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NBA Ramblings: Top Ten Shooting Guards Of The 2010 Season

Wednesday, October 14th, 2009

Top Ten Shooting Guards

Honourable Mention (In No Particular Order)

Kevin Martin

Big fish in a little pond? Likely, but he’s still a solid shooter and consistent scorer, even if his all around game pales next to the likes of Brandon Roy and Joe Johnson. And guards who get more turnovers than assists should not be in the top ten, even if they are great shooters (and by great shooter, I mean great three-point shooter, he’s only 45% from the floor on his career, respectable, but not note worthy).

Vince Carter/Tracey McGrady

Both of these guys have been slowed by injury, and trade demands, but both remain talented and are athletes that have the skills to break off phenomenal seasons. The Rockets will be depending on McGrady when he comes back from injury, while the Magic will be hoping that Carter plays like his former all-star self to make them a true contender.

Monta Ellis

To small to play shooting guard (gives up too much on defence), but he does work hard on the boards (over 4 a game), though his assists (3.8 a game) are diluted by his turnovers (2.7 a game). At his height, offensive plans are limited for his team, and without true ball-handling skills, he limits himself even further.

Randy Foye

Foye is a great combo guard, can pass the rock, score, hit his free-throws, but he needs to increase his field-goal percentages if he hopes to get minutes in Washington.

J.R. Smith

If he finally gets himself a starting job, Smith could make me look like a fool for putting Gordon on the list above him. He’s a solid rebound, passer and scorer and can shot the three.

10. Ben Gordon

The Pistons have the best shooting guard rotation in the league with Hamilton and Gordon. Gordon does give up some height, but he’s a great three-point shooter, he’s over 80% from the free-throw line and a respectable 45% from the floor. And for a short guy his 3+ rebounds aren’t so bad. He also gets 3+ assists a game, but his turnovers are a bit high and he isn’t so great running the plays with the ball in his hand (unless he’s looking for his own shot), which is bad considering at his height he should be playing point guard. Even if he’s coming off the bench though, Gordon will put up numbers that will keep him on pace with some of the best shooting guards in the league.

9. Michael Redd

Like a couple other elite players, Redd’s season was slowed by injury last year, but the season prior saw Redd have some big games and finish among the league leaders in triple-doubles (even though his assist and rebounding numbers were a little meeker than some of the other triple-double leaders that season). Redd is one of the more complete shooting guards in the league, he can shoot, create off the dribble, drive, defend, pass and rebound. The only knock on Redd is the fact that though he is a consistent scorer, he is inconsistent in other aspects of his games. One night he will get a triple-double, the next will see him get only a couple rebounds or a meagre assist or two, and though he saves his big games for his big match-ups (he’s gotten a couple of triple-doubles against LeBron), I’m sure Bucks fans would like to see those stellar all-around efforts on a more nightly basis.

8. Richard Hamilton

Hamilton reminds me very much of Reggie Miller in that he’s excellent at coming off screens, and though he isn’t good at creating offence with the ball in his hand all the time, he does fairly well on his own. He works the boards well for a guy who is so lean (a respectable 3+ a game), and hands out 4+ assists a game while usually keeping it under 2 turnovers a game. His defence is solid, and he has, like Ray Allen, a strong sense of team play (though he and Allen Iverson seemed to have trouble with deciding who should be starting at shooting guard). Coupled with that, Hamilton offers consistency more than perhaps any other shooting guard in the league. While Kobe and Wade have high scoring nights, followed by more humble numbers, and Allen has been known to hit cold streaks (most notably at the beginning of the ‘08 playoffs), Hamilton is the picture of consistency, dropping in between 16-20 seemingly every night. He may be fighting for minutes with Ben Gordon this season, but Hamilton will still be the best option the Pistons have at shooting guard, and with Billups, Iverson, McDysse and Wallace all gone, he will likely be their first scoring option.

7. Manu Ginobili

Last season Ginobili was slowed by slowed by injuries, but coming into this season healthy, I expect him to put up solid numbers (though his numbers aren’t always a good indication of the total impact Ginolbili has on the game). Hamilton and Carter and a couple others may put up better numbers than Ginobili because he has to share scoring duties with; Duncan, Parker, Jefferson, Finley and Mason, but Ginobili’s impact will still be of the utmost importance for the Spurs, his defence, work on the glass and passing are all important for the Spurs, as is his ability to hit the long range jumper and create space for himself and teammates off the dribble.

6. Andre Iguodala

Iguodala isn’t as great a shooter as some of the other guys on this list (his free-throw and three-point percentages are decent, but not outstanding), but he does create well off the dribble, is a great one-on-one player in isolation plays, knows how to kick the ball out when he’s double teamed or covered (to the tune of over 5 assists a game), and his percentage from the floor is 47%, which is much higher than some perimeter players and certainly puts him near the top at his position. With a good mid-range jumper, and the work ethic to crash the boards (over 5 boards a game), Iguodala is a consistent, solid, all-around player that any GM would love to add to their roster.

5. Ray Allen

Ray Allen may deserve to be as high as third on this list, but he is certainly a top-five shooting guard, even as he enters the twilight of his career. Last season saw Allen hit 95% from the charity stripe, over 40% from behind the arc and almost 50% from the floor, illustrating why Allen is the best pure shooter in the league. He moves well without the ball, knows how to use a screen and get open, and spreads opposing defences out, which is a huge help to his teammates. His rebounding and assists are a little lower than some on this list, but since he doesn’t handle the ball as much as others on the list, so it is understandable that he doesn’t get as many assists (he has to draw defences away from the ball to open the floor up for Rondo and Pierce), and though his defence isn’t as effective as Bryant’s, he still works hard on defence. Allen knows the role he needs to play for his team to do well and he does what is needed. The Celtics already have two ball handlers in Peirce and Rondo, and he knows plays are run for Garnett in the post to draw defences away from the perimeter, so he only usually gets the ball when defences break down, so his all-around stats suffer a little, but his team benefits greatly from this sacrifice and if you doubt Allen’s over all impact, just ask Bryant how effective Allen is, he saw Allen put up his best numbers of he ‘08 post season under Bryant’s stifling defence.

4. Joe Johnson

Joe Johnson has the typical stats of an all-star shooting guard, 20+ points a game, and around 5+ boards and 5+ assists a game, and while his shooting percentage is a humble 43% (a little less than Roy and Wade), he has a diverse offensive game that allows him to create shots off the dribble, off the screen, and on the drive, and he looks to his teammates to get the win. Like Roy, and all great shooting guards, Johnson (though capable of scoring 25+ a game), knows that deferring to teammates is key to winning, which is why the Hawks were able to move past the Heat last season in the playoffs. This year the Hawks will have even more talent to work with (Crawford and Joe Smith have joined the team), which will make the Hawks even better and give Johnson even more exposure, and considering it is a contract year for Johnson, I expect him to make a case for a max contract.

3. Brandon Roy

Roy may have been the best clutch shooter last season. Every time I watched a sports highlights Roy was making last second shots, forcing overtimes and getting wins, and though some were circus shots, most were buckets drilled by and premiere marksman who elevates his game when the pressure is on. And though Roy is a young guy, trying to earn his chops and still building his rep, and though he is the go-to guy on Portland, he still seems to know when to defer, which is a quality rarely seen in a player so young. Roy gets 5+ assists a game and a 2.5-1 assists-to-steals ratio, which Wade still hasn’t been able to accomplish. He shot 48% from the field, and 37% from behind the arc and was over 80% from the charity stripe. His defence is solid and he even grabs almost 5 boards a game to. It may seem, at the start of this season, that Wade and Bryant are clearly a level above Roy, just as James and Pierce are a level above all other small forwards, but I think by the end of the season it will be clear that Roy very much deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Wade and Bryant and may even make as case to be better than Wade.

2. Dwayne Wade

Wade was last season’s scoring champ, a top candidate for MVP, and improved his game on almost every level. He had his lowest turnovers-per-minute average of his career, his highest points-per-minute average, his highest assist average (which most players who are scoring 30+ a game rarely do), pulled in 5 boards a game and played solid defence while shooting nearly 50% from the floor (much better than Kobe). He even got more steals and more blocks per game than Kobe, and if this list was decided by stats alone, Wade would actually finish above Kobe. But Wade was kind of a big fish in a small pond, played on a poor team that got destroyed in the first round and Wade’s defence, though solid, is not as outstanding as Bryant’s defence. The Heat should be a little better this season, but until Wade gets to participate in a deep playoff run, he will be second to Kobe among shooting guards.

1. Kobe Bryant

His defence, his offence, his intensity, his will to win, his all-around game. Just as there it little doubt as to who the best small forward in the game is, there is also little doubt as to who the best shooting guard is. He grabs 5 boards a game, hands out 5 assists, scores 25+ points, is as good as any defender at his position, and is likely not only the best shooting guard this year, but also of his generation. That said, Kobe is not perfect. His field-goal percentage is not as good as some and the alpha male in him still has a hard time deferring to teammates. When Jordan played for the Bulls, they needed Jordan to score 30+ a game to stay in the game. With the Lakers, who have weapons like the newly added Ron Artest, Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and other decent scorers (like last season’s top role player Trevor Ariza), the Lakers have a well balances offence (not unlike the Celtics who rely on Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett to all score around 20 a game while letting Rondo Raja handle the ball), and therefore the Lakers do not need Kobe to score 25+ a game. In fact, if Kobe deferred to teammates that way Paul Pierce has the last couple of seasons, and the way Duncan and Nash have throughout their careers, the Lakers would be even better, but Kobe’s ego still seems to demand that he get 25+ a game, even though there are three or four 20+ point scorers on the team. Don’t get me wrong, he’s still the best in the league, and Jordan had just as much of an ego. It gives him an edge and can help his team, but history suggests that players who can defer (like Magic, Russell, and Duncan) win more rings than the guys who have to score 25+ a game (Chamberlain, Bird and Kobe). Jordon of course is the exception. If Kobe wants to string together a second dynasty, he will have to make sure that opponents have as much cause to worry about the other offensive players on the Lakers as they do Kobe.

Tags: 76ers, Andre Iguodala, Atlanta Hawks, Ben Gordon, Brandon Roy, Bucks, Celtics, Dwayne Wade, Joe Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Lakers, Manu Ginobili, Miami Heat, Michael Redd, Monta Ellis, Pistons, Ray Allen, Rip Hamilton, Spurs, tracy McGrady, Trailblazers, Vince Carter
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NBA Ramblings: Top Ten Small Forwards For The 2009/2010 Season

Friday, October 9th, 2009

Top Ten Small Forwards

In gauging the top ten small forwards, this list takes into consideration the impact and value to the team, personal performance and stats, and talent. Some talented players are on deeper teams and have smaller roles (Ron Artest, Lamar Odom, Richard Jefferson and Shawn Marion) and in turn have meek stats, while others who are equally talented, or perhaps a little less so, have bigger roles on weaker teams (Al Harrington, Danny Granger), so it is hard to compare similar players who play different roles for different teams. So the teams success, personal stats and talent are all taken into consideration.

Honourable Mention

Tayshawn Prince/Shane Battier

Two of the best defenders in the league; ’nuff said.
Stephen Jackson

Jackson’s talent is clear, as are his potentially beneficial leadership skills, but he is unhappy (understandably) with Goldenstate’s direction and has put himself in the dog house by demanding a trade. I don’t expect him to make a very big impact this season considering Goldenstate’s inability to trade him (what with his sizable contract and all), coupled with his unwillingness to work with this team, but things could turnaround.

Caron Butler

Its not that I don’t think he is as good as some of the guys on this list, he is, he will just be sharing minutes with Mike Miller so his role will be diminished, though his talent will not be. Washington is deeper on the perimeter and has their top scorer back, so Butler, being the team player he is, will see his numbers dip in order to help the team.

Lamar Odom

He plays both forward spots, and he plays his best when he and Pau Gasol are sharing power forward and center duties at the same time, but his diverse skill set and height gives him many advantages at small forward, and even if his numbers seem meek, his impact is huge. With Ron Artest on the team, his minutes may be further reduced, but his talent will still help the Lakers win games.

Ron Artest

The best defender at his position? Maybe, but I think he is a little overrated in this respect, though still very much among the league’s elite. Like Butler and Odom he will be taking a reduced role to help his team win and so may not put up the numbers that his peers do, but if this list was purely on talent and not also about over-all impact (the MVP factor) and numbers, Artest and Odom would both be in the top ten for sure.

Richard Jefferson

Jefferson is a talented all-around player and knows how to win (he’s been to the finals twice with the Nets), and with his new team, The Spurs, I expect he will bring a lot to the team, and even if his number are meeker than in seasons past, he will help to create some match-up issues for opposing teams.

Jason Richardson

Richardson is a talented scorer and though he doesn’t have the complete game that some on this list have, he has mastered the parts of the games he’s good at, and even when he’s on the losing team, his high energy level and ability to break away to the basket provide entertainment to all in attendance.

Josh Howard/Shawn Marion

I’m not sure how these two talented small forwards are going to work out the minutes, but Drew Gooden will be eating up all the reserve minutes at power forward so it looks like one of these guys is going to have to learn to play shooting guard if either of them want more than 24 minutes a game. Both these guys are great players, Howard’s a great scorer and solid all-around player, and Marion an elite defender, rebounder and all around player. Outside of Boston and Cleveland, the Mavs may have the best small forward rotation in the league (though that doesn’t make up for their lack of a center).

John Salmons, Al Thorton and Thad Young also get a nod from me as solid contributors for their respective teams.

10. Al Harrington

Harrington has long been an NBA prospect it seems. Indiana chased after him twice, Atlanta signed him as a young free agent, and the Warriors pick him up expecting him to be an improvement on Mike Dunleavy Jr. (which I think he is). But Harrington has had trouble getting his minutes. In Indiana the Pacers were still trying to get their footing in the post-melee era, and in Goldenstate he saw more time on the bench than he had expected when Don Nelson (I know, I’m shaking my head too) went with a small line (that could have easily included Harrington) and benched the talented young forward. New York though has Harrington a new lease on life and when he first arrived in New York he indeed managed to put up numbers the surpassed most on this list, though he couldn’t keep those averages up all season. Harrington is a natural scorer, who works the glass and keeps up on defence. The only knock on Harrington is that he’s never had a particularly high field-goal percentage (though he has maintained a respectable one), and he has never been much of a play maker. He doesn’t create a lot of turnovers, but nor does he create a lot of assists, and the former outnumber the later, which is never good. I expect Harrington to have another solid year with the Knicks and once they sort out their roster after free agency in the 2010 offseason I expect that Harrington will end up being a key role player and secondary scoring option, but as of right now, he is the most consistent player the Knicks have and outside of David Lee.

9. Rudy Gay

I’m having a hard time placing Gay for a number of reasons, most of all the Iverson/Randolph factor. The past couple of seasons Gay has been the best scorer on a team that didn’t have a lot of scorers, and though he remains their best option at small forward and will certainly be starting there, it is unclear where he will fit on the offensive pecking order. Randolph will certainly call for the ball in the post and Iverson, even if he is coming off the bench, will want the ball in his hands, and Mike Conley and O.J. Mayo have both displayed the ability to handle the ball and score. Talent alone should dictate that Gay will still be the first option of offence, but Mayo and Randolph are deserving of as many touches, and Iverson and Conley will likely be handling the ball a lot while rookie Hasheem Thabeet, and least year’s rookie sensation Marc Gasol will also be earning their own shots. This is a deep squad and Gay’s position is unclear, but he remains a great athlete, he has a long lean body that creates match-up problems and he works the glass and on defence, so its hard to imagine him not being the go-to guy on this squad. Either way he is one of the top young small forwards and deserving of a spot in the top ten.

8. Josh Smith

Josh Smith is one of those unique players, athletic, muscular, hard working and great all around player, and by all around I mean he knows how to drop numbers into each statistical category. Like Gerald Wallce, he works the glass, gets some steals, gets some blocks, scores some points and hands out more assists than he does turnovers, and his field-goal percentage has gone up ever year since his sophomore effort (up to almost 50% last season). The only whole in his game seems to be long range shooting (which is an excusable default at his position) and at the free-throw line where he has actually gotten worse over the years (58% last year, after shooting over 70% the year before- I’m scratching my head too). The only knock on Smith is that he’s not a power forward, which is the position he plays much of the time. His height and work ethic allow him to keep up with most power forwards, but when you watch his game it is clear that he is a small forward by nature. He’s a great defender on the perimeter, and he is athletic and quick, but the Hawks, who have been short a true power forward the last couple of seasons, have been forced to play Smith at power forward a lot. With the addition of Joe Smith, and the emergence of two solid rebounding centers in Zaza and Al Horford, I imagine Josh Smith will get to play more minutes at his natural position, and I expect the Hawks to make a run at the division title with their newly acquired depth.

7. Hedo Turkoglu

Easily one of the most underrated players in the league, while the Cavs ran into the offseason looking for somebody to match up with Dwight Howard for the 2010 post season, the Raptors went and did the Cavs a huge favour, they picked up one of the most important pieces of Orlando’s success last season. While Howard is a dominant player, the Cavs front court made him work for every bucket and every board, but Turkoglu took advantage of his unique skill set and height advantage to give the Magic the upper hand over the Cavs. Turkoglu is not as great a shooter as many imagine him to be (only 41% last year), but he is a great three point shooter and he is a solid rebounder from his position (5+ a game), but the most important aspect of Turkoglu’s game is his ability to pass. He, like Paul Pierce and LBJ (and Scottie Pippen in years gone by), can play the point forward position. He can bring the ball up the court and set up plays, create for himself off the dribble and allow an undersized shooting guard (guys like Ben Gordon, Eddie House and Monta Ellis to name a few) to come in and spell the point guard without causing his team to give up anything in terms of playmaking, and when Jameer Nelson went down with injury, Turkoglu’s ball handling skills are what carried the Magic through the regular season. He is not a dominant offensive or defensive player, but he is solid at both and his unique skill set creates options for his coach, while his height advantage creates interesting miss-matches that also allows his coaches to exploit opposing team’s short comings. He may not put up the numbers that some others do, but he has as big an impact as many of the most talented small forwards in the league.

6. Gerald Wallace

Wallace is the best rebounders on this list, as well as one of the best athletes and best all-around players. He’s even got an edge on LBJ in a couple statistical categories (rebounding and steals). He works the glass, he busts his ass off on defence, he shoots around 48% from the floor and 80% from the charity stripe, he hands out more assists than he does turnovers and gets almost as many steals as he does turnovers and the only real knock is that he isn’t an elite scorer and could afford to lower his personal fouls (though he is not in the red in this respect by any means). Even when new coach Larry Brown seemed uninterested in Wallace and put him on the trading block, he still busted his ass off and eventually gained (or at least seemed to) the respect of Larry Brown (which isn’t easy to do if you ask any of his former players). He gets steals, some blocks, he passes, rebounds and scorers, and has a team first mentality. If he were on a team like the Spurs he’d be even more dangerous, but as it is he is playing for the Bobcats, and while fans may not get to watch him in the post season, they can still certainly watch this very talented player in the regular season.

5. Carmelo Anthony

I’m sure there are going to be some pissed of Denver fans who think Carmelo should be a little higher on the list (if anybody from Denver ever happens to my blog), but Danny Granger, though a later bloomer when compared next to Carmelo, is still a better player right now. Carmelo has been very fortunate to have been surrounded by a lot of talent for most of his career, but it is clear that despite having a solid front court around him (Nene, Camby, Martin and Andersen have all be working the boards for Denver in the past), and though he has always had a couple other scoring options, he has never been able to lead Denver into serious title contention. That did not happen until Billups came to town, so Anthony just doesn’t have that intangible leadership quality that separates the elite players in the league (and Anthony is an elite player). That said, Anthony is a great scorer, a great athlete, a solid defender and a great rebounder, and for all those reasons he simply cannot be left off of this list.

4. Danny Granger

Granger’s rebounds actually dipped a little bit last season, but he was called upon to play small-forward almost exclusively, so that is understandable. That said, his assists did go up and personal fouls came down slightly while his scoring soared along with his leadership skills. Last season Granger saw the Pacer’s organization lean on him and he responded in turn. His defensive stats were solid (over a block and a steal a game), his scoring jumped up to 25+ a game (second only to LBJ at his position), and the Pacers actually saw an improvement in their team. That is not to say Granger has perfected his game, he’s got to bring down his personal fouls, as well as his turnover to be the perfect compliment to his team, and he may have to relinquish some of the scoring duties and defer (like Paul Pierce has done) if the Pacers are to gain any ground on other Eastern conference teams, but Granger has provided the kind of responsible leadership that the Pacers have been in constant search of in the post-melee era and Granger is the type of guy that will lead by example to help improve his team. I expect the Pacers to make the playoffs this year and even make some noise (a first-round series win is not out of reach for this team), and I expect Granger to be at the center of this team’s success.

3. Kevin Durant

In the 07/08 season, despite easily winning the Rookie of the Year honours, Durant showed many of the classic problems that plague rookies. High turnovers (3 a game), low field-goal percentage (43%) and low three-point percentage (28%), though he did manage to keep his personal fouls below 2 a game. In his sophomore season there was dramatic improvement. His rebounding and assist numbers jumped up, and his field-goal percentage (up to 47%) and his three-point percentage (42%) both saw increases and his team got better. Durant is playing for a weaker team in a competitive western conference, and though his team got off to a rough start last year, they played competitive ball the second half of the season and did not provide simple and easy fodder for the league’s elite. I don’t imagine this year that they will be able to break into the elite, or even the playoffs for that matter, but they have a talented young team and Durant is that team’s leader. The only thing he really needs to improve is his turnover rate, and he could afford to be more of a defensive presence (not that he‘s bad in this regard, just not outstanding yet).

2. Paul Pierce

There are a number of small forwards who put up more points, or more steals, or more boards than Pierce, but Pierce remains an elite defender, even if his defensive stats don’t rank amongst the league leaders (just look at how he handled LBJ and Kobe Bryant in the ‘08 playoffs). Pierce is a solid play maker and gives his team a ball-handling option when the point guard is on the bench, and he is also a team-first player who took a back seat as a scoring option (despite the fact he’s easily a 25+ point scorer), to help the team perform better. There are some younger guys (like Granger) who are coming up and will give Pierce a run for his money, but his experience, ball handling skills and defence (and his ring) place him just a shade under James and a level above the rest of the players at his position.

1. LeBron James

While some may argue that James is not the clear cut best all-around player in the league, there is no doubt; James is certainly the best small-forward and an easy choice for number one on this list. LeBron James is the top scorer among small forward, the top assist maker, and the best rebounder at small forward outside of Gerald Wallace (who played some minutes at power forward for the Bobcats who were short a decent power forward). And Wallace is the only small forward to get more steals that James. As for blocks, AK-47 and Danny Granger were the only small forwards to log more blocks per game than James. Not to mention he is the reigning MVP, he’s great on defence, always takes the best scorer on the perimeter, and he is arguably the best offensive player at his position, and not only can he always get his shot, but he is clutch as well. He proved that last year by making some big shots in the Orlando series, and the season when the Cavs made it to the NBA finals for the first time, James reeled of 20+ straight point at the end of the fourth quarter and into an overtime against the Pistons. There is no reason that I can think of to have James anywhere other than number one on this list.

Tags: Al Harrington, Atlanta Hawks, Bobcats, Cavs, Celtics, Danny Granger, Gerald Wallace, Josh Smith, Kevin Durant, Knicks, Lamar Odom, LeBron James, Memphis, Oklahoma Thunder, Pacers, Paul Pierce, Ron Artest, Rudy Gay
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NBA Ramblings: Top Ten Shooting Guards

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

Top Ten Shooting Guard Of All Time

So what makes a great shooting guard? Well, they need to be able to shoot, and they need to be able to guard the other team’s guard. Shoot and guard. Ideally, a shooting guard should do those two things extremely well. They also need to move well without the ball, use picks to get open, be able to create their own offence facing the basket, and they should get a few boards and a few assists, a block perhaps and a steal or two (though the last two don’t define the efficiency of a defender).

And for those of you looking for Oscar Robertson on this list, don’t, I’m putting him on the small forward list, along with Dr. J. I’ve seen him listed as everything from point guard to small forward, and since I’ve always heard players talk about him as the first “point-forward”, I’m going to go with small forward.

Honourable mention: Mitch Richmond, Jimmy Walker, Drazen Petrovic (whose career tragically ended early due to his death in a car accident), Hal Greer, Sidney Moncrief, Dave Bing and Dennis Johnson. And a special honourable mention to Dwayne Wade and Michael Redd, Wade who is clearly a great talent and will likely deserve a spot by the end of his career, and Redd is the best all-around shooting guard in the league outside of Bryant and Wade.

10. Reggie Lewis

Reggie Lewis never had a chance to blossom into the dominant player he was destined to become because of his tragic death, but even in his limited time in the league he established himself as one of the best shooting guards of his generation. He was a great passer with more than two assists for every turnover, he had a respectable number of steals each season, and his last couple of seasons he was the best shot-blocking shooting guard in the league, better than even Jordan and Drexler, which says a lot. By his final season he had gotten his free-throw percentage into the high 80’s, and his field-goal percentage was around .500, which rivalled many centers in the league at the time, and blew away most other shooting guards. And on top of that he always pulled in about 5 rebounds a game. He never had the high scoring averages of Drexler or Jordan, but he was getting 20 points a game on a team that feature three Hall-of-Famers in Larry Bird, Robert Parish and Kevin McHale, so the fact that the Celtics felt comfortable making him the number one scoring option while Bird was still there is impressive. Coupled with that, he was a great playoff performer, and in Bird’s final season, the Celtics upset the Cavaliers in the first round thanks in part to Lewis’s 28 point scoring average for the playoffs that year. And when McHale, and Bird left, and Parish was relegated to a minor role, Lewis still managed to lead the Celtics into the playoffs despite the fact that many thought the Celtics were on the verge of the lottery. Had he lived a little longer he would have been a clear-cut top five selection, but though he never reached his prime, he still deserves a spot in the top ten.

9. Ray Allen

Best shooter on the list? Its between him and Reggie, an though Reggie would get my vote for best pure shooter, Allen is better at creating a shot off the dribble, and is almost as good as Miller coming off a screen. Allen is a great long range shooter, and three-point shooter, and has had about a 2-1 assists-to-turn over ration, better than most, and at about the standard for a great shooting guard. He’s also always been a decent rebounder, pulling in about 5 a game for most of his career. With the Bucks and the Supersonics, Allen pulled the weight, and got to the conference finals, but the Supersonics were in rebuilding mode and dumped Allen on Boston in exchange for some draft picks, a great deal for Allen who responded by showing that not only could he run an offence and carry a team, but he could defer to other players and take a smaller role on a true contender to play within a team structure. His reward was his first NBA title. And he’s the best free-throw shooter on the list (over 90% in 9 seasons so far). Once Wade is finished his career, Allen may have to give his spot up in the top ten, but for now, I think Allen is deserving of a spot.

8. George Gervin

The Iceman was always known for his sweet shooting, and with a career field-goal percentage just over .500, and a career scoring average 25+ and several single season averages above or near 30 a game, illustrates that he does fulfill at least one of the duties of the shooting guard, and that is shooting. As good as guards are at shooting, their field-goal percentages seldom meet the averages of most centers and forwards who take higher percentage shots, and also take fewer closing-quarter shots. Those low percentage shots are left for guards. All those low-percentage shots that get thrown up in the closing seconds of a quarter or game do count as miss field goals and drag down shooting percentages. Gervin though deserves much kudos for keeping his average as high as it is, especially considering he that he took as many shots as he did. His ABA years saw him as a strong rebounder, and he was above average in the NBA as well, usually pulling in 5 or 6 a game, but his assist-to-turnover ration could have been a little better. West and Havlicek though are lucky that they can’t be critiqued for their assist-to-turnover averages since the league didn’t keep track of turnovers at the time, but that said, Gervin’s assist averages were somewhat lacking. His defence though was solid as his career averages in steals and blocks are both over one a game, making him one of the best shot blocking guards in the history of the league (a higher career average even than Jordan). He could score and he could defend, but Gervin’s assists number are somewhat lacking. Like Lanier Gervin also never made it to the NBA finals, let alone win an NBA title, so he never got to make any memorable clutch shots. He was great no doubt about it, but there are players who accomplished more and had better all-around games, so he doesn’t get to crack the top five, but he is clearly one of the best scorers the league has ever seen.

7. Reggie Miller

Miller, in my eyes, is easily the best clutch shooter in the history of the league, and I put him above West and Jordon in this aspect without flinching. He was gold from the line, and he was gold in the clutch, and out of all the guards on this list, he is also the best long-distance shooter, and probably the best pure shooter as well. That is not to say he is the best scorer. Reggie Miller could move without the ball better than anybody on this list, and he knew how to come off a screen and get himself open, which is great when you have a good point guard, but Miller wasn’t always great with the ball in his hand. He knew how to get a little space between him and a defender to get a shot off, but when it came to putting the ball on the floor and driving to the basket, he couldn’t create the kind of offence that Bryant, Gervin or Jordan could. Though he wasn’t a cardboard cut out on defence, he wasn’t the strongest defender (though he did work hard), and he didn’t turn the ball over as much as Gervin or Bryant, and took care of the ball almost as well as Dumars. Like Dumars, Miller was more of a pure shooting guard than a versatile shooting guard like Bryant and Jordan, but he did accept his role within the team structure and played it well, helping the Pacer reach the conference finals more than once (losing out to the Bulls in Jordan’s final year) and helping them get to the finals once as well (where the officials handed the title to the Lakers). Though he was limited in his game, the game he played he had mastered and NBC should have been giving him bonuses during the playoffs because I know all of my friends made sure to watch every game that Miller was in, especially against the Knicks and the Bulls (though nobody can forget that performance against Orlando) pushing the ratings up and making the playoffs as entertaining as they could possibly be.

6. Joe Dumars

Why is Dumars ahead of Gervin? His career averages aren’t nearly as impressive as Gervin’s and Gervin was a better rebounder, and Gervin maintained a higher level of play than Dumars did late in his career and put up a higher scoring average. Dumars was not an instant all-star like the others on this list, and he wasn’t as athletic, nor did he have the longevity, but what he did have was a humble mindset, and a strong work ethic. Dumars played the team game, and played it well, working hard to keep his shot crisp in the gym, and working even harder to keep up on defence. Yeah, his rebounding wasn’t impressive, but like Stockton who was the best pure point guard, Dumars was also a pure shooting guard. He played on a strong rebounding team (Laimbeer, Rodman, Salley, MaHorn, Edwards and Aguire), and so focused on his job, defending, and shooting. His defensive prowess was the stuff of legend, and had to be as he helped the Piston win two titles, make three NBA finals appearances and five straight conference finals appearances, and impressive feat considering the Pistons were playing at a time when the Lakers and Celtics dynasties of the 80’s were still in full swing, and the Bulls were entering their zentih, playing the Pistons in three straight years. Where do you think Jordan learned to dominant defences? He learned how to do that by having to work through Dumars stifling defence every year in the playoffs. Dumars was also a stellar offensive player as well, shooting over 48% from the field in his rookie year and between 45-50% for most of his career. He was also an excellent passer, handed out around 5 assists a game most of his career, and only causing between 1.9-2.6 turnovers a game for most of his career, putting his assist-to-turnover average above Bryant and Gervin. Team ball is most important to me, and Dumars understood it was a team game more than Bryant or Gervin. He’s also one of those classy guys with a strong sense of loyalty, and he stayed with the Pistons even through a rough rebuilding process when he could have left to chase titles with New York or L.A., and served as a mentor to players. You gotta love a guy who only wears one jersey throughout his career.

5. Kobe Bryant

I would normally hesitate on putting somebody who is still in their prime, but Kobe has accomplished enough in his career that his spot in the top ten is set in stone (until at least the next generation of all-star shooting guards). It could be argued that Bryant is on a par with Jordan in terms of his defensive prowess, and when Shaq was shipped out of La La Land, Kobe threw up a career high 35+ a game, on a par with Jordan’s second highest single-season scoring average, and the highest scoring average the league had seen (outside of Jordan), since the Baylor/Chamberlain era. Kobe is also a strong rebounder and passer, getting 5+ each a game for most of his career, though his turnovers are a little too high for comfort, and even his best field-goal percentages don’t match up with Jordan, Gervin, Lewis and Drexler. His maturity level has always been in question as well. His rookie season saw a great athletic talent whose horrible shot selection and disgustingly low field-goal percentage had Laker fans questioning the Vlade Divac trade. His sophomore season wasn’t much better, and his best percentage hasn’t even touched 48%, let alone 50%. His immaturity hurt his shooting percentage, but that’s not all. His inability to play in the context of a team setting got Shaq shipped out and encouraged Malone to opt not to return. A dynasty that recruited new all-stars every year fell apart and played like a lottery team in the NBA finals. Since then Kobe has had a hard time melding with teammates, and threatened to send the Lakers into re-building mode one off-season, showing impatience toward the development of a straight-out-of-high school rookie Andrew Bynum (thankfully Shaq, Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel were all more patient with Bryant when he was drafted out of high school), and that re-building mode would still be going on right now if it wasn’t for Memphis’s cost cutting trade that gave the Lakers Pao Gasol for Kwambe Brown. The success of the team now is not because of Kobe’s talent, but because they got lucky enough to turn things around with the Gasol trade. Kobe has been well behaved since, but we all know his ego can easily cause another devastating eruption at any moment. If you put Jordan alongside Odom, or Gasol, I think we all know the NBA finals would have went differently ‘08. Kobe has lost two NBA finals so far, something Jordan never did, and Jordan had a maturity level that left room for loose canons like Rodman, and pure scorers like Kukoc, while also allowing leaders like Pippen take care of the ball and set up plays, while hitting clutch shots and playing stellar defence. Kobe can score and defend, but his ego won’t allow him to work with some talented players and he has failed to make players better. Had Kobe played on the second three-peat Bulls team instead of Jordan, that team would have fallen apart. That maturity, while it doesn’t make him any less talented, does make him less effective, and if one need proof that he is not the facilitator that Bird, Nash, Duncan and Magic were, one need only look at how much better Carlon Bulter played alongside Arenas, another 30 point scorer who helped Butler flourish, rather than flounder. The Lakers are great now, and Kobe is a phenomenal talent, but he can’t make a team meld together the way Jordan could, and the way Duncan and Nash can. And Jordan never needed a new crew of all-star every year to win a title the way Kobe did with the Lakers. And that shit about Kobe being able to close out games is an overstatement to say the least, and all you need to do is watch the ‘08 NBA finals when Gasol and Odom helped build up a 20+ point lead in the first half, and watch Kobe get schooled by Allen and Pierce while Boston came back and put the Lakers away, the turning point of the series.

4. Clyde Drexler

In my book, Drexler is easily the most underrated player on this list. Drexler had to play in the shadow of Michael Jordan, and he also played on a deep team that didn’t demand he put up the scoring numbers Jordan had to put up for the Bulls. And because the team was deep he didn’t need to put up 38+ minutes a game like Jordan needed to do. In turn his scoring numbers were a little lower than Jordan, and since he played on a team with several strong rebounders (Buck Williams, Jerome Kersey, Sam Bowie, Cliff Robinson and Kevin Duckworth), Drexler wasn’t required to work the boards like Jordan, though he did better than average. Drexler also had two quality starting shooting guards in Drazen Petrovic and Danny Ainge (and even Walter Davis) backing him up, and with strong shooters like those sitting on the bench, any coach would want to make sure he got some minutes for them, especially since the Blazers had Terry Porter to handle the rock at the point, and had post players who called for a double team. All these factors really served to dilute Drexler’s stats, much like Havliecek’s stats were diluted by playing with a great Boston squad. The real damper on Drexler’s stats was the fact that he played for a small market team like Portland. Had Drexler played for New York, or L.A., the officials would have had been putting him on the line every time he drove the ball, but playing for a small market team that the NBA didn’t want to see do well, the Blazers didn’t get the benefit the Jordan, and Ewing, and Magic and Bird got (it was a miracle that the Pistons won two titles in that era). In terms of titles, Drexler also paled next to Jordan (just one to Jordan’s six), but Drexler had to face the Lakers, Rockets and Jazz in the playoffs over and over, not to mention the Suns and Robinson’s Spurs, and when they made it to the finals, they had Detroit and Chicago to deal with. Of course Drexler eventually won himself a title, and with the Rockets, in a post season that saw the Rockets topple the teams with the four best records in the NBA, two of them (the Jazz and the Spurs) having 60+ wins, so Drexler was capable of competing at the highest level, he just happen to play in the league at a time when it was extremely competitive. And keep in mind, no other team in the history of the league had ever defeated the teams with the four best records in the league. Drexler’s stats, diluted though they were, were still very impressive. He averaged 6 or 7 rebounds a game for most of his career from the guard position, even at the age of 35, and his assists were always over 5 a game, and as high a 8 a game in his best season. His field-goal percentages were also great, much of his career being at around 50%, and a little over 47% on his career. And in seasons where he was called upon to score, he put up nearly 30 points a game. Defensively, Drexler was only out done by Jordan and Dumars in his own generation, and the only knock on his game was his range: he just wasn’t a great three point shooter, but he at least knew his limitations and only took them when he was open.

3. John Havlicek

Selecting number one on this list may have been easier than the others, but selecting the order for the rest of list is not so easy. Havlicek though was is deserving a spot near the top of the list, and not just because he he’s got 8 rings. First, it is important to note that Havlicek didn’t just ride the Russell train for all of his rings, because the last two he earned without Russell, and the few holdovers from the Russell days that were left, were in the twilight of their careers when Havlicek won the finals MVP in 74. His career averages may not compare to Jordan and West, but neither of those two joined a dynasty in their rookie year and had to earn every shot as a rookie from the future HOFers that comprised the Celtics squad of the 60’s. And unlike many players, who are on the decline past 30, Havlicek put up his best numbers in his 30’s (in part because so many of the HOFers were gone or playing limited minutes). And when he had to earn his opportunities on offence, he worked plenty hard in other areas, and he crashed the boards at a time when team rebounding wasn’t popular and most shooting guards were running down the court waiting for some easy fast break points. Havlicek averaged over 6 boards a game for most of his career, and grabbed as many as 9 boards a game in his best season (higher than Jordan ever averaged) and over 7 boards for five years out of his career, some for them in his 30’s. Like West, his scoring averages were lower due to the fact that there were no three points while Havlicek was playing, but like some other great shooting guards, his scoring averages don’t reflect how good he was at scoring since he was on such a deep team and shared the scoring responsibilities. Other guards like Michael Finely, and Clyde Drexler, have also played on deep teams and though they each could have put up scoring numbers more comparable with Jordan, Gervin and Bryant, they played for deep teams and shared the ball. Looking at his rebounding numbers, his assists (7.5 in his best two season and almost 5 for his career average), it is clear that he was a great all around player, and his hard work on the boards challenged how other guards played their game and set a standard for every guard that would follow. It could be argued that Havlicek is the reason centers don’t grab 20+ boards a game anymore since everybody on the floor is expected to chase after rebounds and before Havlicek, most guards just ran down the court to jump start the offence, leaving centers and power forwards to collect the boards. Havlicek helped redefine the shooting guard duties, and illustrated that the meagre 20 points per game he put up his first ten seasons didn’t illustrate his scoring potential, only his ability to play in a team setting rather than an individual.

2. Jerry West

This guy is the NBA logo, so he’s gotta be good right? Of course, it is pathetic this spot, of all sport, uses a white guy for their logo, and then colours his profile in white to make him even whiter. Like WTF?!?!?!? That said, West is always in the conversation when you speak about the best clutch shooters, and while his scoring averages aren’t as high as Jordan’s or Bryant’s or Gervin’s, West is in a tight race with those guys when it comes to single season scoring averages, which is impressive considering the fact that for much of West’s career, the three-point line was not in effect. When it comes to working the boards and passing the rock, West had also developed a strong all around game early in his career, and at 24, an age where Jordan was scoring lots, but getting less than 6 boards and 5 assists, West was already over 30 points a game, and grabbing nearly 8 boards and handing out 5.5 assists, a pretty good all-around game for such a young player. His average didn’t stay so high throughout his career as West played on a deep team and shared the ball with Chamberlain, Baylor (two of the best scorers in league history) and Gail Goodrich, but his clutch shooting remained throughout his career. He was also a solid defender, and though the NBA did not keep track of steals for most of his career, they did in his last season, and even at the age of 36, West was snagging in 2.6 steals a game, one of the highest steals-per-game averages for a player of his age (Jordan couldn’t even get that high past the age of thirty). Jordan also had great longevity in his career, but West did as well, and that is something that is rare at this position since the guards rely on quickness and athleticism, which is the first thing that goes with age (which is why front court players can hang on until 40, and most point guards go down hill after 30). I do believe Jordan is the clear cut number one on this list, but I don’t think the gap between him and West is as great as most assume.

1. Michael Jordan

It could be argued that Michael Jordan is the most overrated player in the history of the game, since so many claim he is the greatest ever, but the fact of the matter is, even if Russell is a better defender, and Sockton is a better passer, and even if Larry Bird is a better shooters, and even if Oscar Robertson is a better all around player, and even if Wilt Chamberlain is a better scorer, and even if Robert Horry has more rings, and even if he needed the officials to give him more call than I can count to win 4 of his 6 NBA titles, Jordan is still the greatest shooting guard the league has ever seen. I wouldn’t say greatest ever, because Russell, Wilt, Robertson, and Kareem would all be higher on my list, and anybody who argued to put Karl Malone, Stockton, Olajuwon, Bird or Magic above Jordan would have a case, but none of those players are shooting guards. So why is he the greatest shooting guard of all time? Well, he isn’t the best shooter (Ray Allen is a better shooter), and I wouldn’t even say he’s the best clutch shooter (I would put West and Miller above Jordan in that respect), but he is a great shooter, and he is the third greatest clutch shooter (even if he has to push off on the defender to get the shot off, he still hit’s the shot). What he does do better than anybody is defend in the clutch, and there can’t be enough said about Jordan’s defence. Jordan could defend any other shooting guard on the perimeter, or in the post, or on the drive, and do so effectively (even if Nick Anderson schooled him once in the playoffs, and even if the young Allen Iverson pulled a shake-and-bake on Jordan and made him look like Yao Ming trying to guard Marbury). When it comes to scoring, there is no shooting guard in league history who put up higher single season average than Jordan’s 37.1, and his career average is 30.1, the highest, not only for his position, but for all positions (though we all know Wilt’s wouldn’t just be tied with Jordan, but about 10 point higher had he not had the humility to defer scoring responsibilities to Baylor and West while he got 20 boards a game. So he’s the best scorer and the best defender at his position. The season Jordan got 37.1 a game though, he was a big fish in a small pond and the Bulls didn’t even finished at .500 and failed to make the playoffs (though that would give them home court in the first round of the east these days). His assist and rebounding averages were decent that year at 4.6 and 5.2 respectively, but two years later he redefined his game and settled for 32.5 points and 8 assists and 8 rebounds, not only making himself a better player, but helping his team on the boards, and creating plays for teammates, and earning the Bulls a division crown (even if the Pistons spanked them in the playoffs- which the Pistons did three years in a row). Later in his career, Jordan continued to improve his game, he added a dagger sharp fade-away jumper in his 30’s when his athleticism slowed a little (and by a little, I mean very little), and even allowed Pippen to share ball handling responsibilities. 32/8/8 was the closest thing to Oscar Robertson the league had seen since Robertson retired (though Bird and Magic were both close to the tipple double). The best defender, the best scorer, and the best all around shooting guard the league has ever seen, Jordan makes selecting the number one spot on the shooting guard list easy.

Tags: Brent Barry, Bulls, Celtics, Clyde Drexler, Dave Bing, Drazen Petrovic, George Gervin, Jerry West, Jimmy Walker, Joe Dumars, John Havlicek, Kobe Bryant, Lakers, Michael Jordan, NBA, Pistons, Ray Allen, Reggie Lewis, Reggie Miller
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NBA Ramblings: Top Ten Centers of All Time

Tuesday, August 4th, 2009

NBA Ramblings: Top Ten Centers of All Time

Like the point guard position, there are certain things that a center should do ideally do. First and foremost is rebounding. It is one of the most important aspect of the games and on which centers must do well in order for their teams to perform well. Playing solid interior defence, and being able to pick up point guards off of pick-and-rolls, as well as guard other front court players on the perimeter. They must also be able to provide competent offence in the post and have a decent mid-range jumper so that they force opposing defences to guard them on the high pick-and-roll, one of the most effective, and in turn important plays in the game. And finally they must be competent passers out of the double team. I’m not going to expect them to have assist-to-turn over ratios comparable to point guards, but it is important to not cause a high number of turnovers. Overall I would say defence and rebounding outweigh scoring and passing at this position, because the backcourt players are the ones who should ideally be shouldering the majority of the scoring load, but front court players should also have higher field-goal percentages since they take higher percentage shots. Tim Duncan is not on this list (I consider him a forward, though a case could be made that he is a center in actuality, just as Jordan, though a shooting guard, could be viewed as a point guard since he handled and brought up the ball so often). Dwight Howard has also not been included on this list because he is too young and hasn’t done enough (though I expect he will be amongst the best center’s in league history by the time he’s done). So keep in mind, defence, rebound, and solid team play weigh heavily for me when making this list.

Honourable mention goes to: Brad Doherty (a great all around center plagued by injury, but still a great rebounder, great shooter and great passer), Robert Parish (who could have put up numbers comparable to Moses Malone if he had his own team) Bill Laimbeer (the best center from behind the arc, and one of the toughest rebounders) Sam Perkins (forever underrated in the post, and almost as good as Laimbeer from behind the arc), Bill Walton (a horrible analyst, but a great rebounder, team player and champion who was also plagued by injury), Rick Smits (ah… the dunking Dutchman), Arvydas Sabonis (the best passing center I’ve ever seen play, and great from the perimeter- got a late start on what would have been a brilliant career because he was trapped behind the Iron Curtain), Mourning (who is a ring-chasing ass with no loyalty, but still was still great defender and rebounder), and Dikembe Mutumbo (one of the best post defenders ever, and a fantastic rebounder). Gasol is great to, Hordford will be great and Howard will be the next great center, but I haven’t included those guys on this list because its too early in their careers. As for Ewing, he’s overrated.

10. George Mikan

Just as Cousy defined the point guard position, George Mikan defined the center position. He was the best scorer and rebounder of his generation, and he was the franchise player of the first dynasty in NBA history, but this was also a time when the NBA was just getting its legs and the NBA of the 50’s was not as competitive as it was, even in the 60’s, let alone the through the 80’s and 90’s as players of colour were not prominent in the league in its first decade. He was actually a strong passing center, putting up assist numbers that rival Shaq and Olajuwon’s, but he also wasn’t even getting starting minutes by the age of 30. His four rings are impressive, and the numbers he put up during his best seasons are comparable to many of the greatest centers, but his career stats are meek at best. Being the first great center though, I feel it would be wrong not to include him on the list because of the impact he had on how others would play the position in later years. I do think there are better centers who are not on the list, but his impact and accomplishments are hard to argue with.

9. Bob Lanier

It could be argued that Lanier was a big fish in a little pond, since the Piston were quite awful most of the time Lanier played there, but its hard to look at his numbers and not give him a spot on the list. He was solid from the charity stripe, was one of the best rebounders in the league, one of the best defenders at his position, and outside of Kareem, was the best scoring center of his era. He was also the best passing center of his time as well, even next to Jabbar. He also played in a era where he had to post up against Unsled, Chamberlain, Kareem, Malone and other strong rebounding and defensive centers that were either starting or finishing their respective careers whilst Lanier was playing, which makes his high scoring average all the more impressive. Like Mikan and some other centers who have not made the list, he did not have the longevity of others on the list and his career never saw him play in a championship series or make any deep playoff runs save for his final season, which saw him lose in the conference finals. Lanier is arguably the best center to never reach the NBA finals.

8. Wes Unseld

Looking at his numbers only, its hard to justify a spot on the top-ten list, but numbers don’t tell the whole story. In his rookie year, Unseld became only the second player to win MVP and Rookie of the year (Wilt did it first). Why did Unseld win the MVP? Because he helped turn his team around from the worst in the league, to a 57-25 team. He wasn’t the best mid-range jump shooter, but his picks were hard and were famous for knocking defenders on the ass, while his outlet passes are the stuff of legend, allowing the quick guards he played with to get a jump start on the fast break and helping them to eventually win an NBA title. His defence was great, his rebounding better, and though there are centers who were better at both, there were very few, and none of them stood at 6”7 as Unseld did. He was one of the shortest centers in league history, but there wasn’t one who worked harder, and whatever he lacked in scoring, he made up for by jump starting the fast break with his outlet passes.

7. Moses Malone

Malone may have only gotten one ring by the time he retired, but he also played his prime alongside Magic and Bird. He was one of the first players to come to the NBA straight out of high school, and was one of few centers who could put up rebounding numbers that could compare to Russell and Chamberlain. He’s got the record for most consecutive games played without fouling out (very impressive for a center) and is the only player to win back-to-back MVP awards on different teams. Where ever he went he helped teams win, he had great moves in the post, a decent mid-range jumper, played solid defence, he’s the third best rebounder on this list and is one of the best centers on the charity stripe (though that doesn’t say much since centers have the worst free-throw percentage). The only knock I can put on Malone is that he was never really considered a strong passer and his assists-to-turnover ratios is nothing to write home about.

6. Shaquille O’Neal

I once saw Shaq placed at number one, not on a list of centers, but of all players of all time, so I suppose it could be argued that Shaq deserves to be a little higher on this list considering the fact that he does have four rings and has more career points and rebounds than a couple of guys who are higher than Shaq on this list. Part of the reason I have so much respect for Robinson and Olajuwon is because they were patient with their franchises and didn’t just run off to a contender to win a title like Shaq did when he ditched Orlando. But that isn’t the only reason I have Shaq so low on the list. There is no questioning the fact that Shaq has been a great rebounder, especially early in his career, and he has always been a great scorer in the post. That said I believe Shaq is limited on both ends of the court. On offence we all know that Shaq has the range of a meter stick. Players like Olajuwon, Robinson, Rik Smits, Bill Laimbeer, and Sam Perkins have great range and allow the guards they play with to run effective pick-and-rolls, making their team and teammates better as a result. Shaq has never been able to run a pick-and-roll as effectively as other centers do. On defence he has as much range as he does on offence. While on defence he is great inside, but when defending the pick-and-roll, he is incapable of following a point guard to the basket, and he never puts up the hustle to guard center on the perimeter. The other players on this list have also exemplified conditioning, and this is perhaps the biggest knock that can be hung on Shaq. Though Shaq did have a career season the first year he won a title, and played almost as well the following year, he has never made an effort to really improve his game. His rebounding for example actually went down in the years when most players are in their prime, and he has never made much of an effort to stay in the kind of shape that Kareem and Karl Malone stayed in late in their careers, sometimes showing up to training camp at 350 pounds. He’s also failed to develop a mid-range jumper and his offence potency is partly due to officials allowance of offensive fouls (the bump-and-grind move which he uses to get position) and their ignoring of three-second violations. If Shaq developed the foot work that made Kareem and Hakeem so great, he wouldn’t have needed the officials to let him bump defenders, and if he bothered developing a mid-range jumper, he wouldn’t have to stand in the paint the entire time he’s on offence. During the ‘09 season he’s been playing his best ball since winning the title with Miami, but though he’s been a solid passer out of double teams, and though he has been a solid rebounder and scorer through his career, he has too often relied on his physical gifts to carry him and has never bothered to develop his game to be as diverse as some of the other centers on this list. Added to that, when Shaq did play against some of the better centers (Ewing, Robinson, Mourning and Olajuwon), his numbers often took a dip, suggesting that had he played in an era that was deeper at the center position, he may not have been as dominant.

5. David Robinson

Why is Robinson ahead of Shaq? Because he’s better. Yes, Shaq has more rings, and yes, Shaq has more career rebounds, and more career points, but that is partly due to the fact Robinson came into the league a little older than some due to the fact he fulfilled his duty to the Navy before starting his career. Even in his rookie season though, Robinson played like a HOFer, putting up 24+ points, 12 boards, and finishing among the league leaders in steals and blocks. Those numbers remained near that level until Duncan joined the team and Robison was able to defer to his new teammate who helped Robinson win two titles and retired a champion. Like Olajuwon, he was one of the premiere defenders, rebounders and scorers in the league. On top of his numbers, Robison was an ideal player off the court and in the locker room. He has gone through several coaching changes, and watched a contending team lose many games and even fail to contend some seasons, and even through frustrating situations, Robinson has never blamed teammates or coaches like many players do today, and that professionalism allowed the front office to build a the team into the contender it remains to be today. Had Robinson adopted some of the attitudes that he fellow stars adopted, like Shaq, Kobe, and McGrady, the Spurs wouldn’t have had a solid base to build from, and Robinson has also made sure that his personal life has not impacted his game on the court, like many players have done. Though this is the type of influence that should be expected, it is not often the case, and the fact that Robison set this type of tone for the organization has allowed them to build the dynasty they have now. Duncan has continued to lead that type of example while other players like Francis, McGrady, Shaq, Kobe and Iverson, have forced franchises to make drastic changes and rebuild teams that are close to contending. Enough can’t be said about the example Robison set off the court, and though his numbers alone justify a top-five spot, his off court contributions seem to be as important to me as his on court contributions. If you don’t believe me, consider how good Orlando might be with McGrady and Howard had McGrady not forced a trade, or how good Toronto might have been if players like McGrady and Carter had been as patient as Robinson while the front office tried to piece together a contender. Robinson is a HOFer on and off the court and his influence on the Spurs’ organization extends even five years after his retirement. The fact that he put up statistical anomalies like being among the league leaders in scoring, rebounding, blocks, steals and field-goal percentages in one season just adds to his legacy.

4. Hakeem Olajuwon

Hakeem may not have as many rings as Shaq, but he never needed the calls Shaq got to win the two he has, and he also has a better all around game. Hakeem was as good as any rebounder he ever played against (outside of Dennis Rodman), and had the best foot work of any center in the history of the league. Wilt’s post up game was more dominant, partly due to his size, and Jabbar had that great hook shot, and though both had great foot work in the post, nobody could move on the pivot in the post the way Hakeem did. One-on-one there was nobody who could contain Hakeem in the post. As great as his offensive game was, there can’t be enough said about his defence. I never had the privilege to really watch Russell play, but I assume that guys know what they are talking about when they say he is the best defensive center of all time. If that is true, then Hakeem can at least say that he at least never played against a better defensive center in his time as an NBA player. Mutumbo, Mourning, and Robinson, and Ewing (in that order) can all say that they were great defenders, but none could say they were better than Olajuwon, who not only has the most career blocks, but also finished among the top ten in steals per game and complied 2,162 career steals. And not only was his interior defence stifling, but he played in an era when centers could shoot from the outside and his defence could extend to effectively guard guys like Laimbeer, Perkins, Smits, and to a lesser extend, Parish and Sikely, who all had great jumper from the perimeter. While Russell’s defence was no doubt good, Olajuwon’s was especially impressive because he could extend it to guard versatile centers, and he also played in an era that saw the most versatile and effective offensive centers in the history of the league (keep in mind that Hakeem has to guard guys like: Robinson, Shaq, Kareem, Ewing, Mourning, Brad Doherty (one of the most underrated centers in the history of the league), Ron Sikely, Bill Laimbeer, Sma Perkins, Rik Smitts and Robert Parish). Along side of his offence and defence, and rebounding, Hakeem was also a great passing center and as he got older, he was ever improving his passing skills, and though he got only 111 for his 234 turnover in his rookie year, by ‘93 he put out more assists (291) than turnovers (262). He’s also one of the few centers with a respectable career free-throw percentage (over 70%). Had he not played in an era where the Lakers and Boston dynasties weren’t followed by the Chicago dynasty, he most certainly would have come away with more than two rings, but the fact that he got two titles in an era where he was competing with three of the four greatest dynasties in the history of the league, says a lot for the level of his game.

3. Kareem Abdul Jabbar

Kareem has six championships and six regular season MVP awards to his name, and though his career averages can’t compare to Wilt, he does have more career points than any player in the history of the NBA, which speaks to his longevity. Kareem was perhaps the greatest college player of all time, and once he got in the NBA he proved that he was one of the best in the NBA as well. Like Bill Russell, Jabbar had a strong understanding teamwork, and he knew that basketball was a team game. While playing for the Bucks Jabbar often deferred to Robertson and shared the ball, illustrating that even though he was capable of averaging 30+ points a game and 15+ rebounds, he had no problem deferring to his teammates. In his time with the Lakers, many accused Jabbar of “not trying” in the regular seasons (see Airplane), but Jabbar knew that he would have to depend on his teammates in the post season, and in turn gave them time to learn how to handle pressure situations in the regular season. His field-goal percentage on his career is over 55%, an impressive number, and outside of Wilt, Jabbar has the highest single season average of any center in NBA history. As mentioned though it was Jabbar’s longevity that sets him apart from Wilt (and his six championship rings help the argument as well), and the fact that Jabbar remained a starting center on a championship team into his 40’s is a testament to his conditioning. Wilt put up better individual stats, but Jabbar was a better team player, won more rings, and his conditioning allowed him to average over 20 points a game for nearly two decades, and play at a high level even in his 40’s, an impressive feat which nobody else on this list can boast of.

2. Wilt Chamberlain

Wilt is easily the best individual player, not only on this list, but in the history of the league. His 100 point, single game performance is evidence to that, and the fact that he averaged 50+ points and 25+ rebounds in a single season clears up any debate that could be had on the matter (sorry Jordan fans). It is true that Wilt didn’t play as long as Jabbar, and if you compare their scoring averages at the age of 37, one could make a case that Jabbar aged better than Chamberlain, but if you look at their rebounding averages Chamberlain was still putting up league-leading numbers in that column, illustrating that even though he was scoring less, he was still the best rebounder in the league (18+ a game) at 37, an average no other player that age has ever achieved before or since. Though his early career seemed to be an antithesis to Bill Russell’s game, as Chamberlain was the centerpiece of the offence as well as the defence, Chamberlain seemed to take note from Russell’s template and adopted a more team orientated approach later in his career, an approach that earned him two championships. It was when he shared the offence with the likes of Baylor and West that he finally won. He is first in career rebounds, first in career rebounding and scoring averages, and his 100 point game is one of professional sports most untouchable records (up their with Stockton’s career assists and steals, and Russell’s 11 championship rings). He also put up some of the highest single-season assist averages for centers (7+ and 8+ a game in ‘67 and ‘68 respectively). I suppose one could poke fun at his free-throw percentage, but I think the fact that he once averaged almost 73% field-goal percentage (in his final season), and over 60% for much of his career makes up for his free-throw follies. Oh, and he averaged over 48 minutes a game one season, impressive not only because he had the stamina to do that all season, but also because he never got himself in foul trouble for the entire season, a chronic problem for centers. I’m tempted to put Chamberlain at number one here, but since basketball is a team game, I feel Chamberlain’s awe-inspiring individual stats are over shadowed the team achievements of the guy who sits at number one on this list. If you asked Chamberlain who what he’d rather have, the highest averages or 11 championships, I think we all know he’d pick 11 championships.

1. Bill Russell

Basketball is a team sport, and that said, there is no center in the history of the game who had a stronger understanding of that concept. Russell always provided strong interior defence, and pulled in an enormous number of rebounds, and let his guards focus on the things they needed to focus on, which is handling the ball, running ahead on the fast break and taking care of the ball. How many rebounds did he get? His career average is over 22 a game (22.5 to be exact, only 0.4 boards per game behind Wilt). His assists weren’t to bad either, at 4.3 a game on his career, and that average went up even higher later in his career as he continued to refine his game even after winning several titles. The most impressive thing about Russell though is his accomplishments, and those accomplishments amount to 11 championship rings, and since winning is the greatest measure, it could be argued that Russell is the greatest center of all time. His offensive numbers are not as impressive as others on this list, but that is because Russell focused on the things his team needed from him the most, which freed up Cousy, Jones, and Havlicek to run the fast break and get themselves open and easy shots. This is something Wilt didn’t do because his teams revolved around him on both ends of the court and fast break points weren’t as easy to come by since he was the focal point of the offence as well (it wasn’t until Wilt joined the Lakers and became the third option on offence that he won a title). Russell was the chairman of the boards and pushed the offence with his outlet passes and was the anchor on defence. He took responsibility for certain parts of the game, but also had confidence in his teammates and allowed them to fill out other important duties, illustrating how Russell was one of the greatest team-players in the history of the game, and since it is a team game, Russell gets the top spot on the list. I wouldn’t say he is the best all-around player on this list, but he is the best team player on the list, and that is why he has more rings than anybody in the history of the game.

Tags: Arvydas Sabonis, Bill Laimbeer, Bill Russell, Bob Lanier, Brad Doherty, Celtics, David Robinson, George Mikan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Lakers, Moses Malone, NBA, Sam Perkins, Shaq, Smits, Spurs, Top Ten Centers, Wilt Chamberlain
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NBA Ramblings: Top Ten Point Guards Of All Time

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

Top Ten Point Guards of All Time

What makes a great point guard? A guy that passes first but hits his shots when the defence breaks down. A guy that finds his team-mates in their sweet spots, can see where everybody is on the floor and guards the passing lanes on the other end. Does the point guard have to rebound? It doesn’t hurt. Does he have to be a prolific scorer? That doesn’t hurt either. But like a great quarter back the point guards job is to set the offence up and deliver the ball to the player than can score. Teams with point guards who score 25+ a game and only hand out 6 or 7 assists don’t often win more games than teams with point guards who score in the teens and dish out 10+ assists a game. Sometimes the quarter back has to run the ball in for the TD, and sometimes the point guard is left with an open lane or an open shot, and in those instances the point guard needs to be able to score, but though point guards need to be able to make the defence pay attention to them, they should be trying to create shots for their team-mates, not for themselves. So in my list scoring point guards haven’t faired to well, and though great all-around point guards (like point guards that can rebound as well as score and pass) are greatly valued, I place a higher value on point guards that fulfill my idea of what a point guard should do. Oh, and is you are looking for Oscar Robertson on this list, don’t, he’ll be on my guard list. He’s listed as anything from a point guard to a small forward depending on where you look, and since the point guard spot is so competitive and there are three guys who I feel could all be put at number one, I didn’t want to add another player who would also warrant a number one slot.

There are also a couple of other names missing from this list. Derron Williams and Chris Paul will likely be on this list by the time they are done their careers, but it is too early in the careers to compare them next to some of the guys on this list. Earl Monroe isn’t on the list, mostly because I think he’s overrated, but also because the guy never even managed to get 5 assists a game and was a score-first point guard. I mean the guy isn’t even on the top 100 career assists list. There are centers with more assists than this guy, shitty centers who couldn’t pass. Walt Frazier is also absent from the list, and though he was a better passer than Monroe, he was also a score first point guard. These guys aren’t on the list for the same reason Stephon Marbury isn’t on the list, because scoring a lot, passing some, and playing for New York isn’t enough to just get a spot on the list. And yes, there are a lot of players on the list from the last 20 years, and not so many from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s, but if you look at the career assist leaders, 16 of the top 20 are guys who have either finished their careers in the 80’s, or have only started playing since.

Honourable Mention: Norm Nixon

Perhaps one of the most underrated point guards in the history of the game, and despite misconceptions, he was the starting point guard for two of the four titles the Lakers earned with Magic Johnson. If you’re good enough at the point to push Magic to shooting guard/small forward then you gotta be great. His career numbers are a little low compared to some other guys on this list, but it is important to note that even while sharing ball handling responsibilities with Magic, he still put up 8.5 assists a game. His career averages are 15.7 points and 8.3 assists are modest, but impressive when one considers that he was not only sharing ball handling duties with Magic, but scoring duties with Bob McAdoo, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, James Worthy and Magic.

Honourable mention also goes to: Kevin Johnson, Maurice Cheeks, Lenny Wilkins, Terry Porter, Dereker Harper and Muggsy Bogues.

10. Steve Nash

Back-to-back MVP awards is impressive, but what is even more impressive is the fact that he is one of the greatest facilitators in the history of the game. Magic and Bird helped make players like Worthy, Parish, McHale, Byron Scott, A.C. Green and Reggie Lewis in to All-Stars and potential HOFers. Nash has likewise helped elevate the players around him, even when he hasn’t had the same level of talent to work with. In Dallas it seems clear that Dirk and Finley were already quality players, and Dirk won the MVP after Nash left, but there is no doubt that Finely and Dirk, and the Mavs as a whole, were scoring a lot more with Nash running the point. In Phoenix though Nash’s impact has been clear. Stoudemire and Marion were 20/10 players who playing on a lottery team with a score-first point guard and a shooting guard that one team had already given up on. When Nash arrived and Marbury hit the bricks, Joe Johnson transformed form the guy Boston regretted drafting, to the guy Boston regretted trading and Marion and Stoudemire went from playing for a lottery team, to playing for a contender. After a season though Johnson was wooed away by a big contract and Quinton Richardson was traded after a career season (still the best season of his career). Raja Bell, Boris Diaw and Barbosa had some big shoes to fill and I don’t think half the GMs in the league even knew who these guys were, but every GM knows them now, and each of them had break out seasons with Nash. The 06/07 season, the first in Phoenix that Nash didn’t win the MVP, was the season he was perhaps most deserving. The Suns won 61 games that season, and without Nash the Suns were 0-6, illustrating how completely lost the team was without Nash’s playmaking. The Mavs likewise have greatly missed Nash’s play at the point and even though they posted a 67 win season without Nash, they were also eliminated in the first round of the playoffs that season. So why is Nash only 10 on the list? Because he’s a cardboard on defence.

9. Mark Jackson

There are two things that make a truly great point guard stand above other point guards, one of them is play making, and the other is longevity (though defence and shooting helps to- and Mark Jackson can do both of those as well). Mark Jackson, in his second last season, ranked second in the NBA in assists-per-48 minutes (Stockton was first), making him the second most efficient point guard in the league at the age of 38, an age when most point guards are 5 years into retirement. For 13 seasons Jackson was among the league leaders in assists, and now rests a second on the career assists record as a testament to his passing ability. His shooting wasn’t to bad either, about 45% for his career, and he was always a solid defender, averaged 1.25 steals per game for his career and finishing in the top ten a number of times during his career.

8. Allen Iverson

The best scoring point guard? Tiny Archibald is on that list to, but in term of consistency, Iverson has to be tops on that list, putting up nearly 30 points a game for an entire decade. That said, scoring is not the fist job for a point guard and though Iverson could pass as well, is hasn’t always been his first priority. He also gives up a little on defence, but he does try at least, and his steals totals are impressive. The fact that a guy that small could hoist up scoring averages comparable to Jordan makes him a unique player and one worthy of a spot on the top ten, even if he isn’t worthy of a top five spot. Also, he is one of very few scoring point guards who could easily shift to a passing point guard when defences demanded it of him (a trait that was no doubt instilled by Larry Brown), and Iverson is the exception to my rule that teams with point guards who score 25+ a game don’t win as much, or course, Iverson also had the highest single season assist average of any player whose ever also average 30+ points a game outside of Tiny Archibald.

7. Gary Payton

There few point guards who could defend as well as Payton and it is his defence more than anything that earns Payton a spot in the top ten. Of course it does help that there was a 12 year stretch where Payton averaged 20+ points per game, and Payton sits at #7 on the all career assists list (though he will likely be bumped out of the top ten by the time Chris Paul, Derron Williams and LeBron James have finished playing). Still, Payton was the best defensive point guard of his generation and though he was a great scorer he still put team-mates first, helping Shawm Kemp and Vin Baker play the best basketball of their respective careers (and do note how both of their careers went down hill when Payton no longer played alongside them). Payton made his teammates better, played amazing defence and kept opposing defences honest. He was also willing to take a back seat to younger stars to win when he signed up with the Lakers and the Heat (though I’m not a big fan of ring chasers).

6. Tiny Archibald

The 72/73 season was treated in that it hosted one of the most impressive offensive accomplishments in the history of the league. Tiny Archibald averaged over 34 points a game and almost 12 assists that same season. Pretty impressive for a guy who only stands 6’1, and to top it all off he was a true iron man that season, playing 46 minutes a game. Now how anybody could run an offence for that long every game is beyond me, but how a guy can play that many minutes and not put himself into foul trouble is even more mind boggling (only 2.6 fouls per game that season). Archibald wasn’t a one season phenomenon though as his career totals put him on a par with most other HOF point guards, at 18+ points and 7+ assists a game. His efficiency remained high even late in his career, though his numbers did take a dive as he joined the Boston Celtics and took a supporting role in the starting line-up of HOFers.

5. Jason Kidd

Jason Kidd is easily the best play maker of the post-Stockton era, and is the best rebounding point guard in the post-Magic era. The best shooter? No, not even remotely close, but he has been a top notch defender throughout his career and he has also had a big impact on games with his hustle plays. Both his defence and his hustle have shown up in his stat lines as his career total for steals is on pace to pass Michael Jordan’s numbers and he is one of only four players to have amassed over 10,000 assists for his career. At last year’s Olympics Kobe Bryant and Jason Kidd set the tone defensively for the rest of the squad, and many, Bryant included, couldn’t speak highly enough of Kidd’s hustle. There are point guards who could score more, but the bottom line is that though Kidd isn’t the greatest shooter, his hustle and defence impact that game as much as any point total, and his passing skills have been bested by very few players.

4. Isaiah Thomas

Thomas has won two titles, and helped to make the playoffs interesting when the Celtics and the Lakers collecting championship rings faster than Liz Taylor collected engagement rings. Every year the Celtics had to earn a spot in the finals after getting warn down by the Pistons, and the Lakers had to earn their final title of the Show Time era in a seventh game against Detroit. Not to mention the fact the Jordan learned how to win by getting his ass beat by the Pistons year in and year out. Winning two titles amidst the pique and emergence of three of the greatest dynasties in league history is impressive for any team, and since Thomas was the leader of those Detroit squads, his spot in the top ten point guards is reserved for years to come. His career averages put him near a 20/10 average and he is one of only three point guards to put up 1,000+ assists in a single season. His defence is nearly as good as anybody’s on this list and his desire to play is one of his most impressive attributes as he played hurt and injured a number of times during his career. It is a shame that his career in the front office has tainted his playing career as he has failed utterly to put together championship teams in Toronto, Indiana and New York (a sharp contrast to his team-mate Joe Dumars who has put together the most consistent winning team in the league outside of San Antonio), and his sexual harassment case, apparent suicide attempt/drug over dose (and subsequent attempts to substitute his daughter’s name in his place) and his failures with the CBA have diluted his reputation even further, but as a player there is no questioning his ability and his accomplishments. He may not be the best point guard ever, but he is still one of the best.

3. Magic Johnson

Fans today drool over the fact that Oscar Robertson averaged a triple-double for an entire season (and for good reason), and everybody seems to think that LBJ may be the next player to do it, but what most people overlook is the fact that Magic Johnson came closer to achieving that than any player since Robertson. Johnson averaged 9.6 boards, 9.5 assists and 18.6 points in one season. So why is he only at three? I realize most people would put Johnson at the top of the list, and for good reason. He is one of only three point guard to get over 1,000 assists in a season, and he is one of only two point guards to win multiple MVP awards, and he may be the best all-around point guard, perhaps the best rebounding point guard of all time, and he has four rings, so why isn’t he at the top? Well, because Magic Johnson isn’t a pure point guard. In his rookie season he helped the Lakers win the title by starting at center! In one game in the NBA finals he played all five positions, an impressive feet for any player, but it illustrates how Johnson wasn’t always acting as a point guard when on the court. When he came out of retirement he played forward, and its no secret that Norm Nixon played heavy minutes at point guard for the Lakers for two of their four titles, and even started every game in back-to-back seasons for the Lakers with Magic Johnson starting as well. Magic Johnson is no doubt the best all-around point guard. He could rebound, post up, and was one of the greatest facilitators in the history of the league. The only reason he’s not at the top is because the two guys ahead of him were pure point guards and epitomized what it is that a point guard should ideally do. Magic Johnson was a great playmaker, but nobody can argue he was a better playmaker than the guy at number one on this list, and setting up your teammates is the first job of any point guard. Johnson was a pass first point guard, but he was also a pass-fist shooting guard, and small forward, and power forward at times. He is no doubt one of the best all-around point guard, but not the best pure point guard.

2. Bob Cousy

Bob Cousy is the man who defined the point guard position. He lead the NBA in assists for 8 straight seasons and set the standard when it came to passing and ball handling. Nobody before Cousy could play the way he did, and every point guard since has tried to match the standard Cousy set. He was a thirteen time All-Star and finished either on the All-NBA First or Second teams 12 times, establishing himself as the premiere point guard in the league for over ten years. Few other point guards have maintained that level of play their entire careers, and most are lucky to be a top-five point guard for five or six years out of their career. Many talented point guards have come into the league, showed potential and reached their prime by their third season, only to find that by their 8th season they are no longer a franchise player and are competing for starting roles (Tim Hardaway, Penny Hardaway, Stephon Marbury, Steve Francais, and Kenny Anderson are all great examples), but Cousy was not only leading the league by his third season, he was leading the league a decade into his career and was the best play maker in the NBA even after he had been in the league for over a decade. While his career average of 7.5 assists a game doesn’t seem that impressive, many players from the era claim the league was far more stingy when attributing assists and that had modern standards been used, Cousy would have compiled almost twice as many assists. Cousy was also the first point guard to be awarded the league’ MVP award. Others have surpassed his numbers, but he remains the one who set the standard and defined the position, and is the only point guard with six championship rings, and there is something to be said for total rings.

1. John Stockton

Cousy may have set the standard, but Stockton perfected the position. Everything Stockton brought to the court was what every point guard should hope to bring. Only two other point guards in the history of the league have tallied over 1000 assists in a single season, but Stockton did it seven times, and was close on two other occasions (had he not missed time due to injuries he would have had 9 seasons with 1000+ assists). Like Cousy Stockton was one of few point guards to keep up his play for over a decade, but where Cousy kept it up for 13 seasons, Stockton was a true iron man, or as Jerry Sloan said upon his retirement, a true thorough bread. Stockton played 18 seasons, and even at the age of 41, Stockton’s efficiency was still tops in the league as he lead the league in assists-per-48 minutes, and even with reduced minutes his 7.7 assists a game in his final season was good enough to finish in the top ten that year. Stockton’s passing ability cannot be understated. He not only has the record for most assists in a season (a record which is not likely to be broken), but also the most for a career, which is the most untouchable record in sports today. Stockton’s passing was not his only weapon though, as he was also one of the league best shooters, and while most shooting guards and point guards would be happy with 45-49% shooting (Jordan’s career field-goal percentage is 49%) Stockton’s field-goal percentage rivalled most centers and power forwards at almost 52%, making him one of the best shooters in league history. And while many people might knock on his one-on-one defence, his team defence was solid, solid enough to earn him 3,265 career steals, the second most untouchable record in sports (almost 1,000 assists ahead of the next closest player). Solid defence, great shooting, and a pass first attitude that earned him 15,806 career assists. The only knock on Stockton is that he never won a championship, but we all know that’s because the officials pushed Jordan and the Bulls over the true champions, two years in a row, to hike up ratings.

Tags: Allen Iverson, Bob Cousy, Celtics, Gary Payton, Isaiah Thomas, Jason Kidd, John Stockton, Lakers, Magic Johnson, Mark Jackson, NBA, New York Knicks, Norm Nixon, Pistons, Point guards, Steve Nash, Tiny Archibald, Utah Jazz
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NBA Ramblings: Calling All Point Guards!

Friday, July 24th, 2009

In this year’s draft teams seem to have gone point guard crazy. Even teams that have a solid point guard rotation picked up point guards in the draft. The Bucks had a solid point guard rotation this season and still drafted Brandon Jennings, the Jazz have one of the best point guards in the league (and a decent back up) and still drafted Eric Maynor, the Hornets have arguably the best point guard in the league and still drafted Darren Collison, and the T-Wolves drafted THREE point guards! Despite all floor generals picked up in this year’s draft, there are still some teams in dire need of a point guard. The Trailblazers have a couple of guys who have shown potential but no finite leader to play along side of Brandon Roy, the 76ers, who in my opinion are very close to being legit contenders for a titles, may find themselves two steps behind where they were last season if Andre Miller chooses to leave the team (as it seems very likely will happen), the Pistons have one of the best back-up point guards in the league in Will Bynum, but the starter, Rodney Stuckey, has an unimpressive field-goal percentage and an even less impressive assist-to-turnover ratio, and the Celtics would like to have a solid back-up to give Rondo Raja a break every now and then, and also have an insurance policy should anything happen to him in the course of the season. There are slim pickings in the free agent market at the point guard position, but there is good news as the only teams with cap space aren’t looking for a point guard (with the exception of Portland), so teams with the mid-level exception may be able to get bargain rates on a great point guard, while more creative GM’s might be able to broker a trade for some young talented point guards who have been stuck on the bench. So lets take a look at some point guards who may be able to help some teams at a low cost.

Nate Robinson (Knicks)

Lately Robinson has been looking to Europe to get a sizable offer, and since Earl Boykins did this last year, and earned himself a few more million than NBA teams were willing to offer (tax free and in Euros), Robinson may go that route. Some players though want to play on the big stage, and a dunk champ like Robison could make up for a small NBA pay check via endorsements, which may not be as lucrative in Europe (though I’m sure there are European companies who might offer American basketball players endorsement deals). So for Robinson the choice is between playing on the big stage, or getting a big pay check. If he wants the pay check NBA teams are out of luck. If he wants to play on the big stage he may be a good fit in Boston, who still has the bi-annual exception to offer him (2+ million dollars). He’d get to back up Rondo and get some minutes, and neither his size, nor the fact that he really plays more like a shooting guard than a point guard would hurt Boston since that is very much the role Eddie House played. Paul Pierce is a great ball handler and can set up the plays while Robinson is on the court, and Robinson’s speed and agility should help to spark Boston’s offence when Rondo is on the bench. Coupled with that, Robinson just seems like a great guy who wants to win and exudes a positive demeanour, and this is the type of player you want representing you off the court, and helping raise spirits in the locker room. He’d be a great addition to a championship contender, and Boston seems like it would be the perfect fit. The only draw backs are that Robinson can’t fill in at the point guard spot should Rondo get injured, and doesn’t have the range that Eddie House has. I don’t think there are a lot of other teams with whom Robinson would fit well, but if he doesn’t go to Europe, a one year contract with Boston should get him some exposure and raise the league’s interest in him as a solid role player on a legit contender.

Andre Miller (76ers)

Miller is the best point guard on the market right now and would be a great fit in either Philly or Portland. He is a veteran who has proven he can handle the responsibility, and is a big reason why Philly has been so successful the last couple of seasons. He was mature when Philly was losing and didn’t act like a prima Donna, and played at a high level when they started performing well and showed he could be depended on in pressure situations. His only draw back is that he’s on the wrong side of 30. That said, he’s only 33 (J. Kidd and Steve Nash are both on the wrong side of 35 and still commanding big contracts), and he is only asking for a respectable three or four year deal. I’m not saying that Miller is as good as Nash or Kidd, but come next season, he may very likely be playing better than either. His game is not in decline mode, he still plays as well as he did when he was 29, and he will be playing at that level for at least 2 more seasons. Sure, come the third or fourth season of a 3 or 4 year contract, his role may be reduced, but the bottom line is he’s not asking for all-star salary, just one that offers a little security. Miller stepped up his game in the playoffs, this year, put up better numbers than Kidd did, (20+ points, 6+ rebounds and 5+ assists), he shoots close the 50% from the floor and around 80% from the line (though he’s not great from behind the arc) and gets at least 2 assists for every turnover. Bottom line is that he’s a great player. He’s looking for a three year deal, and he will be playing at his current level certainly for the first two season of the deal, and would be a great mentor to any young point guard. Philly should do what it takes to keep him because he is a great fit there, but if they are too stingy then Portland should use their cash to pick him up. Portland is a young team and their window for contending will certainly be longer than the rest of Miller’s career, but he will put them a step ahead of where they were last season and give them a couple seasons helming the team, during which they can find an apprentice. Not too many other teams are in the running in terms of available cash, but Miller would be a great fit for any team in contention. European teams may also have an interest as well, and Miller’s playing legs would certainly last longer in Europe.

Travis Diener (Pacers)

The NBA’s free agent tracker says that Diener is a free agent, the Pacer’s home page does not, so I’m not sure what the situation is contractually with this guy (he may or may not have exercised his player option for this upcoming season), but the fact of the matter is that the Pacers are looking to cut salary (they’ve already let Marquis Daniels and Jarred Jack go and finally bought out Jamal Tinsley), and Diener doesn’t get a lot of minutes and is prime to get an opportunity. He’s 27, ready to start playing in his prime, but is locked on a team that has a starting point guard (T.J. Ford) who is earning big money and won’t be benched anytime soon. Diener is an attractive point guard for two reasons, he is a pass-first point guard with a great assist-to-turnover ration (2.2 assists last season and only 0.3 turnover for an insane ration of 7-1!) and shoots 39% from behind the arc, and his stats indicate that with starting minutes he’d likely get a couple steals a game. While his 1.6 rebounds a game seem meek, he only gets about 13 minutes a game and plays point guard, so that number actually shows great potential. This guy needs to start next season to see what he can really do. It would be a gamble for any team to start him because he’s never been the go-to guy at the point, but he’s shown that he has got the fundamentals down. I’m not sure how strong he is on defence, and that may or may not be a draw back, but its clear he can handle the ball very well and shoot from long range (though his mid-range shooting is nothing to write home about). And the best part is, as I have mentioned, he is a pass first point guard. Teams like Portland, Detroit, and Philly, who all have big scorers, would be a great fit for this guy, because he essentially only shoots when he’s open, and he gets the ball to the scorer without turning it over, and what more can you ask for from a point guard. If Philly is in need of a point guard come training camp, they should call up Indiana and see what it will take to pry this young talent away.

Ramon Sessions

In his rookie year Sessions put up 7.5 assists a game and only 2.1 turnovers, an impressive ration. His sophomore season saw his assists go down and scoring go up, along with his field-goal percentage, and he’s a consistent rebounder. Sessions may be the second best option at point guard in the free agent market, but like the other top point guards available this season, he’s a solid midrange shooter, but he doesn’t have much range behind the arc. If the 76ers lose out on Miller, they may want to make a run at Sessions.

Raymond Felton

His long range shooting isn’t so hot, and his midrange shooting isn’t much better, but he can drive the lane, handle big minutes, and distribute almost 7 assists a game with only a little over 2 turnovers a game. Like Sessions he is also young, which give him a leg up on a couple of the older point guards on the market, but he’s also a restricted free agent and Charlotte can match all offers.

Jammal Tinsely

Tinsley is veteran pass-first point guard with a respectful assist-to-turnover ratio and is dying to prove himself after a year in purgatory. I’m still not sure why the Pacers wouldn’t buy out his contract last season, but it the buyout is done and he’s ready to play. The big drawback for any team looking at Tinsely is his shooting (which is awful), but hopefully that is something he has worked on over the last season. With that shooting though Tinsley could be a major liability in the playoffs, but is an team loaded with offensive weapons and in need of a distributor could use Tinsley and even if he’s only a backup he can still offer a lot of help.

Jason Williams

A year after an oddly timed retirement announced only weeks after signing a lucrative deal with the Clippers, Williams is coming back out of retirement. Early in his career Williams was famous to two things: flashy passes, and turnovers. I always thought people were a little hard on him, but he has improved his ration over his career. What hasn’t improved much is his shooting, but he knows that himself and doesn’t push the matter during games by taking shots he should be taking. During their title run the Celtics saw several teams exploit Rondo’s inability to shoot the midrange jumper, the next season Rondo worked on that part of his game and is now putting up respectable numbers. Players like Williams and Tinsley though had exhibited poor shooting throughout their careers and that aspect of the game can really hurt a team come playoff time. Coming off the bench these types of players can help, but in a starting role it would be hard to win. The Celtics did it, but they also had Paul Pierce on the floor and he could handle the ball, while Rondo, though a poor shooter last season, could still cut to the whole as well as anybody in the league (and like Sessions, he has shown improvement in his midrange jumper).

Allen Iverson

There isn’t a team in the league that needs Iverson to score 30 points a game to turn them into a contender, and that seems to be essentially what Iverson wants. He wasn’t able to win in Denver (though they were able to win without him), and he made an issue about coming off the bench for Detroit, so there doesn’t seem to be many options for Iverson outside of retirement or Europe. If Iverson displayed the humility to come off the bench then a team like Boston could use him and be unstoppable with such a potent offensive weapon coming off the bench, but lets face it, Iverson is a shooting guard in a point guard’s body, which means he’s to small to defend other shooting guards. Iverson is at the point of his career that Dominique Wilkins was at when he skipped over the Europe. He wasn’t able to dominate like he had, and neither can Iverson, and no team sees him as a franchise player that they could put a team around. Had Iverson shown some maturity in Detroit, he’d be more appealing to other teams, but his acting out and baby tactics make him unappealing despite his talent level. His inability to defend, his age, and his maturity are all big question marks that make Iverson a big gamble that could cause a team to meltdown in the locker room, but being as talented as he is, he could be a big payoff. Sadly, I think his career is over and retirement or Europe are the only real options for Iverson.

Stephon Marbury

Much has been said about Tracey McGrady’s inability to get into the second round, but Marbury has had a similar issue. Only as a backup with Boston was Marbury able to make the second round and quite often his teams have missed the playoffs altogether. In the playoffs Marbury has yet to average double figures in scoring. New Jersey and Phoenix both saw dramatic improvements after moving Marbury, New Jersey replaced him with Jason Kidd and won back-to-back conference championships after missing the playoffs, while the Suns became perennial contenders with Nash after Marbury guided them to the lottery. That says a lot about what Marbury brings to a team. His personal stats have often been impressive, but his teams have seldom won. So it seems that Marbury doesn’t have much to offer teams and is in much the same situation as Iverson. Marbury has been open to offers from Europe and since he’s got a couple solid years left in him it seems logical that he might go somewhere where he could be employed. He’s a great scorer (though not a great shooter) and loves to play the game. But there just aren’t any teams that a player like that to make them better right now. Europe seems like the best place for Marbury, and he already has mentioned the idea of promoting his shoes over there.

Tags: Andre Miller, Celtics, Iverson, Jamaal Tinsley, Jason Williams, Marbury, Nate Robinson, Pacers, Raymond Felton, Sessions, Trailblazers, Travis Diener
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