Los Angeles Clippers: The starting point guard dilemma

The Los Angeles Clippers have a point guard battle on their hands next season. Which new Clipper will come out on top?

After saying goodbye to Chris Paul, the Los Angeles Clippers have an interesting situation at point guard.

While temporary Chris Paul replacement Austin Rivers is still with the team, it would be hard to see him as the team’s best point guard. Rivers has outperformed all reasonable expectations over the last couple of years in Los Angeles. However, it seems hard to believe that anyone besides his father would see him as a better point guard than Milos Teodosic or Patrick Beverley.

Doc may opt to start Austin anyway, which would throw all predictions to the wind. If he decides to veer away from nepotism, he has two very different options to consider for replacing the greatest player in franchise history.

Milos Teodosic became a legend in EuroLeague before signing with the Clippers this offseason. Beverley, on the other hand, went overseas to start his career before making his mark in the NBA. The two bring nearly completely opposing skill-sets to the Clippers, so choosing between them is a difficult exercise.

The case for Teodosic

The case for Milos Teodosic is deceptively simple. Point guard offense is more important than point guard defense, and passing is the most important part of being a point guard. Fellow competitor Patrick Beverley said that Teodosic may be the best passer in the world.

Teodosic has every pass in his repertoire. He throws excellent outlet passes, and those passes make him a lethal weapon in transition. Milos also puts nearly perfect touch on his passes into crowded areas and tosses out no-look dimes without a second thought. Kevin Durant said that Milos Teodosic made the best pass that he has ever seen.

Milos is a great shooter as well as being a ridiculously gifted passer. He has converted on 38.5 percent of his career attempts from 3-point range in Europe, per Basketball-Reference. While it may take him some time to adjust to the deeper 3-point arc in the NBA, Teodosic has shown before that he can hit from that range:

Milos Teodosic is one of the best pure point guards in the world. While it might take some time for him to adjust to the NBA, there is no reason to believe that his unique passing and top-notch shooting will not come to America with him.

The case for Beverley

Milos Teodosic is one of the most celebrated players in recent Euroleague history. He also has never played a minute in the NBA. Furthermore, his relative lack of athleticism did not limit him as much in Europe as it will in the NBA.

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Enter Patrick Beverley. Beverley is almost a mirror image of Teodosic: he has below-average vision for a point guard but is one of the league’s best defenders. His sturdy frame, solid athleticism, and 100th percentile effort make him difficult for any perimeter players to score against.

The one similarity between Beverley and Milos Teodosic is also a key part of Beverley’s value. Patrick Beverley is also an elite shooter from deep, knocking down 37.5 percent of his career triples. The only difference there is that Beverley has consistently shown that he can hit from the NBA arc. That is obviously not the case for Teodosic.

Point guard offense may be more important than point guard defense. However, Beverley is at least average on offense and was named to the All-Defensive First Team last season. Teodosic is fantastic on the offensive end, but he also was poor defensively in EuroLeague and will be one of the worst defenders in the NBA from day one. With all of that in mind, the Clippers might be better off starting Patrick Beverley at point guard over Milos Teodosic.

Why not both?

The best answer to the Clippers’ point guard dilemma may also be the most unconventional. They could opt to start both Milos Teodosic and Patrick Beverley as their starting backcourt alongside the loaded frontcourt of Danilo Gallinari, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan.

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However, this idea is not as strange as it appears on first glance. Milos would be the point guard on offense with Beverley spotting up beyond the arc — nearly identical to the role he played last season next to James Harden. On the defensive end, Beverley would guard the tougher matchup. Teodosic is not exactly a defensive-minded player, but his 6’5″ frame would at least give the illusion of size on the perimeter.

On the defensive end, Beverley would guard the tougher matchup. Teodosic is not exactly a defensive-minded player, but his 6’5″ frame would at least give the illusion of size on the perimeter. Doc Rivers could also experiment with hiding Teodosic on some small forwards, depending on the opponent.

The Clippers have not had to worry about who would be their starting point guard position in six years. However, the team did not fall off as far as they could have in the lead guard department. Both Milos Teodosic and Patrick Beverley have enough talent to capably man the point guard role.

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The Clippers would be better off if they skipped the debate about who should start at point guard and played the two of them together.