1. Chris Paul – as good as Williams, Nash, and Davis are, this is not even close. Paul had the best season by a PG in years. Paul’s court vision is incredible, as evidenced by his 11.6 assists/game and the fact that he has made Tyson Chandler relevant. Paul seldom turns the ball over (about half as often as Williams), is a solid defender, and can score like a 2 guard. Paul is clearly the best PG in the NBA. While Williams is a better man defender, Paul turns the ball over less, is a better outside shooter, and gets more steals.
2. Deron Williams – Williams gets the nod at #2 over Nash for one major reason – defense. Williams is as strong as any PG in the league and has good lateral movement; he does a very good job of staying in front of his man and preventing penetration. Williams is a great passer and is surprisingly quick. Interestingly, he has dominated the head-to-head matchups with Paul so far in their careers, but his body of work is not as impressive as Paul’s. If Williams can cut down on turnovers the gap between him and Paul will close.
3. Steve Nash – Nash has been the best PG in the league for the last few years, winning two MVP awards (him winning even one is a bunch of crap, let alone winning two…) and leading the league in assists a few times. Nash might be the best outside shooting PG in the NBA, but he couldn’t guard me. Nash’s defense is terrible. He plays matador defense – he just gets out of the way as if he is about to get gored. Offensively, Nash is second only to Paul.
4. Baron Davis – Davis is probably the most physically impressive PG in the league. His strength gives him an advantage on every other point in the league (with the exception of maybe Williams) and he plays like it. Davis is very physical and often overwhelms other players. Davis had a huge season and may be finally developing the consistency that has been lacking throughout his career.
5. Tony Parker – Parker must be the most frustrating PG to defend in the NBA. He can get to the rim on anyone. Is there another guy in the league under 6-5 that gets so many layups? It seemed like he was laying the ball in on every other play against the Hornets and Suns in the playoffs. Parker has improved his shot and defense big time in the last few years, but he still leaves something to be desired.
Best penetrator: Tony Parker – slightly over Chris Paul.
Best defender: Devin Harris – Harris is very quick and is an underrated defender. Dallas trading him for Kidd was stupid because defense is where the Mavs constantly fall short.
Best passer: Chris Paul – Nash, Williams, and Jason Kidd are great passers, but Paul is at a different level right now.
Best ball-handler: Paul – it’s like he has the ball on a string. With the minutes per game he plays and the number of assist he gets, his low turnover rate is incredible.
Best scorer: Baron Davis – Paul is an excellent scorer, but Davis can be overwhelming.
Most overrated: Jason Kidd – Kidd is nowhere near what he used to be. He is still one of the ten (or so) best in the league, but people still act like he is in the echelon with Paul, Williams, and Nash. He’s not.
Most underrated: Jose Calderon and Mo Williams – these two don’t get the credit they deserve. Williams because he plays for a crappy team and Calderon because he plays in Canada. People will start to notice Calderon as he continues to get better and the Raptors keep getting to the playoffs, but Williams may remain relatively unknown because of where he plays.
Best in 5 years: 1. Paul 2. Williams 3. Derrick Rose 4. Jose Calderon 5. Parker (keep an eye on Brandon Jennings, a freshman at Arizona next year. He’s awesome)
Friday, June 13, 2008
Ranking the best Point Guards in the NBA:
Posted by Taylor at 9:19 PM
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3 comments:
Overall you have very educated & well thought out comments. I understand with all the MVP hype, Paul is going to be considered #1, but I'll disagree. D.Williams is the better player, and here's a few reasons why; 1) Williams has already proven to be more durable. My guess is Paul will break down and miss 15 games or so just about every year he's in the league. He's already missed 24 games, Williams haas missed just 4. 2) Williams just wants it more, he's on a mission. Just watch them play. It's the reason why D-Will owns Paul in head to head match-ups is Williams plays like a man on a mission. He will not back down. The big $$ Paul just got could hurt him. Williams will just play harder. 3) Contrary to your comments, Williams is the much better shooter, especially from 3-land. He's almost a 40% shooter, while Paul is closer to 30% from behind the arc. 4) Williams plays in a much more structured system, give him the freedom of Paul & his numbers would be MONSTER, but he puts winning & the team first. I'm not suggesting Paul isn't a team guy, just saying there are reasons Paul's #'s are a little more impressive. Plus, name another player who coach Sloan has changed for as much as he's changed to accomidate Deron. That's impressive. 5) D-Will is more athletic. Seen Paul throw it down over a big man lately? No? Me either. But Williams has. He was knocked for his lack of athletisism coming out of college. I think the B.S. has been squashed.
Pauls great, but I'd take Williams.
Thanks - you make good points. I love watching Williams play, but I'd still take Paul. You're right about Williams athleticism - he looks strong but slow, but he is quicker than he looks and can jump surprisingly well. Thanks for the comment.
I'd have to pick Parker. The rings, the way he plays in big games, his playoff runs, is finals MVP...for all the credit (and hype) most of these other guards get, Parker cuts through them year in and year out-and he's only getting better.
He's only 26 and already a 7 year veteran. Peep the 55 and 10 he had earlier this season with Manu out. If Parker played in a more exciting system than the one the Spurs run, can you imagine how monstrous his numbers would be? he'd be a 25 and 10 player easy. But he doesn't need to be to get the hardware.
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