Top 10 PGs

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

So I do this every year, and barely make it to the finish it and it'll probably be no different this year, but it's worth a go. I've got a lot of free time in the office and I've explored Barcelona enough to the point where I can sit down and do give this a go.

 

Be aware, this is my opinion, the opinion of a fan who simply spends too much time talking about the NBA on message boards and watching games, and while I can and will defend my rankings, it shouldn't be taken as fact or anything. The rankings are based solely off of 2015-2016 season and the players who make the top 10 had to of played at least half the season, for sample size reasons.

 

As always, you're welcome to post your own rankings and question mines... So, let's goooo.

 

Outside looking in:

 

12. Jrue Holiday

16.8 PPG/ 6.0 AST/ 3.0 TRBs/ 1.4 STLs/ 2.6 TOs

19.7 PER/ 44% FG/ 34% 3P/ 49% eFG/ 53% TS

 

Why he didn’t make it:

Jrue’s biggest problem is his health. The guy can’t stay healthy, and it’s cost him to miss significant playing time and no doubt has an impact on his overall growth. When adjusting his numbers per 36, you get results that put him among the best guards in the league if you do the same for those other guards. He especially took off towards the second half of the season, granted he only played about 17 games, he was averaging 33 minutes per games and was putting up 21/7/3 which attempting, and making more shots from virtually everywhere. Assuming he can get healthy next year, we could be looking at a breakout year.

 

11. Mike Conley

15.3 PPG/ 6.1 AST/ 2.9 TRB/ 1.2 STLs/ 1.5 Tos

19.4 PER/ 42% FG/ 36% 3P/ 48% eFG/ 54% TS

 

Why he didn’t make it:

In most year Conley would be a top 10 possibly top 5 lock. He’s consistently one of the best, and most underrated two way guards in the league and has continued to grow in his role of leadership in Memphis. But last year was rough for both him and a lot of the players on the Grizlies who for one reason or another slumped. He was plagued with injuries last year and some very inconsistent defense, one of the areas he’s most known for. While I don’t think he’ll ever play up to his massive contract, there’s no doubt in my mind that he’ll be back to playing the way we’re used to seeing from him. The big bonus for Conley in spite of all the negatives were his improvements as a passer, and an offense that saw him get to the line at a far better rate.

 

Top 10:

 

10: Reggie Jackson

18.8 PPG/ 6.2 AST/ 3.2 TRB/ .7 STLs/ 2.8 TOs

19.6 PER/ 43% FG/ 35% 3P/ 48% eFG/ 54% TS

 

Why he’s in the top 10:

This past season was the first with Jackson playing a starter the whole season, and was given the keys to handle the Pistons offense and showed a lot of promise and ability. He upped the amount of shots he takes a game, and overall usage, while increasing his efficiency from everywhere on the field. His defensive attempt rate went up while maintaining a respectable 3P %, same goes for his free throw rate which went up as well. The biggest area where Jackson showed improvements though was in his ability to take over games. Down the stretch this led to some incredible games and ultimately saved the Pistons’ season.

 

Why he’s not higher:

The offense goes where the Point guard leads it, and like the rest of the offense, Jackson was extremely inconsistent all season. And this was the case both on offense and especially defense, where there were times where he was pretty awful. Conditioning plays a huge role in this, or at least you would think, considering the fact that the backup PGs were pretty bad last year yet Jackson still only averaged around 30 minutes a game. How much of this he can improve, I don’t know because he apparently has asthma, which will always be a problem. Aside from that, Jackson benefitted greatly from being able to lob the ball to Drummond in the paint two years ago, and teams have been cracking down on that last season, which greatly hurt his assist numbers. He doesn’t really know how to fully run an offense, and it showed.

 

[BJORN 679]

I've never felt that Conley was ever top 5 or even all that good.

[BwareDWare94 723]

I've never felt that Conley was ever top 5 or even all that good.

 

Then you need to watch him play more, my man, especially in the playoffs. He's not the athletic freak people want in a PG these days, but it doesn't hinder him. If you're looking at his assist stats and find yourself unimpressed, remember that the Grizzlies run a lot of their offense through Gasol, who is an excellent passer. If Conley was more ball dominant I have no doubt he'd pile up assists. Conley is also a deadly three point shooter and a player who can attack the basket and finish with either hand from up to 15 feet away. Not a lot of guys can throw up a 10-15 foot shot with their weak arm and watch it fall through the basket more often than not.

 

There's a reason he got a crazy contract.

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

I can see the reason why someone may not be high on Conley. He isn't a splash player by any means, at least not on offense. But whatever he may lack in splash plays and overall explosiveness he makes up with consistency and great, elite PG defense. Defense is half the game and he (usually) excells at it.

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

9. Kyrie Irving

19.6 PPG/ 4.7 AST/ 3.0 TRB/ 1.1 STLs/ 2.3 TOs

19.9 PER/ 45% FG/ 32% 3P/ 49% eFG/ 54% TS

 

Why he’s in the top 10:

Irving starts the long list of scoring point guards who will make an appearance, and of all of them he’s probably the scariest when he’s on. One on one, Irving is one of the better scorers in the NBA. Incredible handles, very good under the basket, and ability to shoot off the dribble. What’s actually impressive about Kyrie is that he actually shoots better on 2’s off the dribble then he does in catch and shoot situations (48% compared to 43%) while attempting 5 more pullups a game then spot-up jumpers. When Irving is on his game on offense he can score with the absolute best players in the league, and he showed that in the finals. His assist numbers aren’t the prettiest but it’s important to remember not only that he plays with Lebron James, but also that he was on a minute restriction for the majority of the season. It was pretty clear that Irving was fighting health issues all season, and towards the end of the season and the playoffs, a lot of the issues that persisted during the regular season improved, and he looked like a completely different player. If I was a Cavs fan, assuming he stays healthy, I’d be very excited to see how he’ll look like next year with a full summer to actually improve and get better.

 

Why he isn’t higher:

Like many of the upcoming scoring point guards, Irving suffers greatly from inconsistencies. When he’s on, he’s on, but when he’s off or when he isn’t being an effective scorer, he’s hurting the Cavs, or isn’t contributing in any way. Irving showed that he can be a great offensive player, but he can’t be relied on to lead the team due to his questionable decision making, tendencies to overdribbling, and very questionable team defense. His field goal percentage (especially on catch and shoot situations) took a major dip, and he was shooting nearly 10% worse from the 3 during the regular season. His defense as well, while improved from the year prior is still questionable, especially defense where he was often left playing catch up on screen situations and overall lack of awareness put him in situations where he could easily be beat off the dribble. And while he’s still extremely young, his overall game has been extremely stagnant thus far into his NBA career, you look at his numbers across the board, and there isn’t any particular area that you can point to and say, “he’s improved there” since his first year in the league. This makes me question how much better he realistically will get.

 

8. Kemba Walker

21 PPG/ 5.2 AST/ 4.4 TRB/ 1.6 STLs/ 2.1

20.8 PER/ 43% FG/ 37% 3P/ 50% eFG/ 55% TS

 

Why he’s in the top 10:

Kemba is one of three guys making their debuts in my top 10 PG list, and he deserves it, his play last season was great, and made a strong case for the most improved player in the NBA. Walker went from shooting an awful 30% from the 3 to a very good 37% while attempting 2 more threes a game, making 48% of 3’s from the right corner, shot 4% better from within the 3 line, got to the free throw line at a greater clip, and made more free throws, leading to a far improved true shooting percentage. Take time to watch Kemba’s jumpers from two years ago, and from this past season and you see a completely different motion, which helped him greatly. The improved spacing from the Hornets also allowed for Kemba to operate more in the paint, and resulted in better results around the paint. All in all Walker improved his offensive rating by nearly 10 points, and what’s most impressive about the improvements is that it came with marginal increase in usage. When doing these rankings efficiency plays a huge role, and Walker improved to be one of the most efficient point guards in the NBA last season. Walker’s also a very smart defender, who’s able to get his hands into lane without compromising his position against his man.

 

Why he’s not higher:

In many ways this was a career year for Walker, and while he looked incredibly impressive there were still areas that give reasons to pause. Walker’s success seemed to be tied to a certain degree to that of Batum, a guy who I’ve argued for years to be one of the better more underrated small forwards and one of the best support players in the league. Batum’s ability to stretch the floor and operate as a ball handler/playmaker meant Walker had a lot less work to do. The reasons this is concerning is because of how much worse Walker looked when Batum was in the game, and bought to the front Walker’s issues when asked to lead the offense. He showed a lot of growth as a passer, but he's still a notch below some of the better passing guards in the league. It also highlights Walker’s struggles with consistency, consistencies that in the past prevented him from being an efficient offensive player.

 

7. John Wall

19.8 PPG/ 10.2 AST/ 4.9 TRB/ 1.9 STLs/ 4.1 TOs

19.8 PER/ 42% FG/ 35% 3P/ 47% eFG/ 51% TS

 

Why he’s in the top 10:

Wall continues to be one of the best passing guards in the NBA, which is impressive considering the injuries and turnovers that occurred on the team this past season. By litterally every metric Wall measures out among the best in the NBA, of the guards in this ranking he comes at 3rd in AST:TO ratio, 2nd among guards in hockey assists, 2nd among all guards in passes that turned into shots, 2nd in points created from passing. And he does it multiple ways, from driving and dishing, to finding his open teammates through set plays. He also greatly improved his three point shooting this past season while attempting more threes a game, as well as he improved his FT shooting, and for a guy who struggles with his jumper, seeing the jump in shooting from the outside is a positive. Defense was another are where Wall did pretty well as he held players to a lower FG% then just about all his teammates.

 

Why he’s not higher:

Uncharacteristically, while Wall’s averages increased from the outside, he shot worse (and in some places significantly worse) from the inside. Someone with Wall’s physical ability, strength, and body control should be excelling in the paint, especially in drive situations but last season he struggled compared to the year before. You keep waiting for Wall to put it together on offense as both a passer and a scorer, because if he ever gets that together there’s no doubt in my mind that he could push to be one of, if not best PGs in the league. His defense while wasn’t bad, or as bad as other PGs, was not up to his standards. A lot of that, as well as other issues with Wall this past season could probably be attributed to all the changes that occurred this past season with his roster, and how much responsibilities he had to handle. But Wall has shown the ability to be able to handle the pressure before.

 

[BwareDWare94 723]

Lowry above Wall? Thank you very much.

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

There aren't many PGs as polarizing as Lowry. I'll admit that. Lol.

[BwareDWare94 723]

There aren't many PGs as polarizing as Lowry. I'll admit that. Lol.

 

His peaks as a player are absolutely superstar level. When he's in a valley, he's backup quality lol. Luckily for him he's an all-star caliber player about 80% of the time, 10-15% superstar, 5-10% backup

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

6. Damian Lillard

​

25 PPG/ 6.8 AST/ 4.0 TRB/ .9 STLs/ 2.2 TOs

22 PER/ 42% FG/ 38% 3P/ 50% eFG/ 56% TS

 

Why he’s in the top 10:

Lillard is coming off what was the best season in his young career and arguably, statistically, one of the better seasons of any Trailblazer ever. This past season he hit career highs in points, assists, free throw attempts, and rates and getting to the line, and attempted, and made more threes at a higher percentage compared to any year prior. He finished off the season with the 4th best player efficiency rating of all PGs, and stepped up to the plate big time with far bigger responsibilities, meanwhile putting up some of his best performance against the best competitions. What was more interesting was how much he stepped his game up during the second half of the season after the All Star game where he looked much improved. The Trailblazers truly performed much better than anyone had expected them to, and it started with Damian Lillard and his improvements. And while he’s very inconsistent on defense, when Lillard is on the defensive side, he’s pretty good, especially being locked onto 1-on-1 situations.

 

Why he’s not higher:

Lillard still suffers from a lot of defensive inconsistencies, not like the year before where he was many times at a level slightly ahead of Harden, but still pretty bad. The most notable being his weakness in screen situations where he often gets abused. Many times watching him play you see him getting caught up in screens, not anticipating them, or seeing them coming, and taking bad angles after the fact. When dealing with all the explosive guards in the NBA, that’s extremely problematic, although it tends to be masked by the interior defense which was great for Portland this past year. Lillard also in general suffers from inconsistencies on offense, still. I wouldn’t classify him as a chucker any more, but he still takes too many shots at times, some not recommended, and it dug the Trailblazers into holes on many occasions. And while his assists numbers looked great, I’d argue it often came within the flow of the Portland offense that relies heavily on passing basketball to get the open man the ball, and when he was being relied on for his playmaking outside of those sets didn’t look all that good.

 

5. Isaiah Thomas​

22 PPG/ 6.2 AST/ 3.0 TRB/ 1.1 STLs/ 2.7 TOs

22 PER/ 43% FG/ 36% 3P/ 49% eFG/ 56% TS

 

Why he’s in the top 10:

It was honestly a toss up between Thomas and Lillard, both played great this season, and both put up big numbers on the offensive side of the ball. Thomas however did it more through getting to the line, and drawing more fouls relying on a very up-tempo offense (3rd in the NBA in pace) to force and draw a lot of contact. The reason I have him ahead of Lillard is because, at least on the offensive side of the ball, Thomas did more with less, having to rely on carrying a big load of the offense while getting inconsistent help from around him, and I consider Thomas at this point to be a scorer of higher efficiency. While his height may always limit how effective Thomas can be on defense, he also does a pretty decent job of playing the lane and coming away with steals while staying on his man, and you see more of an effort on screens.

 

Why he isn’t higher:

Despite me saying that Thomas is a more efficient scorer then Lillard, he still has ways to go from that stand point. His percentage on threes could be improved, and in my opinion, his jumper in general needs to improve. He showed a lot of promises as a passer as well, ranking in the top 10 among guards in hockey assists, potential assists and points his team scored off his assists, but when the team has to slow down the tempo and run more half court sets, his passing wasn’t quiet there. This could also be directly tied to the fact that the Celtics didn’t have much help for him on offense, but it’s a trend that was also there last year.

 

4. Kyle Lowry

​

22 PPG/ 6.4 AST/ 4.7 TRB/ 2.1 STLs/ 2.9 TOs

22.2 PER/ 43% FG/ 39% 3P/ 52% eFG/ 58% TS

 

Why he’s in the top 10:

Like the two before him, Lowry is coming off a season that was arguably his best to date. He continues to grow in his role as the man in charge in Toronto, and with the rise of Derozan has continued to put his stamp as one of the best guards in the league. He took, and made a lot of threes, and excelled especially at the pull up jumpers in transition and coming off the screen, making well over 50% of the threes he attempted from the right side (why don’t players shoot there more often?). And by every single metric available he was cemented as easily being one of the four best point guards in the NBA, coming in 3rd in defensive (RPM) impact behind only Chris Paul and Rubio, 4th in offensive impact behind the big three, and 4th in overall impact behind the big 3. His true shooting which speaks to his overall efficiency as a scorer was 4th among guards ahead of the likes of even Chris Paul. Lowry is also a great defender, generally ranking among the better guards in the league by most Synergy stats, from Iso situations, to spot up, to pick and roll, he’s always got his head in the game, gets his hands on a lot of passes and can be counted on to use his strength to play good defense on even small forwards in the NBA, that’s while exerting more energy on offense this year than ever before.

 

Why he’s not higher:

Beyond the fact that the players higher then him were just, better, there wasn’t too much to hate about Lowry’s game this past season. He showed some inconsistencies during the playoffs, but that comes with how much he had to handle, and the revolving door being Raptor players being hurt, etc. His assist to TO ratio could also stand to improve as last year there were times where he turned the ball over too much, but all in all, Lowry’s season was in large part the reason for the Raptors historic season/postseason.

 

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

Finishing part 1:

 

3. Russell Westbrook

​

23.5 PPG/ 10.4 AST/ 7.8 TRB/ 2/0 STLs/ 4.3 TOs

28 PER/ 45% FG/ 30% 3P/ 49% eFG/ 55% TS

 

Why he’s in the top 3:

Russell Westbrook continues to put up some of the most dominant stats of any player in the NBA, and this past season he looked a lot more improved as a passer. In the past I’ve criticized him for being a guy who gets a majority of his assists through driving and kicking, and while that still applies to certain extent, he also showed much improved playmaking ability this past season. This was Westbrook’s best season from a scoring efficiency perspective and a lot of that can be attributed to taking less jumpers in that midrange area and making more shots in the painted area (51% of his offense came from the paint, and he hit on 54% of them). He also clicked this past season with Durant better than any season prior averaging .94 points per possessions off the pick and roll with Durant (Durant being the pick man 73% of all pick and rolls involving Westbrook), and Durant shot 4% better on a pass coming from Westbrook then he did when creating his own shot. He finished in the top 5 among all NBA players in offensive win shares, top 3 in the NBA in overall win shares, and 2nd only to Steph Curry in box +/-, which continues to speak to the crazy amount of ways Westbrook contributes in team success. He’s also the most dominant rebounder among point guards, and it’s an area that he’s starting to really set himself apart on, averaging 7.8 rebounds on the highest rebounding rate of any PG, and averaging at the highest rate among all PGs on both the offensive and defensive side. When he’s on the top of his game, he makes an argument for being the best player in the league, and that’s coming from a huge Lebron stan. With KD leaving, everyone should brace themselves for what could be one of the greatest statistical seasons of all time.

 

Why he’s not higher:

The biggest reason he isn’t higher is because the two guys ahead of him are simply had either more impact this past season, or were just, better. The biggest issue for Westbrook right now is his defense, at least in my opinion. At the end of the day, most of the issues on that side of the ball, are self-inflicted issues. He’s far too reckless, often putting himself out of position by gambling, and ball watching, and getting caught up in screens for being too aggressive, and then there’s the negative affect that going after defensive rebounds as a perimeter player has on overall team defense. And some may argue that the issues with Westbrook is understandable considering how much energy he expands on the other side, but I disagree with this because a lot of this is simply mental. On offense, he still turns the ball over too much in my opinion, and could stand to take even less 3s, that’s a part of his game that may never be fixed, and I honestly feel like he’d be better served going the Dwyane Wade route of only attempting 3s when you absolutely have to.

 

2. Chris Paul

​

19.5 PPG/ 10.0 AST/ 4.2 TRB/ 2.1 STLs/ 2.6 TOs

26 PER/ 46% FG/ 37% 3P%/ 52% eFG/ 58% TS

 

Why he’s in the top 3:

Chris Paul is without a doubt the most complete guard in the NBA, and continues to impact the game at an incredible level. It’s not just the fact that Paul makes the Clippers offense go, that argument can be made for any starting guard in the league, and definitely applies to both Westbrook and Curry. The difference is that last season with Paul in the game, even with Griffin being out, the Clippers were the best offense in the NBA and only slightly worse than the Warriors who are having an historic season. With him on the bench the Clippers per 100 possessions are the worst team in the league. The Clippers have the third best overall net rating in the league with Paul in the game (behind GSW and SAS) and even their defense is far improved. What changed this season compared to years’ prior with the Clippers is the amount of responsibility Paul has taken up, which at the same time speaks to how effective he is normally, and how much more he was this past season. He was responsible for 53% of all of the Clipper’s assists, and relied on the Jordan pick and roll play to create a deadly duo. Teams have to respect his midrange shot so much, where he makes 46% of his shots and over 60% from the left side that it allows for him to pull at least one man sometimes two in pick and roll situations freeing up Jordan underneath, or shooters on the outside. He’s also took it to the paint more this past season where made over 56% of those points. And if his ability on the offensive side isn’t enough to convince you, consider the fact that Paul, the best floor general in the NBA also has a strong case for being the best defensive guard in the NBA.

 

Why he’s not higher:

Like with Westbrook, the biggest reason he isn’t higher is because the guy ahead of him simply had a better season then he did. There is also a difference between how Paul played in the first half of the season where he started off slow, and how he picked it up during the second half of the season and when Griffin went down. He has developed, and continues to for many people, a reputation of being one of the dirtiest players in the NBA, which while I don’t agree with, can see the reason some may feel that way. But honestly, there isn’t too much to not like about his play last season.

 

1. Stephen Curry

​

30 PPG/ 6.7 AST/ 5.4 TRB/ 2.1 STLs/ 3.3 TOs

31.5 PER/ 50% FG/ 45% 3P/ 63% eFG/ 67% TS

 

Why he’s the best:

As if there were any question, Steph is coming off the greatest scoring season of all time, and one of the greatest seasons of all time, period. This past year Curry was shooting better on contested jumpers then a vast majority of players were making on open jumpers. But he didn’t just score this past season on jumpers, he drove to the basket and finished at a better rate than any other guard in the NBA. In fact, looking at his shot chart, there was nowhere on the court that Curry was not deadly at, and this completely opened the offense up for the rest of his team. He’s also developed as a passer now, with another year of understanding how teams try to defend him, it allows for him to make better passes, making him a complete threat on that side of the ball. On the defensive side Steph will never be compared to a Jimmy Butler, but he has improved on that side to the point where he can hold his own pretty well. I could go on and on about the ways Steph was incredible this season, but it’d turn into a complete essay. I very much believe that he deserved to be the unanimous MVP this past season.

 

Where he could improve:

The only area of his game offensively where Steph could improve is his playmaking ability. Not to say that it isn’t very good to begin with, but in many situations where the Thunder had to set up half-court offense and the shot wasn’t there, Steph would sometimes look lost with the ball. He also turned it over too much. But Steph is the best player in the game right now, and there isn’t much to critique.

 

[blotsfan 2,112]

Enjoyed reading this list. Look forward to the other positions. I wonder who your #1 small forward will be...

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

Thank Blots, the shooting guards and small forwards list will probably be the most interesting. Lol.

[JetsFan4Life 542]

I'm pretty cool with this list, with some disagreements of course. I think Westbrook should slot into the #2 spot and if we're talking actual point guard and not just better player I would argue to flip him and Curry. I would personally put Lillard at 4 and bump Lowry and Thomas down a spot. I would move Kyrie up over Kemba as well.

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

Lillard over Lowry?? That's bold.