5. Rajon Rondo
The 26 year old Celtic starts off my list. He is second in the league in assists this year at 11 per game as he masterfully orchestrates the Celtics' offense, keeping their aging Big Three looking young. He also has a league leading four triple doubles, including a historical 17 assist, 20 rebound, and 18 point performance in early March. The last two people to have at least 15 in each of those stat categories in one game were Jason Kidd and Magic Johnson. Unfortunately in order for him to move up the list he will need to develop a more expansive offensive game.
4. Steve Nash
The 38 year old is still getting it done, leading the league with 11.2 assists per game. He is the best there is at diagnosing a defense and making everyone around him better. He also can tell when it's best for him to defer to his teammates and when he needs to take over offensively, and when he does he's one of the most efficient in the game: 53.7 FG%, 39 three-point %, and 88 FT%.
3. Tony Parker
In his 11th season Parker is having a career year. He is averaging a career high 8 assists per game while scoring 19.4 points per game. More important than his stats is how well he has the Spurs playing. At 35-14 the Spurs have the second best record in the West despite the declining play of Tim Duncan and the constant injuries of Manu Ginobili.
2. Russell Westbrook
To many this may be my most surprising ranking on this list. But Westbrook is turning in a phenomenal season averaging 24.4 points per game, 5th in the league and 1st among point guards. He also increased his offensive efficiency now shooting 47.5% from the field. His assists are indeed down this season which is what most people focus on, but if you watch him play you realize it's not because of poor point guard skills, but more because of the improvement of both Durant and Harden. They both have become better playmakers, so the ball is in their hands a lot more, making Westbrook play off the ball more and therefore having decreased assists.
1. Chris Paul
My number one point guard this season has taken the Los Angeles Clippers from an irrelevant team to the fourth seed in the West. The All-Star is averaging 19.4 ppg, 8.9 apg, and a league leading 2.5 steals per game. Paul is the ultimate floor general who knows when he needs to set up his teammate and when he needs to score the basketball. Over and over again this season the Clippers have been in close games and Paul just single handedly takes over offensively to win them the game. The most important stat that propels him to the top of my list is that he doesn't turn the ball over and has a league leading assist to turnover ratio of 4.39.
Honorable Mention:
Deron Williams: Although having a great season in many ways, leading your team to wins is an important part of making it to my top five list, and his Nets are a mere 18-35. He also is tied for most turnovers in the league at 4 per game and shoots only 41% from the field.
Derrick Rose: The defending MVP is having a great season...when he plays. Unfortunately he has missed over a third of his team's games. To be having the best season you need to be actually playing, so I couldn't have him in my top five.
Jose Calderon: Quietly fourth in the league in assists and second in assist to turnover ratio. However being on the Raptors his team doesn't have enough wins to make my list.
Kyrie deserves an honorable mention. He is 5th in PER (Player Efficiency Rating) among PG, ahead of Nash (7), Deron (8), Rondo (20), and Calderon (27). He is the de facto ROY and has led Cleveland to 17 wins in their first 49, after only winning 19 all of last year. If you look at the stats, his rookie year is very similar to Rose's rookie year.
ReplyDeleteAlso, in general, I think you're putting too much emphasis on assists and turnovers. The PG position has been evolutionized in recent years. Pass-first point guards simply aren't getting it done; they need to be a scorer as well as a floor general.
Overall, it's a solid list, though.
I agree on Kyrie. The only reason I didn't include him was because of the poor record. I know he's the only reason they win any games. I could have gone on and on with honorable mentions to include Ty Lawson, Kyle Lowry, and Mike Conley etc. About the assists and turnovers, I know people need to score these days. If you notice, my #2 is a pure scorer that only gets 5.5 assists per game compared to 3.7 turnovers. I also would like to point out that Parker, Westbrook, and Paul rank 4th, 1st, and 3rd respectively in ppg among PGs. That being said I'd love to hear what changes you'd make to the list when de-emphasizing assists and turnovers. Thanks for the feedback and keep it coming!
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