doughboy90650
Fisher for 3 ??? BANG
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- Jul 5, 2009
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Yahoo's 21-30
30. Kyle Lowry(notes), Houston Rockets (last year: 28th)
Lowry is another backup guard who, at his peak, might be better than all the backups ranked ahead of him on this list. However, consistency (even as he enters his fifth year) is still an issue. Rockets fans tend to forget all that when Lowry acts as the biggest reason a 12-2 run just went down, mixing in great defense, interior finishing, solid-enough passing and the occasional defensive rebound gobble and dash to the other end.
29. Rodney Stuckey(notes), Detroit Pistons (last year: 22nd)
Stuckey is what Stuckey is. He's yet to find a balance between acting as a scoring point guard or passing point man, and the unfortunate truth behind those two aspects of his game is that he's not particularly adept at either. Hardly the return Joe Dumars had in mind when he staved off rebuilding, re-signed Richard Hamilton(notes) and brought in Ben Gordon(notes) and Charlie Villanueva(notes).
28. Jrue Holiday(notes), Philadelphia 76ers (last year: unranked)
Ranking Holiday this low might come back to bite me next August ... or even this December. Born only in 1990 (geez), this second-year guard had to learn on the fly during a miserable season with the Philadelphia 76ers, and if he can handle Doug Collins' overwrought yins and yangs, he could make a low-20s ranking seem laughable soon enough.
27. Mike Conley(notes), Memphis Grizzlies (last year: 26th)
Even though he doesn't turn 23 until this October, does Mike really seem like a guy who is just waiting to take a big step forward? His game, and sometimes middling quickness, just don't seem suited to it. Which is fine, for a sound backup or starter in the pinch. Trouble is, the Grizzlies seem la hotshot point guard away from being a real player, and though Conley's youth should encourage, for some reason it doesn't. Hopefully Mike makes me look a fool with his play this season.
26. George Hill(notes), San Antonio Spurs (last year: unranked)
Hill always seems like an off-guard to us, and his offensive stats were actually better at the shooting guard slot last season. That might be a function of Gregg Popovich's offense, however. Even when Avery Johnson was dominating the ball, he still was asked to hit quite a few elbow-extended (and for Avery, that elbow really was extended) jumpers. OK, George Hill. Others see borderline stardom. I see a quite competent hybrid guard well-suited for the team he's on.
25. Ty Lawson(notes), Denver Nuggets (last year: unranked)
Needlessly chained to the bench toward the end of the season as Adrian Dantley did whatever he did to the Denver Nuggets, Lawson figures to get more burn as George Karl returns to the fold and Chauncey Billups(notes) gets on in years. If he stays in shape, Lawson's quickness and timing could be a huge boon for a Nuggets team that sometimes swoons offensively despite all its talent.
24. Jarrett Jack(notes), Toronto Raptors (last year: unranked)
I wasn't ever really a fan, but I can't turn a blind eye to the way Jack blossomed last season. Stardom isn't in the cards, and I wouldn't be comfortable with him starting at either guard slot for my favorite team, but he is ... competent. And in a world gone wrong, it's nice to have something that is nice, and little else, running the show. Jarrett Jack. He's nice.
23. Raymond Felton(notes), New York Knicks (last year: 29th)
Perhaps I underrated Felton's defense through the years, because he did look good last season. And he remains a sound finisher toward the end of quarters (don't underestimate that). There are about 97 other point guards, some retired, that I'd prefer running Mike D'Antoni's show in New York, but Felton will do in a pinch. And, yes, Knick fans, you're in a pinch. At least the pinch (and resultant squeeze) doesn't result in Chris Duhon(notes).
22. Ramon Sessions(notes), Cleveland Cavaliers (last year: 16th)
Sessions had an off season, and could you blame him? He was passed over in Milwaukee, signed by a Timberwolves team after being ignored all summer, and that team goes ahead and tries to run the triangle? With a shoot-first rookie point guard leading the way? Traded to Cleveland in the offseason, he'll ... back up another point guard.
21. Aaron Brooks(notes), Houston Rockets (last year: 27th)
As much as they appreciate Brooks' moxie and overall game, I think even Rocket fans will submit they wouldn't mind an upgrade at this position. For now, though, Brooks works. He took an insane 6.4 3-pointers a game last season, but made nearly 40 percent of them. He averaged 19.6 points, but I worry about the 16.2 shots per game it took to get them. Hopefully, those 5.3 assists per game rise with Yao Ming(notes) back and possibly an improved pick-and-roll game with Luis Scola(notes) to bank on.
Yahoo's 11-20
20. Jose Calderon(notes), Toronto Raptors (last year: ninth)
Calderon's defense, somehow, keeps getting worse and worse. And while I wouldn't call him the biggest reason behind Toronto's 30th-ranked defense last season, in a point guard-driven league, his lapses tilted the framework a bit. On offense, however, he remains a gem. Makes open shots, refuses to turn the ball over and hits the open man with the expert (if not especially daring) pass.
19. Mo Williams(notes), Cleveland Cavaliers (last year: 12th)
Along Calderon's lines, I just can't move forward with the idea of Mo Williams as a top-tier point guard until he at least attempts to move his feet defensively. Playing with a front court that included LeBron James(notes), Anderson Varejao(notes), Zydrunas Ilgauskas(notes) and Shaquille O'Neal(notes) may have helped mask (or even encourage) bad habits, but Mo has a lot of making up to do on that end. On offense he's a scorer and not a playmaker, but an efficient scorer to his credit.
18. Lou Williams, Philadelphia 76ers (last year: unranked)
Williams is in danger of eventually losing his starting slot to Jrue Holiday(notes), but this isn't some incumbent chump ready for a bench demotion. Williams can play, he turns 24 as the season starts and he's consistently getting better. Hardly a true point guard, but never enough of a hybrid backcourt runner that you'd feel uneasy with him manning the show.
17. John Wall(notes), Washington Wizards (last year: unranked)
It's all guesswork, at this point, isn't it? We've seen Wall's type before, and on some nights he'll look like the best point guard in the league. On other nights he'll look like a kid who should be suiting up against Mississippi State, and on others he'll look like exactly what he is: A young talent who makes up for the missteps with fine play, a sound contributor regardless of age.
16. Darren Collison(notes), Indiana Pacers (last year: unranked)
I'd usually hesitate with a per-minute wonder like Collison, giving him a year before throwing him a higher ranking until he can prove himself further to me. The problem with that is, for half a season, Collison wasn't a per-minute wonder. Far from it. He started 37 games, averaging about 40 minutes per, and he gave the Hornets about 19 points and nine assists as a rookie starter, with 43 percent shooting from behind the arc.
15. Brandon Jennings(notes), Milwaukee Bucks (last year: unranked)
Kevin Pelton alerted us to Jennings' hot-shot defense as 2009-10 wound down, and after going back and looking at some bits and pieces this summer, I'm inclined to agree. I'm also inclined to tell you that Jennings outright shot Milwaukee out of so, so many games last season, though I concede he often had little other choice with Milwaukee's impotent offense. That said, take it to the hole, Brandon, and rely a little less on a jumper that forced you into a 37 percent (yikes) mark from the field.
14. Andre Miller(notes), Portland Trail Blazers (last year: 13th)
You kind of hate ranking a guy who dropped 52 in a game last season around the middle of the pack at his position, but if you watched that game, you'd know ... yeah, it was Dallas. Perhaps I've underrated Dre, worried about the drop-off that is bound to come at some point. Perhaps I'm wondering if he'll float through this season, like he did (in a contract year, no less) in 2008-09. Perhaps he could also be the guy who puts Greg Oden(notes) on the All-Star team in 2011. Everyone root for the third "perhaps." Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.
13. Stephen Curry(notes), Golden State Warriors (last year: unranked)
Seeing as how Curry actually looked to find teammates as a consistent (and not last) option in his rookie year, I'm moving forward with him as point guard instead of Monta Ellis(notes). And the Warriors are quite chuffed moving forward with the Davidson product, because he seems to have a knack for knowing what wins in this league (despite all of Golden State's, um, non-wins). Wouldn't you love to see him dominate the ball on a team without Monta Ellis?
12. Jason Kidd(notes), Dallas Mavericks (last year: 10th)
There's no doubting the idea that Jason Kidd basically gets things about basketball that we do not -- never so perfectly articulated in a random Washington setting as it was last season by Rob Mahoney -- but his defensive shortcomings (despite, Kidd's best efforts) push him down a notch. Still, the guy is shooting over 40 percent behind the arc, now. How nutty is that? How great is this Hall of Famer?
11. Jameer Nelson(notes), Orlando Magic (last year: seventh)
Nelson is entering his ostensible prime, and if last season's too-early Eastern Conference finals proved anything, it's that Nelson needs to put this Magic team on his surgically reconstructed shoulders. He's never going to be this team's best player, but a squad's most important player doesn't have to be its best player, and you'd think that Nelson can't help but understand that by now. Maybe I'm being too optimistic for my hopes with him, especially rating him over Kidd, but this is how we roll in summer, before the dyspepsia sets in.
Yahoo's 1-10
10. Baron Davis(notes), Los Angeles Clippers (last year: 21st)
A jump from 21st to 10th shouldn't really give anyone room for pause. It has less to do with how improved Baron was in 2009-10 (though he was) than how ruddy awful he was in 2008-09. Last season, the man's defense came and went, his shot selection from behind the arc (3.9 attempts per game while shooting just 27.7 percent) was terrible, and he still seemed to coast when the Clippers needed him most. Still, 15.3 points and eight assists and why did I rank him this high, again? Blake Griffin's(notes) in town, Baron, let's get this together.
9. Tony Parker(notes), San Antonio Spurs (last year: third)
This ranking is purely on the hopes that Parker will have a bounce-back year after a terrible 2009-10. Because if he plays the same this season as he did the last? Then there's no real difference between him and Aaron Brooks(notes), save for the part about Aaron Brooks being slightly better. Tony turned 28 last May and dealt with injuries last season, but man was 2009-10 a bad turn for him. Parker has top-five potential on this list, but he has quite a bit of work to do.
8. Devin Harris(notes), New Jersey Nets (last year: sixth)
The hits keep coming with the guys we think (or hope?) will find a way to stop the bleeding. Harris was alternately injured and unenthused last season, playing for a team that threatened to earn the worst record in the history of the NBA. He didn't cut or drive hard, his defense was poor and it was obvious he was just playing out the string. This season, with improved depth and more hands to pass to, Harris has the chance to get it right if he changes his attitude.
7. Russell Westbrook(notes), Oklahoma City Thunder (last year: 17th)
I hesitated putting him this high for a good reason -- Russell is still figuring this game out, and he shot the Thunder out of some games last season. But his defense keeps him in the mix, consistently. Westbrook can defend and contribute in other areas (rebounding, even screen setting) that a litany of other point man just cannot. He averaged 16 points, eight assists and five rebounds last season, and the guy doesn't even turn 22 until mid-November.
6. Chauncey Billups(notes), Denver Nuggets (last year: fourth)
There's a real chance that Chauncey could fall off the face of the earth this season; he turns 34 next month and is on a team that could be in flux. Billups actually posted a career high in points per game last season (19.5), and it's not as if he uses his athleticism to get where he's going. But 34 (for point guards, especially) is 34. This is an optimistic placement, but I believe it also to be an appropriate one.
5. Derrick Rose(notes), Chicago Bulls (last year: 11th)
I take in quite a bit of noise for Bulls fans for pointing out Rose's bad defense, his inability to consistently get to the line and his so-so passing. But I also saw him hit a 3-pointer a few days ago -- it had arc, rotation, follow-through; the whole schmear -- and I can't help but bump the guy up. Especially with a screening-and-finishing partner in Carlos Boozer(notes) waltzing into town.
4. Steve Nash(notes), Phoenix Suns (last year: fifth)
Without Amar'e Stoudemire(notes) in town, Nash could fall, hard. Sure, he won a pretty dodgy (to put it nicely) MVP in 2005-06 with Stoudemire out for almost the entire season, but that was a half-decade ago, and Steve will turn 37 before the All-Star break. Still, it's Steve Nash. The guy was playing nearly as good a brand of basketball last season as we've ever seen from him, and while the Suns might be a bit low on off-pass finishers ... it's Steve Nash.
3. Rajon Rondo(notes), Boston Celtics (last year: eighth)
A big jump for Rajon, who could be incredibly overrated or playing the role of the point guard at a level that my tiny brain just can't understand. I'll split the difference, and hand him the top-five spot. Some Celtics fans were a little upset at the way Rondo let a good group of point men fly past him last season, but that's the way the position works in this era, with no hand checking to help stop these flyweights. Rondo is just 24, he nearly cracked double-figure assists last season, and he led the league in steals as well.
2. Deron Williams(notes), Utah Jazz (last year: second)
Deron had the most consistently brilliant season of any point man last season, though in actuality his scoring average dropped a bit and his turnover rate shot up compared to 2008-09. He still averaged 18.7 points and 10.5 assists with an improved rebound mark (four per game). The 26-year-old will probably take on an increased load this season with Carlos Boozer gone and Al Jefferson(notes) taking a little while to acclimate himself to the Jazz system.
1. Chris Paul(notes), New Orleans Hornets (last year: first)
Paul ran through a frustrating 2009-10, losing significant time to injury and a head coach he liked (Byron Scott) to the firing line. He then topped missing out on the playoffs with an embarrassing trade-demand-that-he-swears-really-wasn't in the offseason. Healthy in 2010-11, with a new coach (Monty Williams) and a new finishing partner on the break in Trevor Ariza(notes), one can only hope that Paul can work his way out of this funk and lead the Hornets back to the playoffs.
Even if New Orleans makes another lottery appearance, it hardly matters. Paul is the cream of this crop
I'll still take Williams over Paul
