Ranking Kobe Bryant, Ramon Sessions in Western Conference's Top 5 Backcourts

Is it me, or does a large majority of the NBA's teams possess an All-Star-quality point guard?

When Rajon Rondo is argued as to whether or not he should be a top five point guard, you know there is a ridiculous amount of talent when it comes to floor generals in the NBA today. If you don't possess a point guard who could arguably be an All-Star, you're going to be left in the dust by the many teams who do have that type of point guard.

Shooting guards? There aren't too many of those at an elite level. You could throw names out like Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant, Manu Ginobili and Monta Ellis, but the talent level immediately drops off afterward. It seems all the guards coming out of college are so obsessed with having the ball in their hands that they decide to become point guards rather than give shooting guard a try.

Guards are extremely important to the game. They're the first line of defense at the top of the perimeter, responsible for facilitating the offense, making turnovers happen, creating shots for themselves and their teammates and usually being the one to hit the long-range shots.

Today we celebrate those players by ranking the Western Conference's top five backcourts.

Note: We rank the teamed based on their best shooting guard/point guard. You won't find a starter in certain instances because the player who comes off the bench is superior. That player is the one that is ranked.

5. Kevin Martin and Kyle Lowry

Have we forgotten about the Houston Rockets already?

I know Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady aren't on the team anymore, but can we at least give this team some sort of attention? The team is currently 28-25, fourth in the Southwest Division and eighth in the Western Conference overall. The Rockets are a game ahead of the ninth-place Utah Jazz.

More specifically, can we give some attention to the Rockets' vaunted backcourt duo of point guard Kyle Lowry and shooting guard Kevin Martin? These two have received little to no praise for what they've done with the Rockets this year, especially Lowry, and we're going to give them some support by proclaiming them as a top five backcourt in the West.

Let's not judge Kevin Martin too heavily on his statistics season. This isn't the same Martin we've come to know. The Kevin Martin I know averages at least 20 points per game and is nearly unguardable when he finds a shooting rhythm. Martin has averaged as much as 25 points per game and has converted on at least two three-pointers per game three times in his eight-year career.

Martin hasn't seemed to find his shot this year. He's averaging only 17 points per game (compared to last year's 24) on 41 percent shooting from the field and is only making 35 percent of his three-pointers. He's also averaging three boards and three assists, which is becoming more and more of a problem when he isn't scoring as he usually does.

Still, I wouldn't judge Martin too heavily on this season. The lockout has affected a number of players with jump-shooters appearing to be the most affected on account of not having training camp or enough practices to establish their rhythm. Martin could be another casualty of this, much like how Dirk Nowitzki was earlier this year.

Kyle Lowry, on the other hand, has been impressive—extremely impressive. We wondered why the Rockets allowed Aaron Brooks to walk and we now see why. The 25-year-old Lowry has been worlds better than Brooks was in his short time with the Rockets.

Lowry is averaging career highs across the boards. At 16 points, seven assists and five boards, Lowry has been one of the league's most underrated players and has quietly entered the realm of averaging at least 15-5-5. He's shooting 42 percent from the field and converting two three-pointers per game on 39 percent shooting.

4. Chris Paul and Chauncey Billups

Sadly, the first year of this strange experiment ended abruptly before it could truly get off the ground.

With an awkward twist in a seemingly harmless manner, Chauncey Billups saw his first season with the Los Angeles Clippers end in disappointment after tearing his Achilles tendon only 20 games into the season. It'll be the first time since the 1999-'00 season that Billups has played in fewer than 70 games and only the second time in a career that started in 1997.

This will be the third time. Billups is 35 years old, he'll be 36 by the start of next season, but has stated this injury will not force his retirement as he will return next year. That's a huge boost to the Clippers, who are truly missing the intangibles, fundamentals and perimeter shooting ability of the former NBA champion and Finals MVP.

Starting Billups at the shooting guard brought about skeptics and critics from all around. How on earth could a player who stands at 6'3", is 35 years old and has played at the point for the majority of their career suddenly make the transition over to shooting guard? Well, it's not as hard as you think, apparently.

Billups was averaging 15 points and four assists per before the season-ending injury. He was shooting a lowly 36 percent from the field, but he made up for it with more than two three-point conversions per at a 39 percent clip. Basically, Billups couldn't create his own shot but he had no trouble in nailing shots from beyond the perimeter, especially at the perfect time.

Alas, the team must now weather the storm with Randy Foye and Nick Young at the two.

At least they still have Chris Paul. Acquired in the deal that sent Eric Gordon, Al-Farouq Aminu and Chris Kaman to New Orleans, Paul is set to lead the Clippers to a rare winning season and only their second postseason appearance in the past decade. Finally surrounded by a quality roster, Paul is finally able to showcase the assets that has made him arguably the top floor general in the league.

Paul's averaging 20 points on 49 percent shooting, converting 38 percent of his three-pointers, dishing out nine assists, grabbing three rebounds and nabbing a league-high two steals per game. If Paul leads the league in steals per, it'll be the second consecutive season and fourth time in five years that he's led the league in that category.

These two are both extremely smart when it comes to leading an offense, but perhaps their greatest asset is their ability to hit shots in pressure situations. It's "pick your poison" defending these two in the waning moments of a game as both players can hit from the outside, with Paul being able to get to the rim whenever he feels like it.

3. Kobe Bryant and Ramon Sessions

The most recently constructed of these five backcourts, the duo of Kobe Bryant and Ramon Sessions have already earned the title of being recognized as one of the Western Conference's top guard combinations.

What a boost it is. Without Lamar Odom and any sort of consistent help off the bench, Derek Fisher's lack of production started to become prevalent and detrimental. When it was just Bryant, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum doing all the work, you would be led to believe the Los Angeles Lakers might actually want another starter that contributes.

Think the Miami Heat's Big Three with Mario Chalmers and Joel Anthony. Three guys doing everything on offense, one guy that's really good at defense and misses a bunch of shots, and another guy that can't play individual defense and inconsistently hits three-pointers.

Saying Ramon Sessions is only an upgrade from Derek Fisher would be like saying Nutella is only an upgrade from spitting on a sandwich and saying it was a topping. Sessions is an unbelievably significant upgrade for the Lakers and it's already showing as the former Cleveland Cavalier is providing a consistent boost that Fisher simply could not provide 48 minutes per night.

Sessions has shown signs in the past that he has the potential to become a starter on a quality team and it's finally showing as he joins his first contending team. In 10 games, six of which he started, the newly crowned starting point guard is averaging 14 points on 55 percent shooting from the field and 56 percent shooting from deep. He's also dishing out seven assists per.

As for Kobe Bryant, what more can be said? He's 33 years old with a bum finger and a torn ligament in his wrist, and he's still leading the league in scoring at 28 per.

He's not getting to the rim as well as he used to, still taking too many shots and has yet to truly utilize the Lakers' greatest advantages in Bynum and Gasol, but it doesn't matter to anyone since Kobe is scoring a lot and the Lakers are winning. He's still the most lethal player in the league and there's no stat that's going to tell me otherwise.

2. Russell Westbrook and James Harden

Russell Westbrook and James Harden might not form the best backcourt in the league at the moment, but I wouldn't past it them to be the best after another season or two playing together.

What these two hold over every other backcourt in this list is youth, potential and athleticism, which all seem to go hand in hand in hand. Westbrook and Harden have the athleticism of your average small forward and are extremely explosive when given an open lane.

Both players have thrown down some ferocious slams in their day with Westbrook getting the edge by way of a recent poster dunk on Chicago Bulls' center Omer Asik. Harden has had his fair share of unbelievable slams with his throwdown over J.J. Hickson being one of the NBA's top dunks last season.

These two sure are athletic, but what about every other aspect of the game? Well, they got most of that covered too.

Let's start out with the Oklahoma City Thunder sixth man. Harden may never live up to the expectations bestowed upon someone taken No. 3 in the draft. However, the Thunder don't play on utilizing Harden as your average third pick. They want him to be their sixth man. They love having him as a spark off the bench that can beat you in more ways than one.

Now in this third year, Harden is putting up the best numbers of his young career. He's averaging 17 points per game on 49 percent shooting while also dishing out four points and four boards per in 32 minutes of action off the bench. He's also recovered from an off year shooting from beyond the arc and is now converting two three-pointers per game at a 39 percent clip.

The year prior to picking up Harden in the draft, the Thunder picked up Russell Westbrook with the fourth pick. They used him as they would any fourth pick by inserting him into the starting lineup early on and allowing him to develop and form a chemistry with his teammates. He'd shoot less than 40 percent from the field but showed potential averaging 15 points, five assists and five boards per.

Three years later and he's arguably a top-five point guard. He's improved his scoring output yearly and is now averaging 25 points per game on 48 percent shooting. However, his assists per has dropped from eight per to less than six. Clearly he's making up for it with the excessive amount of points he's scoring.

I'd give it another year or two before we can say that this backcourt is truly the best in the West. Don't forget that these two players are just 23 and 22 years old.

Perhaps a championship or two or three could sway me.

1. Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili

Unfortunately for the San Antonio Spurs, and any NBA fan who loves watching good basketball, Manu Ginobili has been dealing with injuries for a second consecutive season.

The Spurs shooting guard has averaged 13 points, five assists and three boards per, while also shooting 52 percent from the field and 44 percent from deep. Impressive numbers, but only in 21 games as the Argentinian sensation has only recently come back to begin receiving significant minutes as the Spurs' sixth man.

Somehow, the Spurs are still at the top of their game and at the top of the Southwest Division. Ginobili has provided a boost with this seven-game winning streak they're on, yet he's only played a minor part in overall success of a team that should be well past the expiration date.

It hasn't been Tim Duncan aiding the Spurs to a 36-14 record, but rather Ginobili's backcourt teammate in point guard Tony Parker.

Flying under the radar—as usual—Parker is averaging 19 points per game to go along with a career-high eight assists per game as well as three boards. His percentages are down to 47 percent from the field and 26 percent from deep, but Parker's influence on this team has been immeasurable and he is the main reason why this team is a championship contender.

Since teaming up in 2002, Parker and Ginobili have won three NBA championships together. They have combined to form one of the most creative, crafty and dynamic duos in the game. Parker's ability to score inside as prolifically as your average center and Ginobili's ability to hit the three-ball and drive inside has allowed the Spurs to constantly have an advantage at the one and two.

The most important thing about these two is they know how to win. As I stated before, these two have three championships in the past decade and are two-thirds of one of the most successful cores in NBA history.

Not much has changed. Injuries are putting a damper on the twilight of Manu's career, but when healthy, Ginobili is still reminiscent of the player that would hit timely shot after timely shot at the NBA's largest stages.