Divisional Depth Chart: Southwest Point Guards by David Murphy, Sunday, July 25, 2010
Welcome back as we near the end of our rankings of the top five point guards in each division.
In case you missed them, here are the point guard ranks for the four divisions covered so far... Northwest Central Pacific Atlantic
All that remains is the Southeast, possibly the weakest division in terms of point guards. After that, we will move on to the shooting guards.
But for now the focus remains on the Southwest.
Chris Paul has of course made some waves with rumors about his desire to leave New Orleans. Is that a jerk move? Sure, the guy is under contract. However, he is still the best in the division as long as he remains in the Southwest.
Also worthy of note is the on-again-off-again rumors about Tony Parker being shipped out of San Antonio. Apparently Mike Conley's job might not be safe either; OJ Mayo has very publicly spent the majority of his summer improving his skills at the point. Conley could be in line for either a trade or less minutes in 2010-11.
Remember, these rankings are based on previous production, potential, team success and overall point guard "skills," in no particular order. Disagree with a ranking? Swing by the Facebook page and rip them to shreds.
1. Chris Paul, New Orleans
CP3 is just nasty. Depending on your opinion of Deron Williams, Paul is either the first- or second-best point guard in the league, and fills up a stat sheet better than any other 6-footer out there. 2009-10 was his third straight season with 10-plus assists per game, and the fourth of his career averaging better than two steals an outing. The scoring took a slight dip, although he shot a career-best 41% from 3-point range. To boot, Paul can rack up the rebounds and is a constant triple-double threat. The only drawback is durability, as he has played to the 80-game plateau just once; last season was no different as a knee injury limited him to 45 games. However, when healthy, Paul is an MVP candidate and the best point guard of the Southwest by a mile.
2. Jason Kidd, Dallas
What else is left to say about Jason Kidd? He gets you steals, can shoot from range, may be one of the best rebounding guards ever and, of course, is perennially among the top-5 in the league in assists. Oh, and he's been doing this for 16 years! He led New Jersey to back-to-back Finals appearances and has littered All-NBA and All-Defense teams since 1999. Kidd may only have a few years left in the tank, yet with plenty of weapons surrounding him should remain in the upper echelon of the NBA's point guards.
3. Tony Parker, San Antonio
Injuries limited Parker to just 56 games in 2009-10 and his production showed it. The per-game numbers fell across the board and he temporarily lost his starting gig to George Hill. The Spurs have been rumored to be shopping Parker in hopes of landing a young big to back up Tim Duncan. However, with Tiago Splitter in town, that is probably less likely. Parker played a key role in winning three championships for San Antonio, and while not at the level of Paul or Kidd, is still a high-level player who can score very well for his size.
4. Aaron Brooks, Houston
With Yao Ming out for the entire year, Houston relied heavily on Brooks in 2009-10. He responded in kind with career-highs in scoring, assists, rebounds, steals and shooting percentage; such improvement earning him the Most Improved Player award. Brooks also showed to be very durable, starting all 82 games. The rising fourth-year guard has little trouble scoring inside or out, but hasn't reached the level where he makes everyone around him better. Yet at just 25 years old, the Oregon grad will likely continue to expand his game.
5. Mike Conley, Memphis
Conley has yet to live up to his billing as fourth overall pick; rather than exploding in any of his three seasons, he posts slow and steady improvement. This isn't a huge problem because of his youth, but hopefully such a high draft pick would have improved his numbers by more than three points and one assist since entering the league. Conley also struggles on defense, where he gets absolutely abused by bigger guards. Some of his misfortune must be credited to teammates, as Rudy Gay and Zach Randolph are characteristically selfish offensively. Slow development doesn't indicate Conley should ever be a star, and this division is so loaded at point guard he may as well get used to being ranked fifth.
