Brooklyn Nets: Do Nets Have NBA’s Best Backcourt?
By Phil Watson
The Brooklyn Nets truly believed they had hit a home run during the summer when they not only re-signed point guard Deron Williams for five years and $98 million, but also landed shooting guard Joe Johnson in a trade with the Atlanta Hawks.
Not only did Brooklyn keep Williams and add Johnson, but top reserve guard MarShon Brooks—the Nets final first-round pick while still in New Jersey in 2011—would improve his game after a solid, if injury-shortened, rookie campaign.
It gave the Nets one of the more highly decorated backcourts in the NBA, with Williams—a three-time All-Star, two-time All-NBA selection and two-time Olympian—teaming with Johnson, himself a veteran of six All-Star selections and one All-NBA team.
Granted, the tandem didn’t compare to the three Most Valuable Player awards piled up by Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash of the Los Angeles Lakers, but nine All-Star berths, three All-NBA nods and two Olympic teams was hardly a pairing to sneeze at.
The question came up recently, though, about whether or not the Nets actually have the best backcourt in the NBA right now.
Being a numbers-oriented sort of character, I turned to two of my favorite measures of efficiency and productivity, player efficiency rating (PER) and win shares per 48 minutes (WS/48).
Not only are these decent measurements of individual performance, but they can be neatly combined to create a broader perspective, as well.
Looking at the top three guards on each team in terms of playing time, with the caveat that each player had to have appeared in at least half of his team’s games through Thursday, Feb. 7 (sorry, John Wall), I got my answer.
Do the Brooklyn Nets have the best backcourt in the NBA?
Not. Even. Close … at least not based on this year’s production.
The top two backcourts in terms of combined PER and WS/48 were identical. The Los Angeles Clippers’ trio of Chris Paul, Eric Bledsoe and Jamal Crawford crushed the competition in each category, with the San Antonio Spurs’ backcourt of Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Patrick Mills coming in second in each category.
Here are the top 10 backcourts in terms of PER:
| Team (Guards) | Combined PER |
| 1. Los Angeles Clippers (Chris Paul 26.1, Eric Bledsoe 19, Jamal Crawford 16.7) | 61.8 |
| 2. San Antonio Spurs (Tony Parker 23.7, Manu Ginobili 21.1, Patrick Mills 13.5) | 58.3 |
| 3. Charlotte Bobcats (Kemba Walker 19.0, Ramon Sessions 18.8, Ben Gordon 16.5) | 54.3 |
| 4. Los Angeles Lakers (Kobe Bryant 22.9, Steve Nash 16.5, Jodie Meeks 12.6) | 52.0 |
| 5. Oklahoma City Thunder (Russell Westbrook 23.0, Kevin Martin 16.4, Reggie Jackson 12.5) | 51.9 |
| 6. Houston Rockets (James Harden 23.0, Jeremy Lin 14.6, Carlos Delfino 13.6) | 51.2 |
| 7. Miami Heat (Dwyane Wade 23.4, Ray Allen 15.4, Mario Chalmers 11.9) | 50.7 |
| 8. Dallas Mavericks (Vince Carter 17.0, O.J. Mayo 16.7, Darren Collison 16.5) | 50.2 |
| tie. Golden State Warriors (Stephen Curry 19.5, Jarrett Jack 17.2, Klay Thompson 13.5) | 50.2 |
| 10. Detroit Pistons (Jose Calderon 19.3, Will Bynum 16.5, Brandon Knight 13.0) | 48.8 |
| tie. Sacramento Kings (Tyreke Evans 18.0, Jimmer Fredette 15.5, Isaiah Thomas 15.3) | 48.8 |
The Brooklyn triumvirate of Williams, Johnson and Brooks is solidly in the middle of the NBA pack in combined PER, ranking 15th with a mark of 46.8.
And how do the top 10 backcourts stack up with regard to WS/48? I’m glad I asked:
| Team (Guards) | Combined WS/48 |
| 1. Los Angeles Clippers (Chris Paul .286, Eric Bledsoe .133, Jamal Crawford .115) | .534 |
| 2. San Antonio Spurs (Tony Parker .223, Manu Ginobili .204, Patrick Mills .106) | .533 |
| 3. Oklahoma City Thunder (Russell Westbrook .180, Kevin Martin .158, Reggie Jackson .085) | .423 |
| 4. Los Angeles Lakers (Kobe Bryant .176, Steve Nash .142, Jodie Meeks .088) | .406 |
| 5. Miami Heat (Dwyane Wade .180, Ray Allen .135, Mario Chalmers .086) | .401 |
| 6. Indiana Pacers (George Hill .162, Lance Stephenson .125, D.J. Augustin .111) | .398 |
| 7. Houston Rockets (James Harden .200, Carlos Delfino .098, Jeremy Lin.088) | .386 |
| 8. Golden State Warriors (Stephen Curry .152, Jarrett Jack .131, Klay Thompson .082) | .365 |
| 9. Memphis Grizzlies (Mike Conley .151, Jerryd Bayless .104, Tony Allen .095) | .350 |
| 10. Dallas Mavericks (Vince Carter .120, Darren Collison .113, O.J. Mayo.098) | .331 |
The Nets’ fared better here, placing 12th among the league’s 30 teams with a combined .307.
The numbers for this season say the Los Angeles Clippers have the NBA’s best backcourt. Not only that, but the Brooklyn Nets have a long, long way to go to even get into the conversation in 2012-13.
Thanks for visiting HoopsHabit.com! We’d love to hear your opinion in the comments section below!
Please visit our sponsors and like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, subscribe to our Youtube feed and tell your friends!
Need great NBA seats at the best prices? Check out HoopsHabit’s NBA Tickets!
HoopsHabit’s Regular Column Schedule:
Monday – NBA Awards Watch
Wednesday – NBA Power Rankings
Friday – NBA Stat Central
Sunday – Your NBA Fix Podcast