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NBA Power Rankings: All 30 Starting Shooting Guards

By Shane Young

January 17, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Miami Heat shooting guard Dwyane Wade (3) guards Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant (24) in the second half of the game at the Staples Center. Heat won 99-90. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
January 17, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Miami Heat shooting guard Dwyane Wade (3) guards Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant (24) in the second half of the game at the Staples Center. Heat won 99-90. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /
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NBA Power Rankings
Feb 5, 2014; Memphis, TN, USA; Memphis Grizzlies shooting guard Tony Allen (9) and Memphis Grizzlies shooting guard Courtney Lee (5) talk during the game at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports /

23.  Courtney Lee/Tony Allen — Memphis Grizzlies

Courtney Lee’s journey in the NBA has been full of ups and downs through six years, after breaking out into a feisty young player in the 2009 NBA Finals vs. the Lakers.  Remember that?  I sure do, as nobody could believe this rookie from Western Kentucky was giving Phil Jackson fits.

Finally, Lee is with one of the best fan bases in the sport, joining the Memphis Grizzlies via trade early in the 2013-14 season.  The move was to try to give the roster an offensive punch, since the Grizzlies had only averaged 94.7 points per game from November to January 1st, ranking them 25th in the league.

Defensive pressure with Tony Allen is appreciated and all, but how do you win regular season games in the NBA and reach the postseason?  Dynamic scoring, matching fire with fire in the West, and outlasting numerous fourth quarter battles.  In any level of basketball, you need scorers just as much as a defensive presence.

Thus, I’m sick of hearing “defense wins championships.”  In football, maybe so.  But you can’t survive 48 minutes of action (uninterrupted for the most part) by just stopping your opponent over and over.  You have to put points on the board, and that’s what Memphis felt Lee could give them.

After being obtained, Lee started 47 games for Memphis, and eventually all seven playoff games vs. Oklahoma City.

Lee is much faster than Allen on the court, but more capable driving the ball and shooting in a hurry.  The lateral movement Lee showed last season was terrific, and he’s intelligent enough to always come off screens properly, giving the defense nightmares:

He owns that Andrew Wiggins-type of recovery after a shot, where he’ll be the first one off the ground on the rebound.  Most of the time, Lee will have the put-back before defenders even realize the rebound is there to grab.

Allen will still have his chances to shine, and he’s content with his role as an All-NBA defender.  He didn’t receive the honors this past season, but only because so many younger, athletic stars filled the lists.

Any time you hear Kevin Durant say you’re making his life worse than a horror film, you’re earning your own reputation in the league.  Allen has had his number called for years though, and it’s Lee’s time to help Memphis crawl towards another playoff berth.