Best Five Point Guards Of The 2009-2010 Season

Point Guards

1. Deron Williams

This year Deron Williams distanced himself from the rest of the pack, posting 18.7 PPG and 10.5 APG Williams carried his Jazz to a 53-29 record. Coming into this season the general consensus was that Williams and Chris Paul were the two best point guards in the league. It is possible that if Paul didn't have an injury plagued season he would be sitting atop this chart, but for now Williams holds the title. The game that really sold me was his performance against the Bulls on March 9th. 28 points (11-15 fg) 17 assists and 1 turnover?! That's just not fair. He had a 19 assist game later that month but that game was against the Warriors. Big numbers mean much more when they come against a good team. Williams is one of those players whose stats don't tell the full story. Despite the great statistical season that Carlos Boozer is having, it's Williams who's the heart and soul of that team. Numbers don't make a good player great and Williams is a perfect example of that. Last year I would have said Chris Paul was the best PG in the league because he took a pretty bad team to the playoffs. Last year Williams' numbers were better than they were this year. The difference is that this year Williams is playing more like a Chauncey Billups, only better. Williams now realizes that being the floor general is better for the team than trying to do everything alone. That's something all young point guards eventually need to learn.

2. Derrick Rose

If you're a basketball fan pay attention to the Chicago Bulls. Since Rose's early season ankle injury recovered the second year guard out of Memphis emerged as a legitimate superstar in this league. Rose, almost singlehandedly, took his Bulls to the playoffs as major components of the team were constantly coming in and out of the lineup due to injury. I felt that Rose was in the conversation for the second best point guard in the league for a long time. People finally started accepting it around the all star break when he became the first Bulls all star since Michael Jordan in 1998. The icing on the cake was when Rose promised that the Bulls would defy the odds and beat out the Raptors for the eighth and final playoff spot. That run was highlighted by a 39 point masterpiece against Rajon Rondo and the Celtics in the second to last game of the season. As Rose continued to show his dominance in the second half of the season the Rose vs. Rondo debates were starting to come to a close. Once Rose absolutely torched Rondo on national television, the verdict was in.

3. Rajon Rondo

Rajon Rondo's emergence as a premier point guard started in the 2008 playoffs. In the big 3's first season together the question was whether or not the Celtics could win a championship with Rondo running the team. Rondo's defensive superiority started to surface in the 2008 finals against the Los Angeles Lakers. On the world's biggest stage Rondo hounded the Lakers' bigs nonstop. In the deciding game 6 Rondo had 4 steals in the Celtics' 131-92 rout. That was two seasons ago and Rondo has matured into a great point guard. The main reason why he's third on the list is his inability to be a prolific scorer as well as his inability to take over late in games. Both Rose and Williams can take over in the last 5 minutes, Rondo not so much.

4. Steve Nash

At 36 years old Steve Nash is still running up and down with the best of them. Nash guided his Suns back to the playoffs this season in the midst of all kinds of trade rumors involving nearly everyone on his team. Nash is no longer the most valuable player in this league but he's still by far the best passer. This guy throws passes that make your head spin in disbelief and he's been doing it for over a decade. Leading his Suns all the way to the Western Conference Finals is a commendable achievement. It is unknown what the future holds for Nash but it's safe to say he's had a legendary career, the only thing missing is a ring.

5. Chris Paul

The primary reason why Paul isn't higher up on this list is because of his injury plagued season. He had some games where he played like the CP3 we all now and love but there were many games where Paul just didn't seem like himself. I don't know if the emergence of Darren Collison made him question his job security (I doubt it) or not but something was definitely wrong with him both mentally physically. In all likelihood it was probably that Paul was scared to death of being re-injured as that is the common mindset of a player coming back from injury. This list is not of the best point guards of the 2009-2010 season, it's a list of the best point guards in the league as of right now. And as of now Chris Paul is the fifth best point guard.

Top 5 Fantasy Point Guards

The fantasy basketball season is right around the corner and there are a few hazards to be weary of. For instance, make sure you're picking players who will bring in big numbers, not necessarily win games. I will give you my top 5 point guards to take in this year's fantasy games. When reading this post keep in mind that the fantasy game that I'm guiding you through is the Sportingnews Ultimate Salary Cap Challenge. In this particular fantasy game you are given a 35 million dollar salary cap. You need 2 guards, 2 forwards, a center, and a sixth man.

1. Chris Paul (NO)

Estimated cost: 11.6 Million $

CP3 will likely cost you a decent chunk of your salary so be prepared to bargain hunt for the rest of your draft. That being said, Paul is the most productive point guard in the league. Last season Paul led all point guards in both points (22.8 PPG) and in assists (11 APG). More likely than not Paul's numbers will increase this season as they have for the past 3 years. With the addition of center Emeka Okafor (in exchange for Tyson Chandler), Paul will most likely tally at least 1 or 2 more assists per game.

2. Derrick Rose (CHI)

Estimated cost: 9.8 million $

It will be very interesting to see what Rose is priced at this season, it will either be very high based on his potential, or very low based on his numbers last season. It will probably be somewhere in the middle. If it is below 10 million get him. Expect Rose to far surpass his rookie numbers of 16.8 PPG and 6.3 APG. My prediction is that Rose and Paul will be the top two in PPG and APG for point guards. Be very careful with Rose, with him turnovers seem to come in bunches. If you see that he had a 5 turnover game, sell him, and buy him back 2-3 games later.

3. Deron Williams (UTA)

Estimated cost: 10.4 Million $

Deron Williams is on par with Rose and Paul. It pretty much just comes down to which player you like better, although Williams and Paul will almost definitely be more expensive than Rose. Williams' numbers were just behind Paul's last season (20.2 PPG, 10.8 APG) , those numbers will for the most part stay where they are. Keep in mind that Williams led all point guards in turnovers last season (4.2 per game). Much like Rose, monitor his assist/turnover ratio as often as possible.

4. Rajon Rondo (BOS)

Estimated cost: 9.0 Million $

Rondo's numbers have been consistently jumping throughout the first 3 years of his young and promising career, that pattern won't end anytime soon. With scoring options all around him, expect Rondo to make the jump into double digit assists this season. Last season Rondo's numbers were 11.9 PPG, and 8.2 APG, nothing special. However after the 2009 playoffs I expect Rondo to soar into the point guard spotlight. Rondo has a tendency to play to the level of his opponent. Sometimes that can be a great thing, but most of the time it holds him back. For instance in the first round of the 09' playoffs (against Derrick Rose), Rondo nearly averaged a triple double. But in the next round, when he was put up against an inferior point guard, his numbers dipped. Rondo is an excellent player to take if you're planning on breaking the bank over someone like LeBron James.

5. Tony Parker (SAS)

Estimated cost: 8.7 Million $

The Spurs had an unusual year last year as Parker, Ginobli, and Duncan all missed games due to injury. Now that all three are healthy at the same time Parker will have many weapons in his arsenal. With his veteran bench and an imported Richard Jefferson expect Parker's APG to skyrocket, somewhere in the 11-13 range. The reason why he's at number 5 is because as his APG goes up, his PPG will go down drastically. I predict his numbers this season to be: 14 PPG, 10.5 APG (ballpark numbers).

Is Rose Ready to Step Up into the NBA Elite?

Chicago Bulls' guard Derrick Rose did not disappoint in his rookie season but now, after losing Ben Gordon to the Pistons, the Bulls will be expecting Rose to be their go to guy on offense.

In his rookie season Derrick Rose scored 16.8 PPG, while dishing out 6.3 APG. This year I predict that Rose will score anywhere from 20-25 PPG and 7.5-10 APG. The main reason for this spike in numbers, along with the fact that he has a year of experience, is the loss of Ben Gordon. With Gordon out of the picture Rose will definitely be taking more shots and as a result will get to the line more often. It has been well documented this offseason that Rose is working on his jumpshot and extending his range to the three point line, which makes him that much more dangerous to other teams.

Many (including me) envision that Rose will step up into the NBA's Mt. Olympus of point guards sometime in the next 1-2 seasons, this is the elite group which includes Chris Paul, Deron Willaims, Tony Parker, and Chauncey Billups. But the question that everyone wants to know is when, when will Rose step up and make the Bulls a dangerous team again. What Rose has to work on the most if he wants that to happen is his assist to turnover ratio. In the playoffs every possession is important, he can't be turning the ball over 5 times a game like he did in last season's first round bout with the Celtics. 

Ask yourself this question, if you were the Bulls and you could trade Rose for any other point guard in the league who would it be, Chis Paul immediately comes to mind but consider this: Rose is a Chicago native and he would be more likely (than Paul) to express loyalty to the Bulls when his contract is up. I wouldn't trade him for anybody, the Chicago Bulls have a real gem in Rose, I strongly believe that Rose is going to be a top 1-2 point guard in the league by the time this season ends, whenever it ends. Rose's ability to score makes him so much more dangerous because teams are going to be forced to double team him which will give the green light to Hinrich, Deng, and Salmons to knock down some shots. 

Derrick Rose is a young player with the sky as his limit, don't be surprised to see Rose in the MVP voting at the end of the season. He is ready to take the NBA by storm.