Despite a down 2012-13 campaign, Chris Paul is still the barometer for point guards. Photo Credit: Chrishmt0423 (Flickr.com)
The best teams in the NBA generally have a strong foundation, starting at the point guard position.
Let’s scroll through the teams still currently in the playoffs. The San Antonio Spurs have Tony Parker. The Memphis Grizzlies have the budding Mike Conley. The Miami Heat are an exception and the Indiana Pacers have received solid contributions from George Hill.
A good point guard doesn’t ensure a team of success, but it certainly increases the odds. Some teams, for example, that didn’t garner quality contributions at the helm–New York Knicks (16 points per game), Utah Jazz (13), Orlando Magic (18.4), Phoenix Suns (18.9) and Dallas Mavericks (19.2), to name a few–didn’t make the playoffs or made the playoffs and didn’t make it past the first round.
So, who are the four best point guards to build a franchise around?
Chris Paul is the best all-around point guard in the NBA. There, I said it. No, he’s not the best scorer, best finisher or best shooter, but he does all three of those things relatively well, and he’s easily the best playmaker of the group. Further, he’s one of the few remaining point guards that isn’t a scorer just playing the position. He actually orchestrates the action and the Los Angeles Clippers have responded well with him at the helm.
Let’s glance over some stats. He led all NBA point guards in PER (Player Efficiency Rating). He was second in assists to the injured Rajon Rondo. There are some glaring negatives that need to be addressed as well. Paul averaged 2.9 fewer points in 2012-13 than he did in 2011-12, which in some cases is a disconcerting disparity, but Los Angeles’s bench allowed Paul to get more rest. His minutes per game dripped from 36.4 in 2011-12 to 33.4 in 2012-13.
Ultimately, you couldn’t go wrong by picking Paul to lead the show.
John Wall quietly improved the Washington Wizards. Photo Credit: Geoff Livingston, Flickr.com
Considering that John Wall logged just 49 games in 2012-13, perhaps including him on this list is a bold and premature notion.
In those 49 games, though, Wall practically took the Washington Wizards from a cellar dweller to a team that could actually sniff the playoffs, as hard as that may be to believe. Washington went 24-25 after Wall’s return and he averaged 18.5 points and 7.6 assists in 32.7 minutes. Moreover, he averaged 25.6 points and 7.5 assists over his final 13 games of the season.
A dreadful start to the season pretty much wiped away Washington’s hopes of contending, which made Wall’s return somewhat of a waste.
Well, maybe not …
Maybe the final 49 games of the season were a forecast into the future. That is also a bold statement, but a core of Wall, Bradley Beal and Nene Hilario, plus the third pick in the draft, isn’t such a shabby unit. Anything seems possible with Wall.
Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers shown in an undated photo. (Photo by slimm978/Flickr.com)
Kyrie Irving is stuck with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Pretty soon, “stuck” won’t be the word to describe Irving’s situation because the Cavs have a surplus of young talent and the first overall pick in this year’s draft. Of course, that highly touted young talent will have to develop, but Cleveland is due for something to turn up.
Well, maybe. But back to Irving, who averaged 22.5 points and 5.9 assists in 34.7 minutes per game in 2012-13.
If you’re going to start a franchise, Irving is obviously an intriguing piece to build around. He’s young (21 years old), he’s a decent shooter and he’s the ultimate playmaker. If you surround him with capable complementary pieces, then he will only grow. At this point, a lack of a supporting cast, which obviously isn’t going to yield wins, is the only caveat holding him back from true superstardom.
Russell Westbrook is one of the NBA’s most explosive players. (Flickr.com photo by Keith Allison)
I questioned this selection, but Russell Westbrook’s absence in the playoffs was felt and it was noticeable to even the casual observer.
Many pundits would claim that Westbrook isn’t your prototypical point guard, which he’s not. He averaged 7.4 assists this season, a nearly two-assist increase on his 2011-12 mark. But he’s a penetrator and most of his assists stem from those opportunities.
But that’s not the problem. Westbrook is known for his mental lapses and fiery emotion. Both attributes wouldn’t exactly scream “point guard,” though. Point guards, at least the best of the best, are known for keeping their individual composure and their team’s composure. Westbrook is on and off in that department.
However, his explosiveness and ability to penetrate make him one of the league’s most dynamic point guards regardless of his emotions.