineup combo they use with him.

Tracy McGrady, Hawks small forward … +1.3, 387 minutes, 18.4 mpg, 1.02 Victory Value, 15.86 PER ... T-Mac is the only former All-Star on this list ... and a seven-time All-Star, at that. But McGrady seems to have embraced his current role-player status--even signing a veteran's minimum contract. He's a low-risk, high-reward type of player now, possibly giving Atlanta valuable scoring punch off the bench come playoff time. He's already paying dividends. The Hawks lost center Al Horford, perhaps for the season, and they've yet to fall off. A part of the reason for that goes to new addition T-Mac.

Tiago Splitter, Spurs center … -0.4, 548 minutes, 21.1 mpg, 0.98 Victory Value, 18.82 PER ... Now THIS is the Tiago Splitter the Spurs were hoping to see last season. The 27-year-old Splitter came to San Antonio a year ago touted as the best big man in Europe, but he hardly played like it, posting a -3.1 non-prior RAPM, though with a very solid 16.02 PER. This year, the physical-yet-mobile 6-11, 240-pound center has numbers that make him a breakout candidate, boasting a non-prior RAPM of +1.2 and PER of 18.82.

Ian Mahinmi, Mavericks center … -0.1, 485 minutes, 20.2 mpg, 0.94 Victory Value, 16.03 PER ... Dallas had the seventh-best defense last season, thanks in large part to the addition of Tyson Chandler. But this season, the Mavs decided not to pay Chandler $13.1 million to return. Instead, the $915,832 Mahinmi was asked to fill some of the playing-time void. He hasn't missed a beat, leading Dallas--alongside fellow center Brendan Haywood--to the seventh-best defense in the league.

C.J. Watson, Bulls point guard … +0.2, 349 minutes, 20.5 mpg, 0.73 Victory Value, 21.36 PER ... When asked to replace the injured MVP Derrick Rose for four games last month, Watson led the Bulls to a 3-1 record while giving them most-efficient point guard play: 66 points on 41 shots, 24 assists and only 9 turnovers. It was really no surprise to anyone who has watched Watson. His numbers have always shown he is a very good player.

Jeremy Lin, Knicks point guard … -0.2, 171 minutes, 14.3 mpg, 0.32 Victory Value, 26.83 PER ... It's so nice to see Lin finally get his shot at stardom. The man with an 18.50 career PER may indeed be The Next Ryan Anderson Breakout Star. After all, he never played more than 24 minutes in any game at Golden State or New York before Saturday. Yet, in his first three starts of his NBA career this month, Lin has 76 points on 50 shots, along with 25 assists in three straight wins for New York. To show you how great Lin has played in limited action, his 26.83 PER this season is second only to LeBron James.

Jeff Foster, Pacers center … +3.9, 73 minutes, 14.6 mpg, 0.29 Victory Value, 15.80 PER ... Granted, Foster has only played 73 minutes in 2011-12 and won't be back until the All-Star break, when he returns from a back injury. But this list would be remiss not to include him, since Foster is a perennial high plus-minus guy (+3.9 prior-RAPM this year), a great pick-and-roll defender, not to mention the best offensive rebounder in the game last year. Indiana will improve upon his return.