...that's a bit of an overstatement at this point. Unexpected as it would've been before the season but Julius Randle & RJ Barrett are playing like perennial Allstars; with Julius having a legitimate case for an All-NBA spot to go with the MIP award that has to be his, and RJ being on an absolute tear since his awful shooting in the first 12 games.
To a lesser extent, Quickley & Rose have shown they are legit and would bolster any team's bench. Before getting hurt Mitchell Robinson had finally learned to play defense without fouling, turning himself into an elite rim-protector as well as the excellent rim-runner he already was. While Bullock, Burks & Noel are quality role players who could contribute on a lot of teams. Hell, even Toppin is coming on over the past few weeks & consistently making a positive impact during his cameos spelling Julius.
Obviously not true contenders or anything, but Elfrid Payton is really the only guy who still plays regularly, who genuinely sucks....and he doesn't even play as much as Rose or IQ anymore. Thibs just likes to start games with our hardest-to-score-against lineup, before shifting into more offensive groupings as the benches get more involved.