Top 15 Point Guards in the NBA Today

During the Boston-Cleveland game the other night, the announcers debated on the top 5 point guards in the league today. It is a great subject to discuss, no doubt. There are SO many guys worthy of this list. In fact, when taking notes for this list I wrote down the guys that I thought could be in the top 10. Before I knew it… well… I had written 22 names. I would do a top 25 list, but you know I love hearing everybody whine that their PG isn’t on the list or aren’t quite as high as they like. I am sure I will hear it from you guys, especially on numbers 1-2. Let’s do work.


1. Deron Williams, Utah Jazz
Nope, not CP3. He is the Utah Jazz. He is what brought them back. Utah is known for their one-guards. John Stockton is one of the best points to ever convert an assist but I assure you, Williams will reach his fame. Deron is one of my favorite players today – behind Shaq. You cannot go wrong with picking Paul or Williams at this spot, but I am a firm believer that DW is just as good as Chris Paul is.
2009 Stats: 19 PPG, 11 APG, 40 wins

2. Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets
At the young age of 23, Paul is just one year younger than my #1 on this list. He led the USA team to the gold medal in Beijing. Just like Boozer is to Williams, Tyson Chandler and Paul have a very close relationship that has led to tons of hookups between the two. Chris Paul is having an amazing year this year, but I just think Williams is the better all-around player.
2009 Stats: 21 PPG, 11 APG, 39 wins

3. Devin Harris, New Jersey Nets
Where would Dallas be if they still had this kid? Instead they traded this kid for a different, aging, and soon-to-be washed up Kidd. I will tell you where they’d be. The Finals. Whoever made that trade needs to be killed if you ask me. Too harsh? Well, Harris is on his way to establishing a high-powered offense in NEW JERSEY. Yi Jianlian, Brook Lopez, Carter, and Devin have created such a strong bond, the Nets actually have something to look forward to. He is only getting better.
2009 Stats: 22 PPG, 7 APG, 27 wins

4. Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics
Rondo is an amazing young talent and has improved every season he was in the NBA. The Celtics have almost turned into a big 4 because of him. Boston would be good without Rondo, but they are great because of this guy. He is leading the Celts in assists, he hustles for every rebound, and if he can’t get it he just goes up and steals the ball. He is a Jason Kidd type of guy. He may never be the player who drops 30+ every game, but he is and will be the player that turns in a 15 point, 10 assist, and 10 rebound game.
2009 Stats: 12 PPG, 9 APG, 49 wins

5. Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs
Is this guy underrated or what? He has been brilliant this season and is the reason why the Spurs are still contending with that aging lineup. If you look at his stats, top to bottom, they look almost identical to Harris’. He has flirted with some minor injuries so far this year, but has still been able to lead his team to a #2 seed in the West so far. They have a huge game against Phoenix tonight where Shaq and Parker’s buddy Tim Duncan will square off.

6. Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns
Current hurt, but you cannot argue that he is a top 10 PG in this league.

7. Jason Kidd, Dallas Mavericks
Mr. Triple-Double is unfortunately on the decline, but still worthy of a 7 spot.

8. Chauncey Billups, Denver Nuggets
In front of his home-town crowd in Denver, Billups is trying to get them Nuggets into the postseason.

9. Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls
This guy is always going to be rising up this list until he reaches Paul and Williams. Really impressed me so far.

10. Baron Davis, Los Angeles Clippers
A new team, a new city, a new offense... He is contributing but do you expect them to actually win?

11. Mo Williams, Cleveland Cavaliers
I would love to put this guy higher on this list, but who do I move down?? He is the main reason why this year’s Cavs team is the best in the LeBron era.

12. Jose Calderon, Toronto Raptors
He is playing even better than his breakout year last season, and it is evident that he worked on shooting in the offseason.

13. Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
This guy is on my fantasy team and I LOVE him. He is just solid. Westbrook, Durant, and Green will make OK City something one day… soon.

14. Mike Bibby, Atlanta Hawks
Another guy, like Nash and Kidd, on the decline. He is no longer in the shooting role. He is the one who distributes to ball to Johnson, Horford, etc.

15. Andre Miller, Philadelphia 76ers
He is yet another young gun PG that is rising up this list very quickly. Iggy, Dalembert, and he are what seems to be a bright spot in the city of brotherly love.


Chris Paul, Mo Williams, Chauncey Billups, and Andre Miller fans… please don’t hate me.

--

Justin Hulsey

StLDieHard24@gmail.com

FANdemoniumsports.blogspot.com

NBA All-Stars: Who Got Snubbed?

The votes are in and the NBA All-Star reserves have been announced. Both the East and West rosters are set and all that is left is to play the game itself. I want to first begin by introducing the starters and reserves for each conference then go more in-depth with players unfairly left off the All-Star rosters.

-Eastern Conference-

Starters:

Guards- Dwayne Wade, Allen Iverson

Forwards- Lebron James, Kevin Garnett

Center- Dwight Howard

Reserves:

Guards- Joe Johnson, Devin Harris, Jameer Nelson

Forwards- Paul Pierce, Danny Granger, Rashard Lewis

Center- Chris Bosh

-Western Conference-

Starters:

Guards- Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul

Forwards- Amare Stoudemire, Tim Duncan

Center- Yao Ming

Reserves:

Guards- Chauncey Billups, Tony Parker, Brandon Roy
Forwards- Dirk Nowitzki, David West, Pau Gasol
Center- Shaquille O' Neal

When I saw the list of reserves for this year's All-Star game, I was pleasantly surprised to see that all the players deserving of a spot on the roster got one. All but one or two that is.

I have a problem with the fact that Shaquille O' Neal made it on the team as a reserve for the West instead of Al Jefferson. Jefferson (22.7 ppg, 10.7 rpg, 1.6 bpg) has far better numbers than O' Neal (18.2 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 1.6 ppg) and is a far better player and athlete at this point in each man's career. The only reason that The Big Aristotle is a reserve is because the Suns are on a bigger national stage than the lowly Timberwolves. That being said, I do not believe that Jefferson should be punished for being on a terrible team with a poor television market. Jefferson deserves the spot over Shaq and I believe the coaches made a huge mistake.

Another minor problem that I see is in the out West once again. New Orleans Hornets forward David West made the All-Star squad for a second year in a row this year. Now I know that over the past few seasons he has made a huge impact in turning his team around but there is one player that has better numbers and is the best player on his own team, Kevin Durant. The Oklahoma City Thunder turn to Durant every night to provide offense and leadership, something that West does not have to focus on doing night in and night out. Durant (24.8 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 2.7 apg) has better overall number that West (20 ppg, 7.1 rpg) and is a more consistent performer. Some will argue that Durant will get to be at All-Star weekend in the Rookie-Sophomore game but that is far below where he deserves to be. KD is an All-Star and just like Jefferson above, he suffers from a small market on the national level.

Make no mistake, the teams were picked better than most years, but to not have Durant and Jefferson in there is a joke.

Cory Guinn

cryguinn@yahoo.com

www.thejaystick.blogspot.com General Sports Writer

It's MVP, not POY

Man, what a day of basketball yesterday, huh? I mean, Christmas basketball is always sweet, but we had the stars out for show. There were some nail-biting games, most of them being playoff(or Final)-previews. We had everything from a game where one team only scored 30 points in each half, to a buzzer-beating three to win the game, to last year’s NBA Finals matchup.

I got to thinking during the Lakers-Celtics game, and starting writing down some notes about the MVP of the league this year. I got to see a good portion of the candidates last night: Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, DAwight Howard, Amar’e Stoudemire, Shaq?, LeBron James, Brandon Roy. Although most of the candidates were there some did not have a game yesterday… namely, Dwayne Wade who could be a main contender till the end.

Those are the possibilities for MVP this season, unless someone rises from the mist. It is going to be another close race; there is not one clear-cut winner. Last year it was a two-man race with CP3 and Kobe. However, we will be lucky to see that this year. Different from last year, we are going to see likely a four-man race. The front-runners in my mind are Chris Paul, Dwayne Wade, Kobe, and LeBron James. Don’t get me wrong, there very well could be a guy that ups his game and gets in the mix because we aren’t even midway, but I see it as these are the guys to beat. If you want me to break it down even more for you, I will. I, personally, think that this season’s race will come down to two men… the two best players in the world. Kobe vs. LeBron.

There was an interview with Kobe and Magic Johnson last night, and I found something very interesting in it. The magic Johnson asked Bryant when he was going to be ready to hand the torch off to LeBron as being the face of the league and best player. He noted that Larry Bird and he handed it down to Michael Jordan. MJ then gave it to Kobe. They were wondering when the time would come and we would see the Kobe-to-LeBron exchange. Well, if you ask me, when LeBron 1) wins the MVP award or 2) wins the Championship (likely same season)… that basically means that LeBron is the main man. Whether Kobe is ready or not. When one of those two things happens, that means that Kobe is forced to pass the torch, in my opinion. By the way, Kobe said that he will pass it on when he retires. It’s going to be earlier than that my friend. To view the entire interview, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzvVhV8frY8.

Back to the MVP discussion. One thing that I have always kept in mind when awarding a player is what the abbreviations stand for. MOST **VALUABLE** PLAYER. Keyword is “valuable”. It is not POY, Player of the Year. That means, stats do not mean much. It means it is not what a player does for himself and the box score, but what he does for his respective team. I think the phrase “team players” needs to be brought into the debate. What a player does to make the team better. A player’s team may suck but he averages 35 points. Well in that case, I don’t think he should even be in the race.

There has been people that think the MVP should go to the most valuable player of the team that wins the entire thing. Crazy or not, I don’t think that’s a half-baked idea.

Which team, in your mind, would be more screwed with out their star? Miami Heat? No, they have Marion and Beasley. Los Angeles? Nah, they have an entire team full of gunners (Gasol, Odom, etc). Well what about the Cleveland Cavs? Umm... let’s think… Who else do they have? Well… nobody. BINGO.

LeBron James is all that the Cavaliers have, and without him would they be anywhere? Without Kobe and Dwayne, their teams can still compete. Cleveland cannot compete without LeBron. He is the most valuable player, to his team, in the league.

James is tearing the league up; he looks like he is back in high school to be honest. He is averaging 27 points per game, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists per. Those are, without a doubt, the best overall numbers his career has seen. But the big stat, that less and less people look at, is the 22-4. 22-4 and right behind the Boston Celtics. In the past, LeBron has been amazing but his team fizzles. This is the best group he has been with and he is playing at his prime. Well, I shouldn’t say that… Is there more in the tank? Have we seen his best?

‘Bron deserves it not just because of individual performance, but because of leadership. He is a team player; he is the most valuable player. Savor it Kobe, because the time is nearing.


As always, I urge you to leave your thoughts on this post in the comment section below. I really appreciate your responses.

Justin Hulsey
StLDieHard24@gmail.com
www.thejaystick.blogspot.com
www.collegesports-fans.com Mizzou/SLU Correspondent