Top 5 Point Guards Capable of Delivering a Championship in 2015
Among a plethora of exceptionally talented point guards in this year's NBA playoffs, only the elite few—Stephen Curry, Chris Paul and John Wall—possess the ability to carry their respective teams through the arduous gauntlet that is the postseason.
No longer are championship aspirations placed on the shoulders of physical, dominant big men. Now, they're resting on small, athletic guards responsible for putting their teams in optimal scoring positions.
Having the luxury of a top-10 point guard is like having a franchise quarterback in the NFL or a world-class goalie in the NHL. No other position in basketball has more of an influence on the game's outcome than that of a point guard.
How else can you explain that half of the top 10 players in win shares this season play the point? Or that 70 percent of the top 10 players in offensive box plus-minus are point guards?
Win shares, plus-minus rating, player efficiency, points and assists were the primary factors we considered when compiling our list.
The last attribute was leadership. A player's ability to get a steal or galvanize his troops is what separates the good from the great and a win from a loss.
With that said, here's a look at the top five point guards capable of delivering a championship in 2015.
Honorable Mentions
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Before we begin our list, we had to give a shout-out to those who just missed the cut.
Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs
Coming off an absolute drubbing of the Miami Heat in last year's finals, Tony Parker was poised to rejoin the pantheon of elite guards in 2014.
A combination of attrition and injuries derailed those ambitions. He finished 2014-15 averaging a prosaic 14.4 points—his fewest since 2003—and a meager 4.9 assists. Parker's nagging hamstring clearly played a role in his production—or lack thereof.
It's worth noting that he averaged almost six minutes less in 2014-15 when compared to his career average (32.4). Still, he shot 48 percent from the field and a career-best 42 percent from the three.
If he remains moderately healthy—he injured his Achilles in Tuesday's win over the Clippers—we could be seeing San Antonio in the finals for a third straight year.
Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers
When it comes to scoring, Damian Lillard can hang with the best of them. Whether it's finding his own shot or creating for his teammates, no other player at the 1 blends offense as seamlessly as the former Weber State standout.
Not to mention all of the clutch, game-winning shots he’s made in his brief career, in what Blazers fans now refer to as "Lillard Time."
In response to a question regarding his 'edge,' Lillard told Grantland’s Kirk Goldsberry:
"The people I work out with in the summer would always push me harder at the end of the workouts. They say, finish strong, kill it. The term they would use is 'yellow tape.' You know, when it's a homicide, they bring the yellow tape out? I embraced that. At the end of games I enjoy that part. I have a yellow-tape mentality. Finish hard. Kill 'em off.
"
Many teams have seen that tape far too often, so why isn't the two-time All-Star and former rookie of the year ranked higher?
Because he lacks the defensive prowess to shut down opposing floor generals.
Sure, his defensive win shares have climbed incrementally year to year, but considering the vast array of talent left at the point guard position in the Western Conference, it's easy to see why Lillard can’t be trusted.
Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls
Had the former MVP stayed healthy this season, this list could look completely different. Unfortunately for Derrick Rose, another devastating knee injury sidelined him for most of the 2014-15 season.
No one expected him to return during the playoffs, let alone play the way he has.
In the postseason, Rose is averaging 24 points, eight assists and four rebounds. But it's not just the numbers that are turning heads—it's the way he's getting them.
Rose looks as aggressive as he did during his MVP campaign in 2010-11. He's driving the lane, inviting contact and finishing under the rim.
If he keeps playing like the old D-Rose, the Bulls have to be considered a legitimate dark horse moving forward.
5. Mike Conley Jr., Memphis Grizzlies
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"Underrated," "overlooked" and "marginalized" were some of the words most commonly associated with the league's best-kept secret.
Perhaps the biggest reason why Mike Conley Jr. tops our list is that he plays under the enormous shadows of teammates Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. The twin towers are undoubtedly the focal point of Memphis' offense.
But using stats and metrics to determine Conley's value is as useless as trying to understand how our universe works through astrology alone.
He can read just about any defense thrown his way, guard the best of them, facilitate and score. His versatility and dexterity make him the Swiss army knife of the league—plus, he's ambidextrous.
Curry scores and Paul passes, but Conley does it all.
4. Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers
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The arrival of LeBron James would curb anyone's production, yet Kyrie Irving is having a career year.
He finished fourth in player efficiency rating (21.5) among point guards, averaging 21.7 points and 5.2 assists per game.
Even with the addition of James, Irving's offensive output hasn't tapered off. If anything, LeBron's return has given the Cavaliers two legit No. 1 options—helping Irving expand his game off the ball.
But knocking down jumpers and finishing in the paint can only take you so far in this league.
Irving's Achilles' heel is still on the defensive side. He ranks near the bottom in defensive real plus-minus among point guards with a minus-0.60 rating.
In order to climb the point-man hierarchy, he'll need to improve his ability to guard the opposition and develop more as a leader.
Having James on his team won’t hurt.
3. John Wall, Washington Wizards
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Arguably the fastest guard in the league, John Wall is one of the best defenders at his position. His freakishly athletic 6'4" frame gives him the ability to stretch his hands into passing lanes, creating disruption for opposing offenses.
In today's non-hand-check era, however, that's not enough. Point guards are required to do a lot more chasing. Few have the energy to maintain such a rabid pace for a whole game—let alone a series.
Needless to say, Wall is among the few.
"Playing in the playoffs last year, I just got more committed, knowing that every possession matters," Wall told The Washington Post's Jorge Castillo. "And then I was like, 'Why not take it to the regular season?'"
He finished second in defensive real plus-minus among point guards at plus-1.86, trailing only Ricky Rubio (plus-2.35), who played 57 fewer games.
That's a monumental step forward from Wall's defensive real plus-minus rating of minus-0.44 last season, which ranked 26th among point guards.
On the offensive side, he posted a career best in assists per game (10.0) and field-goal attempts (44.5).
His biggest shortcoming is still his jump shot, though. The inability to spread the floor is one of the primary reasons he wasn't ranked higher.
If he improves there, Paul Pierce's assessment of Wall as the league's best point guard might be valid.
2. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
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Few things are certain in life: death, taxes and Stephen Curry winning MVP. If Benjamin Franklin were still alive, he'd agree with me on this one.
No player in the league strikes more fear in opposing defenses than Curry.
Not only is he absolutely lethal from the three—shooting a remarkable 44 percent—but he's also developed into one of the best finishers in the game.
He finished second in player efficiency rating among point guards (28.06) and broke his previous record for most threes made in a season with 286.
More impressively, Curry's evolved into one of the best defenders at his position. He posted a career-high 2.0 steals per game and ranked fifth among point guards in defensive real plus-minus.
"He's a guy who competes on both sides of the basketball," former Warriors coach Mark Jackson told the Bay Area News Group. "He has pride on both ends of the floor. That's part of the MVP discussion. He's not just a guy who plays on the offensive end. He deserves a lot of credit."
The only fault in Curry’s otherwise immaculate portfolio is his inability to lead his team past the Western Conference semifinals.
This year, he'll look to remedy that blemish.
1. Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers
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After 10 years of dominance, Chris Paul is still king of the castle.
You might not see him in the highlight reels as much as, say, Curry or Russell Westbrook—and he certainly won't win MVP this year—but CP3 is having one of the best seasons of his storied career.
A walking double-double (19.1 points and 10.2 assists), Paul finished third in player efficiency rating among qualified point guards. Both players in front of him—Curry and Westbrook—failed to play in all 82 regular-season games, and both had a higher turnover ratio than Paul.
Boston Celtics insider A. Sherrod Blakeley pointed out that only two other players in history averaged at least 18 points and 10 assists per game more than four times in their careers: Magic Johnson (seven) and Oscar Robertson (five).
Pretty good company.
Paul also led the league in assists (838) and offensive win shares (12.9), and he finished second in steals (156) and third in offensive box plus-minus. He was the only point man to finish in the top 10 in offensive rating with 125.6 (Curry finished 11th with 121.9).
Perhaps the reason his name isn't being thrown around the MVP conversation is because we're used to Paul dominating night in and night out.
"I just think CP is taken for granted," Clippers coach Doc Rivers told the Los Angeles Times’ Melissa Rohlin. "He should take that as a compliment, really. He's really good and he's very consistent at being really good. I think we just kind of take it for granted."
But the thing that separates him from Curry, Wall and the others is his leadership. No other point man executes and manages late-game situations as well as CP.
Whether it's knocking down a jumper, finding an open man or taking a charge, Paul does whatever his team needs.
In today's star-centric league, it's that leadership that puts him in rare air.
