NBA: Ranking the league's best third options

NBA: Ranking the league’s best third options

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Jakob Poeltl. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports /

NBA: Ranking the league’s best third options: 27. Jakob Poeltl, San Antonio Spurs

It used to be incurably easy figuring out how the scoring pecking order went with the San Antonio Spurs. With Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, and Tim Duncan long gone – the Spurs are attempting to find themselves.

Presently, they have a few interesting names. In terms of their third-best option, they have one of the worst players filling that spot in Jakob Poeltl. There’s no denying that’s come a long way but he isn’t the sort of player that team’s focus on when the Spurs come to town.

Poeltl is somewhat of a throwback big. He parks himself down in the paint each time down the floor, raises one hand in the air, and calls for the ball. Once it touches his fingertips, he’s likely going to put the ball up. To his credit, head coach Gregg Popovich hasn’t yanked him out of games due to his efficient shooting numbers. For the fifth straight season, he’s shooting over 60% from the field.

Don’t expect anything out of the ordinary with Poeltl. If he isn’t in the perfect position to score, he isn’t likely to do so. Remember when Ginobili, a future Hall of Famer, was the Spurs third option on offense? Now it’s Poeltl. Go ahead Spurs fans, we can hear you crying from here.