Top 10 PGs

[DonovanMcnabb for H.O.F 2,241]

Here's last year's rankings: Top 10 PGs

 

Just like last year, around this time I just do a list of the guys I think make up the top 10, countdown style. You are welcomed to put your own list, and critique/comments are always welcomed.

 

Here we gooooo....

 

12. Jrue Holiday

 

15 PPG/ 3.4 TRB/ 6.9 AST/ 2.3 TOs/ 1.6 STLs

18.8 PER/ 45% FG%/ 38% 3P%/ 52% TS/ 49% eFG

 

Why he was Considered:

Jrue has developed a close to complete offensive game. He's not a great scorer, but whatever he's lacking as a scorer he makes up as a great playmaker, and plays consistent defense. He was 7th among guards in AST:TO ratio.

 

Why he's not in the top 10:

Didn't play enough. And his offense is far too inconsistent at this point.

 

11. Isaiah Thomas

 

16.4 PPG/ 2.3 TRB/ 4.2 AST/ 2.1 TO/ .9 STLs

20.6 PER/ 42% FG/ 37% 3FG/ 58% TS/ 50% eFG

 

Why he was considered:

More of the same with Thomas. He's offensive ability is crazy underrated. Don't let his 16.4 PPG fool you, that's largely due to the fact that he played 26 minutes a game this past year. Of all the scoring guards that will be mentioned on this upcoming list, many would argue he's a top 5 candidate. And he isn't a volume scorer either, he's extremely efficient. He got to the line a rate of .44, that almost ties him up with Russell Westbrook, and his TS% at 58%, eFG at 50% puts him well above Westbrook.

 

Why he didn't make it:

His ability as a playmaker is extremely lacking. And his defense is probably worse, making him a one trick pony at this point. His defensive RPM was -2.94, which essentially means that the Celtics gave up nearly 3 points less with him on the court then off it. Until he develops his overall game more, there's no justifying putting him any higher.

----

10. Eric Bledsoe

17 PPG/ 5.2 TRB/ 6.1 AST/ 3.4 TOs/ 1.6 STLs

18.4 PER/ 48% FG/ 32% 3P%/ 49% eFG/ 56% TS

 

Why he's in the top 10:

Where do you start with Bledsoe? He's already pound for pound the best rebounder and defensive player at his position. Even with his height, and inability to contest all shots, he still blocks shots at a pretty nice rate for a guy his size, and his wingspan and quickness allows for him to play the passing lanes. Offensively, Bledsoe is still driving to the lane almost as much as some of the best players in the NBA. He gets to the line at a great rate.

 

Why he's not higher:

I'm still waiting for Bledsoe to continue growing, he's got massive potential but continues to be slowed down by injuries, and having to share the load. His jumper is still shaky, and kinda sluggish, and this pretty much causes him to be either really good (see 2 years ago) or sometimes really bad (see parts of this year). Aside from his shooting, Bledsoe still has issues with being over aggressive, and it shows through his playmaking. The guy still turns the ball over way too much for a point guard, which is the reason he's always split time as a 2 guard, and a 1 guard. I said last year that Bledsoe had the potential to jump all the way to the elite category, and I still believe it, but he continues to struggle for a multitude of reasons.

[ATL_Predator+ 1,196]

Here we go again....

[DonovanMcnabb for H.O.F 2,241]

Methinks this ranking is gonna be pretty straightforward. Lol.

[seanbrock 1,684]

Starting to get into the NBA more with the Sixers rebuild and it's made me appreciate how much hoops knowledge you have when I read this section, DMac. Can't wait to read the rest of these rankings.

[JetsFan4Life 542]

All I know is Jordan Clarkson is going to be on this list next year.

 

If Chris Paul is #1 we're going to have problems Dmac....

[seanbrock 1,684]

I know Chris Paul is hated on TGP, but does anyone actually not think....no...does anyone not KNOW he's the best PG in the league? Steph and Russ are starting to give him a run for his money, but it's still CP3 in my eyes.

[BJORN 679]

I know Chris Paul is hated on TGP, but does anyone actually not think....no...does anyone not KNOW he's the best PG in the league? Steph and Russ are starting to give him a run for his money, but it's still CP3 in my eyes.

He definitely isn't the best anymore. Give me the guys you mentioned hands down.

[JetsFan4Life 542]

I know Chris Paul is hated on TGP, but does anyone actually not think....no...does anyone not KNOW he's the best PG in the league? Steph and Russ are starting to give him a run for his money, but it's still CP3 in my eyes.

 

I'm sorry but if you're the best player at the most important position in the NBA you should make it out of the second round at least ONCE in a ten year span.

[DonovanMcnabb for H.O.F 2,241]

Starting to get into the NBA more with the Sixers rebuild and it's made me appreciate how much hoops knowledge you have when I read this section, DMac. Can't wait to read the rest of these rankings.

Thanks Sean, never hurts to have more people to talk NBA with. Lol.

 

All I know is Jordan Clarkson is going to be on this list next year.

 

If Chris Paul is #1 we're going to have problems Dmac....

 

Rofl, the top 4 are a jumbo. The only part with anything worth anticipating.

Edited July 16, 2015 by DonovanMcnabb for H.O.F

[ATL_Predator+ 1,196]

That Russell Westbrook guy COOKS CP3's bitchass every time they play.

 

Sean please.

[DonovanMcnabb for H.O.F 2,241]

Sorry for the late post everyone, got caught up doing write ups, and switched my #7 and #6 around at the last second. Lol.

 

9. Jeff Teague

16 PPG/ 2.5 TRB/ 1.7 STLs/ 7.0 AST/ 2.8 TOs

20 PER/ 46% FG/ 34% 3P/ 50% eFG/ 57% TS

 

Why he's in the top 10:

This one kind of came from out of nowhere, but Jeff Teague has been pretty consistently, at worst an above average PG. His style of play isn't the flashiest but he is extremely efficient offensively, and is very good distributor. Only 3 guys who are in this top 10 had a better assist to turnover ratio (2.50), and only two guys who make this list had a higher assist rate. He isn't much of a scorer, but he continues to improve his shooting from everywhere, and this season particularly made far more shots, largely due to going back to his 2011-2012 form of driving and taking more shots in the paint. Defensively is where Jeff Teague has improved without a doubt. he held opponents to a field goal % of 40%, to put that into comparison, Lowry gives up 44%, John Wall 43%, Tony Allen 37%. He ranks 7th among all PGs in defensive value added, and limited his opponents to .54 points per possession (meaning, if he defended 100 possessions, he would give up .54 of a point), which puts him in the top group among guards. He may not be the biggest or most athletic, but he plays very hard.

 

Why he isn't higher:

Most of the criticism around Teague stems from the fact that most believe he's an above average guard playing in a great system with a lot of shooters. He plays in one in which he's asked to essentially attack (which improves his fg%) and dish to his teammates (improves his assists). This is a pretty fair argument to make considering the fact that this was by far his best season, but we'll see. He still doesn't have much of a jumper, and can't really score consistently when he isn't attacking, which is alarming. For me it's just a matter of a wait and see approach. I don't necessarily buy the "system player" argument, but even on defense, the numbers he put up are way better then anything he did before this season. A lot is riding on this upcoming season.

 

8. Damian Lillard

21.0 PPG/ 4.6 TRB/ 1.2 STLs/ 6.2 AST/ 2.7 TOs

20.7 PER/ 43% FG/ 34% 3P/ 51% eFG/ 56% TS

 

Why he's in the top 10:

While I'm not ready to call Damian an elite scorer yet, he is well on his way. First of all, Lillard takes a lot of jumpers (41% of his shots are 3, and 20% of his shots around long 2s) some may even argue too many, but his effective field goal (adjusted FG% with 3 being 1 more point then a 2) and TS% shows that despite taking tons of jumpers, he's making a lot as well. What's even more interesting is how much of a load he caries with his scoring, the Blazers scored 5 more points on average with him on the court then with him off it. Only Aldrige fared better. Another great sign of how much he's improving is his playmaking ability. His usage is going, up, his assists have gone up, the rate at which he assists has gone up, and the rate at which he turns the ball over has gone down significantly. This is a great sign going forward, as he's going to be asked to carry more weight then ever before since losing all 4 other starters in the offseason.

 

When he's not higher:

His playmaking, still has ways to go. Some may argue most of his assists came at the hand of playing in an offense that often relied on getting shooters open, and had a guy in LA who probably attempted and made, more mid range jumpers then almost anyone else in the NBA. That aside, his defense is still a major problem. He was a net negative defender as the Blazers gave up more points when he was in the game then when he wasn't. He's pretty decent when it comes to competing the jumper, but he just has no clue what's going on around him on defense. Guy absolutely zero defensive awareness as he is often repeatedly beat by screens that everyone and their mom see coming, and he repeatedly gets beat off the dribble because he never has his feet set and always plays so far his man, and then tries to press as the man starts moving. All his defensive woes get magnified in transition as he is often targeted to be exploited by the other team. Sometimes, it is embarrassing to watch. But he did show some progress in the playoffs after Conley went down.

 

7. Kyrie Irving

22 PPG/ 3.2 TRB/ 1.5 STLs/ 5.2 AST/ 2.5 TOs

22 PER/ 47% FG/ 42% 3P/ 53% eFG/ 58% TS

 

Why he's on the list:

Can we just take a second to appreciate how great Irving played this year on offense? I mean, seriously, looking at some of his numbers are just, mind numbing, I am personally blown away. shooting 42% from the 3 while attempting 5 a game? Actually, just look at his shot chart, the guy shot 54% from the left corner from deep. What's even more incredible is that we are used to seeing him working off the dribble, this past season 61% of his made threes where assisted on. His whole game looked improved this year, but the increased efficiency scoring wise can be largely contributed to how much better he shot the 3 and long 2s. His offensive rating at 117, and his win shares at 8.4 are elite by any standards. And the Cavs averaged over 7 more points per 100 possessions with him on the court then off it. He also cut down on his TOs this year, which is a huge plus. Offensively, Irving ascended to new heights this past year.

 

Why he isn't higher:

This one was hard, he was at #6 till just now when I decided to move him down 1, and move someone up ahead. Offensively, he's on the right track. I'm not ready to call his offense elite yet, but that's mostly due to the fact that the inconsistencies still showed up every now and then, I feel like that would drive up his FG% even higher. Defense is still the major thing holding him back for me as far as how high I can put him. He improved this year, as you actually saw him try on pick and roll situations, and he overall gave more effort. But he doesn't have the lateral agility, or overall athleticism to be a difference maker. He was a net negative player on defense, and opponents shot 3% better against him (47%) then against anyone else on the Cavs (44%).

Edited July 16, 2015 by DonovanMcnabb for H.O.F

[DonovanMcnabb for H.O.F 2,241]

The next batch:

 

6. Mike Conley

16 PPG/ 3.0 TRB/ 1.3 STLs/ 5.4 AST/ 2.2 TOs

18.6 PER/ 45% FG/ 39% 3P/ 51% eFG/ 55% TS

 

Why he’s on the list:

At this point it’s pretty much common knowledge how valuable Conley is to the Grizzlies. Some of his numbers dipped offensively but that can be mostly attributed to injuries, playing less minutes and an overall lower usage. In fact, when his numbers are adjusted to 36 minutes, they are almost identical to last year per 36 minutes. The one area where Conley can hang his hat on the most on offense is the improvement of his 3 ball. Where Conley continues to shine is on the defensive end, and most of it is due to his extremely high BBall IQ. When playing on ball, he has the tendency to be able to mirror the opposing point guard, and get in front of them by knowing what they are going to do before they make their move. He also knows when the screen is coming and knows how to avoid, or play over/under the screen. Additionally, Conley knows how to use the defensive scheme the Grizzlies play to his advantage, constantly funneling guys who can’t stay in front of where he wants them to go so that they end up in an unfavorable position.

 

Why he’s not higher:

The guys who are left on this list are simply more complete players then Conley. He’s a great two way player, but his offense isn’t on the level of most of the guys left on the list. And while his defense is elite as far as point guards go, just about all the players on this list can play at least good/great defense. He and Lowry are pretty much interchangeable at this point. I simply have Lowry higher because I believe he impacts the game as a whole more.

 

5. Kyle Lowry

17.8 PPG/ 4.7 TRB/ 1.6 STLs/ 6.8 AST/ 2.5 TOs

19.3 PER/ 41% FG/ 34% 3P/ 48% eFG/ 53% TS

 

Why he’s on the list:

Lowry took a step backwards in terms of scoring this past season, but he was still the leader of the third most efficient offense in the NBA. Mostly to do with his underrated work as a floor leader, and a general playmaker. His 2.73 AST/TO ratio was good for 11th among point guards, and is the second best of any player on these rankings. Was fifth among PG in total value added, and the Raptor’s offense was completely different when he wasn’t in. We all know how great of a defender Lowry is, as he is very scrappy, and understands the scheme, and his role within the scheme.

 

Why he’s not higher:

Like I said last year, I think Lowry has plateaued, and we are going to see him go up and down every season from here on out. He’s usually a better shooter, but this season his shot was off, although that when broken down, it was mostly the three that wasn’t falling as much this year. Aside from that, Lowry still has the tendency to try and play hero ball too often when nothing’s working.

 

4. John Wall

18 PPG/ 4.6 TRB/ 1.7 STLs/ 10.0 AST/ 3.8 TOs

19.9 PER/ 46% FG/ 30% 3P/ 47% eFG/ 52% TS

 

Why he’s ranked:

On offense, John Wall’s ability as a passer continues to be the redeeming quality. At an assist rate of 32%, only one player on this ranking has a higher rate than Wall and that player has yet to be ranked. If his 10 assists per games isn’t impressive enough, let’s break it down further. At 2.61 AST:TO ratio, only Lowry and CP3 (among guys on the rankings) have a better ratio. He is 3rd in the NBA in assist opportunities (18.9 – Passes to the open man) first in the NBA in passes leading to FTs (1.1), 2nd in hockey assists (1.8) and 2nd by less than a point in total points assisted per games (23.1). He’s doing this with an impressive usage rate of 26, and his driving rate isn’t all that high, which further just shows how natural a playmaker Wall is. Defensively, Wall is as good as it gets among guards in general. He’s always had the athleticism, but this year Wall came with everything he had, playing sound defense both on ball and off, and being the biggest difference maker on a great defense. The wizards gave up over 9 points per games (insane) when Wall wasn’t on the court, and their defensive efficiency went from 1st with him on the court (98.1) to 24th (104.8). He shut down a multitude of guards this past year including Lowry in the playoffs.

 

Where he can improve:

Scoring is without a doubt Wall’s biggest weakness right now. I expected an even moderate improvement and didn’t seem to happen. He stopped taking as many 3s which I think is a great thing, but in general he just struggles to score everywhere outside the paint. His shot chart is a train wreck outside of the painted area, he’s arguably the best athlete in the NBA and he settles for the worst shot in basketball (mid range jumpers accounted for 42% of his total attempts as opposed to in the paint accounting for 39%). This becomes a major issue for Wall when games are on the line as he now has to take over, and he simply can’t be trusted to score consistently at this point. When John Wall is hot from the field, there’s no one better, I’d argue there’s a strong case for him as the best PG when he’s on. But, it just doesn’t happen because of inconsistencies, and a broken jumper. He’s also shooting below 80% from the free throw line, which is bad for a PG who’s supposed to carry an offense.

[DonovanMcnabb for H.O.F 2,241]

Welp, might as well finish this. Lol. I'm prepared for the hate.

 

3. Russell Westbrook

28.1 PPG/ 7.3 TRB/ 2.1 STLs/ 8.6 AST/ 4.4 TOs

29.1 PER/ 43% FG/ 30% 3P/ 46% eFG/ 54% TS

 

Why he’s in the top 3:

There was a point in the season where Westbrook had a legitimate argument for being the best player in the NBA, he is one of the fiercest competitors in all of sports. He managed 11 triple doubles this past season and the second closest was Harden with 4. He was arguably the best scorer in the league this past year putting up 10 40+ point games, and going through a stretch where he scored less than 20 once. His month of February is going to go down as one of the greatest months by anyone, ever, where he averaged 31/10/9, with a player efficiency rating of over 30. He finished the season off with the highest offensive plus/minus of any point guard, and OKC scored nearly 8 less points with him on the bench then in game. This was also his best year passing the ball as he nearly finished the season averaging 10 assists per game. He’s arguably the best scoring guard in the NBA, best rebounding guard in the NBA, and could make an argument for being one of the best when it comes to jumping the lane. This was also arguably Westbrook’s best season on the defensive end, where he ranked second in the NBA in steals (2.1) and was second in steals rate. He was a hawk when it came to jumping lanes and forcing turnovers. There was no player in the NBA outside of maybe Curry that produced more must watch performances then Westbrook, and he became one of the my favorite players to watch.

 

Why he’s not higher:

There’s a huge love/hate relationship with Westbrook’s play that ultimately prevents me from putting him any higher and most of it stems from what was almost this season an all-time high usage rate. First, despite his major scoring increase, you have to wonder how much of that simply had to do with the fact that he was taking more shots than ever before. Despite his huge scoring hike, he also had some of his worst scoring percentages in over 4 years. Guys who get to the FT line a lot and shoot a lot of FTs tend to be the most efficient, but in WB’s case, the amount of ill-advised shots he takes makes his TS rate worse than it should be. Same principle applies with his assists/TO ratio, which was, to be frank, atrocious at times (he averaged over 5 TOs in March). Defensively, despite his major progress this past season, there’s still work to be done there for a guy who’s athletically as gifted as WB. His gambling on defense often also put him out of position on defense and led to a lot of open jumpers, or in position to get to the basket. According to Synergy sports, OKC gave up more open jumpers then virtually every other team in the NBA, and WB deserves some of the blame for that.

 

2. Stephen Curry

23 PPG/ 4.3 TRB/ 2.0 STLs/ 7.7 AST/ 3.1 TOs

28.0 PER/ 49% FG/ 44% 3P/ 59% eFG/ 64% TS

 

Why he’s in the top 3:

The MVP of 2014-15 cemented himself as arguably the best scorer in the NBA, and one of the greatest shooters of all time. No shooter has scared defenses as much as Curry scared defenses this year, it’s rare that you ever see entire defenses run to the perimeter to stop once player. Teams all the way up to Cleveland in the finals had no answer for the pick and roll with Curry because either you trap him and leave a man wide open, or give him even a fraction of a second to get a shot off, and with his handling skills, it was even harder to handle. Curry scored over 30 points 30 (!) times this year, and scored 40+ an additional 9 times. A 64% true shooting is absolutely ridiculous for someone who shoots as many jumpers as he does. Curry’s also a much more improved passer, as this past season he managed to massively improve his turnover issues, and performing even better as a playmaker. Curry’s defense was also extremely improved this year as he’s started using his length and his high IQ to play the lanes and challenge the lanes to get more steals where he almost led the league. Curry gave up a field goal of 40.5% on defense, which is elite as far as PGs are concerned, and is actually a better percentage than the rest of the Warriors gave up by nearly 2 percentages. No longer do the Warriors have to put Curry on the worst of the two guards as he has improved on defense to the point where he can actually play up on anyone.

 

Why he’s not higher:

When he isn’t impacting the offense through his scoring first (a rare occurrence), he simply isn’t a great enough playmaker to impact the game through his passing. We saw it happen in the playoffs against the Grizzlies when Conley handled him and in the finals with his sluggish performances in games 2 and 3, he started making mistakes, passing the ball out of bounds, and to the wrong players/spots. His assist to TO ratio is average at best, and he still turned the ball over a lot more then you want your point guard to. Nowhere else is how much development he needs as a playmaker more apparent than when the Warriors were forced to slow down and play half-court offense. At this point, Curry’s abilities as a floor general is the only reason why he’s not at the #1 position. That, and I simply believe the guy who’s ahead of him is straight up the closest thing in the NBA to a perfect point guard.

 

1. Chris Paul

19.1 PPG/ 4.6 TRB/ 1.9 STLs/ 10.2 AST/ 2.3 TOs

26 PER 49% FG/ 40% 3P/ 55% eFG/ 60% TS

 

Why he’s the best:

 

My third time doing this, and I still can’t think of anyone better. Say what you will about CP3, love him/hate him, his antics, etc, but at the end of the day, no point guard, and almost no player in the NBA impacts the game as much as he does. And this isn’t my opinion; it’s simply facts at this point. The Clippers, despite having the 10th ranked offensive pace, were the most efficient offense in the NBA, and it was largely due to CP3 being the floor general. He only averaged 19 PPG, but accounted for more total points generated per game then everyone else in the NBA (including Curry) outside of Westbrook who also had a 15 point higher usage rate. And then there was the stretch of games where Blake Griffin was hurt. In that stretch, the Clippers, best offense in the league, were even better, and with CP3 in the game, per 100 possessions averaged over 17 (up from a still ridiculous 12 points with Griffin healthy) points more than with him on the bench. He was first in offensive rating (points produced per 100 possessions), first in offensive win shares (2nd in overall win shares), first in not only assists, but also hockey assists, all while putting up a ridiculous assist/TO ratio of 4.41. And that’s just on offense, doesn’t touch on the impact, and the overall effort CP3 gives on defense. The Clippers gave up almost 9 more points with him on the bench then him in the game. We’ve seen CP3 take on, and defend guys twice his size, we’ve seen him bark out and even push Jordan and Griffin into the right spots on defense. And with his pesky defense, you could argue he’s the best on ball defender in the league among perimeter defenders. He may not be the fastest, biggest, or the most explosive player on the court, but at any given time, he is without a doubt the smartest, and most impact, and that’s what makes him the best.

[ATL_Predator+ 1,196]

 

I am very disappointed in you. Your top 3 is backwards

[Bucman 891]

No Derrick Rose?

[FartWaffles 1,857]

No Derrick Rose?

Rose and Dragic are head-scratching no-shows on this list IMO.

[ATL_Predator+ 1,196]

I'm the biggest advocate of Rose on this site.

 

The guy plays great. But all the injuries are rather disheartening. Hard to put a play in the top 10 when they are missing a lot of action.

 

But when he's healthy he def. belongs somewhere on this list...

 

But Dragic is a headscratcher as well

[DonovanMcnabb for H.O.F 2,241]

Rose didn't look like a top 10 guard when he was healthy this year (if he was healthy at all). Dragic played more minutes at the 2 guard overall this past year then at the 1, so he'll be on the other list.

[56AceInDaPlace 110]

I'm taking Westbrook over any PG easily. Cp3 best perimeter defender?? Really? Eh idk about that one. Curry second and CP3 third. I would also take Irving over Conley as well. Nice list though, I know they aren't easy to rank, some players could put interchangeable.

[ATL_Predator+ 1,196]

If I'm agreeing with Mikey you know you're wrong...

[JetsFan4Life 542]

I feel like it's a toss-up for me between Westbrook and Curry at 1. Paul should definitely be 3 in my eyes. Wall at 4. I'm a homer for Kyrie and I don't mind Conley ahead of him but I actually think they should both be in front of Lowry.

 

But really Holliday and Thomas over Rose? He should at least be in that 11 spot in my opinion.

[DonovanMcnabb for H.O.F 2,241]

I'm taking Westbrook over any PG easily. Cp3 best perimeter defender?? Really? Eh idk about that one. Curry second and CP3 third. I would also take Irving over Conley as well. Nice list though, I know they aren't easy to rank, some players could put interchangeable.

 

4 box score stats correlate the most with wins, the first and second in terms of importance is scoring efficiently, and not turning over the ball.

 

In these two areas Westbrook is the worst of the three. For me, it's an easy choice. And as far as CP3 being the best perimeter defender in the league, the article I linked pretty much sums it up better then I ever could. He disrupts everyone on the perimeter he plays against. Westbrook had scored, 48, 45, before they played the Clippers, then 26, 24 after they played the clippers but only managed 19 against LA, on 6 for 19, he routinely held even the best PG bellow there season averages.

 

I know a lot of people would chose Westbrook and Curry over Paul, and I wouldn't necessarily have a problem with it, but I would be curious to see the reasoning outside of putting up more points...

 

I feel like it's a toss-up for me between Westbrook and Curry at 1. Paul should definitely be 3 in my eyes. Wall at 4. I'm a homer for Kyrie and I don't mind Conley ahead of him but I actually think they should both be in front of Lowry.

 

But really Holliday and Thomas over Rose? He should at least be in that 11 spot in my opinion.

 

Rose had literally no statistical advantages over either one. He averaged .8 assists more then Thomas while playing 4 more minutes a game.

 

I definitely don't think they are better then Rose, but imo Rose really was not that good this past year. He was a bit better in the playoffs, but still.

[56AceInDaPlace 110]

4 box score stats correlate the most with wins, the first and second in terms of importance is scoring efficiently, and not turning over the ball.

 

In these two areas Westbrook is the worst of the three. For me, it's an easy choice. And as far as CP3 being the best perimeter defender in the league, the article I linked pretty much sums it up better then I ever could. He disrupts everyone on the perimeter he plays against. Westbrook had scored, 48, 45, before they played the Clippers, then 26, 24 after they played the clippers but only managed 19 against LA, on 6 for 19, he routinely held even the best PG bellow there season averages.

 

I know a lot of people would chose Westbrook and Curry over Paul, and I wouldn't necessarily have a problem with it, but I would be curious to see the reasoning outside of putting up more points...

I see u have done the research, with the statements u have put up. Look the reason I'm taking Westbrook is because he's a freak. Scoring wise he went HAM this year. He dominated. He's just bigger stronger faster. He is a triple double machine when he turns it on the way he did this year. That alone will make me take him over CP3 anyday. CP3 is nice but I feel his defense is overrated. I know you have numbers and what not, but the eye test also shows me he gets beat alot more then he should. Plus having Jordan behind him helps out alot. If a scorer who is know for driving to make his points plays against Clippers, that factors in the adjustments that player will make. CP3 could be beat but Jordan is there to clean up. He benefits from it, which isn't his fault but I do feel u have to mention that IMo. Idk CP3 just doesn't take over the game like Westbrook and Curry to me.

 

Curry just won a ring and him being able to shoot from anywhere helps his cause. He doesn't play as good as defense as CP3 but it's more of the element Curry and Westbrook have that I like over CP3. All 3 have nice passing skills, dribbles, and speed. Then Currys shooting, Westbrook insane athleticism, is why I take those 2 over CP3.

 

So honestly, starting a franchise and u had to pick one PG, your taking CP3 over these 2 guys Dmac?

[ATL_Predator+ 1,196]

My only thing is. Russell Westbrook was an MVP candidate because he put OKC on his back. I'm not sure a guy like CP3 could give that same amount of energy on defense, if he's the donkey if Griffin, Jordan, and others were to go down.

 

That's all I'm saying. CP3 is the best defender on this list...but offensively I think Westbrook knew that the ball was better off in his hands, otherwise, his assist ratio would obviously be up.

 

I mean...when you look around and see Waiters, Ibaka, Robinson, Kanter...what are you going to do? They aren't consistent whereas in CP3's case...you have guys like Crawford, Redick, Jordan, Griffin, you feel a little more at ease to pass the ball. Not saying it's either of their faults that they're in the situations that their in. I just think if you put CP3 in OKC you don't get Westbrook like production, whereas if you put Westbrook in LAC that team does even better.

 

That's all I'm saying.

[Guest Phailadelphia]

I think Westbrook's overall production and the way he can impose his will on any defense makes him a more valuable asset than CP3 or Curry. He gambles a little too much on defense but I'm not sure there's another player aside from Lebron with his athletic ability and talent in scoring, distributing, and rebounding. And when he does lock down on defense he's impossible to get around. And, as DarthRaider mentioned, it's difficult to put him on any other team in the league and that team not improving due to his presence.

However, lots of great points in favor of Curry or CP3 as well. No legitimate gripes from me if those three are ranked in the top 3. Their differences are on the margins.