NBA: Power-Ranking Point Guards Using Pitcher-Type Stats

NBA point guards are often floor leaders of their teams. I find them somewhat analogous to baseball pitchers.  As such, I've worked to develop a stat for point guards that mirrors a pitcher stat that combines elements of performance and victory: the quality start.  

My stat is predicated not only on the fact that point guards have a good game if they rack up a decent number of points or assists, but also that point guards are effective if they captain their teams to victory.

Out of these assumptions comes the stat "quality performance."  A point guard receives a quality performance if he scores 10 points and has five dishes in a victory.  A victory is pretty much the best single simplistic stat that accounts for not only playmaking, but also defense and turnovers.  

I had thought about requiring 30 or more minutes for a quality performance, but I have relented on that as a requirement, in part because, unlike in baseball, basketball players are pulled in blowouts and may not get the requisite 30 minutes in those games.

This is a stat that is helped by the number of games your team has won.

Here's how various point guard stack up in that stat.  Also included are each player's games, points and assists for the season.  Ties are broken by fewest games played.            

Player	G	PTS	AST	QP
Russell Westbrook, Thunder	82	1903	607	52
Tony Parker, Spurs	66	1341	499	44
Chris Paul, Clippers	70	1186	678	44
Deron Williams, Nets	78	1476	604	39
Stephen Curry, Warriors	78	1786	539	38
Ty Lawson, Nuggets	73	1216	501	37
Mike Conley, Grizzlies	80	1168	487	34
Jeff Teague, Hawks	80	1166	579	31
Jrue Holiday, 76ers	78	1383	625	30
Brandon Jennings, Bucks	80	1397	521	30
Jeremy Lin, Rockets	82	1095	497	27
Damien Lillard, Blazers	82	1562	531	26
John Wall, Wizards	49	906	373	22
George Hill, Pacers	76	1076	355	22
Greivis Vasquez, Hornets	78	1083	704	22
Raymond Felton, Knicks	68	948	374	20
Goran Dragic, Suns	77	1134	569	20
Darren Collison, Mavericks	81	972	415	17
Steve Nash, Lakers	50	636	333	16
Kemba Walker, Bobcats	82	1455	471	16
Mo Williams, Jazz	46	592	285	14
Rajon Rondo, Celtics	38	522	420	13
Jose Calderon, Raptors/Pistons	73	826	518	13
Nate Robinson, Bulls	82	1074	358	13
Kyrie Irving, Cavaliers	59	1325	350	12
Jameer Nelson, Magic	56	822	413	11
Ricky Rubio, Timberwolves	57	608	418	11
Kyle Lowry, Raptors	68	435	791	11
Isaiah Thomas, Kings	79	1100	316	11
Kirk Hinrich, Bulls	60	459	314	10
Brandon Knight, Pistons	75	999	303	10
Jason Kidd, Knicks	76	458	249	5
Mario Chalmers, Heat	77	666	273	5

A cursory look at this stat is that it roughly parallels a consensus ranking of the best point guards in the NBA this season.  Of particular note is that Russell Westbrook is ahead of Paul and Parker, largely on the strength of playing a dozen more games than either.

Also of note is that the top eight point guards in this stat are all still playing, i.e. their teams are in the playoffs.  Holiday and Lillard have the highest number of quality performances on a non-playoff team, despite finishing near the top in assists. Hornets point Greivis Vasquez was in the middle of the pack in terms of quality performances, though I doubt that anyone would seriously argue that Vasquez is one of the 10 best point guards in the NBA, in spite of his assist numbers.

This stat is actually good at weeding out bad point guards on good teams.  Of the 33 point guards I looked at, Mario Chalmers finished dead last in the stat, ironically tied with Jason Kidd.  The Suns' Goran Dragic had more quality performances than both point guards in Chicago's platoon replacement for the injured Derrick Rose.    

Also, for kicks, here are a few players who are not point guards who I expected to do well in this stat.  I threw in Gasol because he's leading all centers in assists, and I wanted to see how high a center might go with this stat.  

Player	G	PTS	AST	QP
LeBron James, Heat	76	2036	551	55
Kobe Bryant, Lakers	78	2133	469	33
Kevin Durant, Thunder	81	2280	374	26
Marc Gasol, Grizzlies	80	1127	318	19
Carmelo Anthony, Knicks	67	1920	171	4

To put it in perspective, that means LeBron would be the best point guard in the NBA if he was a point guard, making this yet another stat that proves LeBron's dominance.   Then again, he did lead all non-guards in assists.   

Kobe and KD have more quality performances than the majority of NBA points, but Carmelo Anthony has fewer quality performances than even Chalmers, largely due to the fact that he averages fewer than three assists a game.

Quality performances: The real way to find out who is a good point guard.

Advanced stats and game logs courtesy of Basketball-reference.com.