Where Have the Point Guards Gone?

Basketball is an ever-evolving sport. It’s this characteristic that has made the game as popular as it is today. It started with a peach basket, then there was a multi colored ball, players began to shoot further away, then shorts got longer and the game slowly morphed from a YMCA gym in Springfield to the global entity that it is today. Most of the evolution has been good. One of the simplest aspects of the game, the dunk, has become one of the most complex and intricate parts of the game. It was initially a way for taller players to make a high percentage shot. It was then deemed too dominate and banned at the collegiate level. Then the ABA gave it flare and made it popular. The dunk has grown into something that was unimaginable by the forefathers of the move. Terence Stansbury’s Statue of Liberty Dunk was ground breaking and revolutionary at the time it was performed. We now live in an era where Javale McGee can dunk three basketballs at once and lose the dunk contest.

The evolution of the game has stretched beyond moves the players perform and moved onto the players themselves. Early on the game was dominated by bruising back to the basket black holes; Centers and Power Forwards. Those same players have morphed into graceful seven foot Small Forwards. The infusion of international players has drastically changed the how the Center and Power Forward position is played. It appears that one of the most basic and original positions of the game have undergone an evolution of sorts; traditional Point Guards are no more.

This may sound a tad like the beginning to a high school essay but, Merriam-Webster Dictionary.com defines a Point Guard as, “a guard in basketball who is chiefly responsible for running the offense.” A guard in basketball who is chiefly responsible for running the offense. It is a brief, yet, accurate definition of what can be considered one of the most important positions in basketball. Nowhere in this definition does it state that the point guard should take upwards of thirty shots. While it isn’t stated in this definition, another key attribute for Point Guards is the ability to knock down jump shots from a distance at a high percentage.

	Min	FG	FGA	FG%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	REB	AST	STL	TO	Blk	PF	PTS
Player A	37.4	8.8	19.7	44.5	1.6	4.8	33.2	5.9	6.9	85.8	4.1	7.7	1	3.4	0.6	1.7	25
Player B	33.3	5.3	10.8	49.2	1.1	2.7	39.5	3	3.3	91.2	3.5	11.4	0.6	3.5	0.1	1.2	14.7
Player C	33.9	9	20	45.1	1.4	4.3	32.3	5.9	7.1	82.8	5.1	4.7	1.2	3	0.1	2.1	25.3

Above are the ’10-11 season stats for three NBA players. One is of a Shooting Guard, one is of one of today’s “modern” Point Guard and one is of a tradition Point Guard. Player A and Player C had very similar statistical seasons. In fact just about the only thing differentiating Player A and Player C is 3 assists per game. Both take the same amount of shots, free throw attempts, shoot similar percentages and score nearly identical points per game. Then there is Player B; takes half as many shots per game as Players A and C yet shoots nearly 50%, takes half as many 3 point field goals yet shoots nearly 40% and shoots half as many free throws yet shoots over 90%. Player B also averages almost 5 more assists per game than the other two players. This was also a bit of a down year statistically for Player B. Here’s where it gets real interesting, one of these players is the MVP of the league, one of these players missed the playoffs completely and one of these players got swept out of the playoffs. Player A is Derrick Rose, Player B is Steve Nash and Player C is Kobe Bryant. Rose and Bryant’s stats are extremely similar despite Kobe being a classic Shooting Guard in every aspect and Rose apparently being a Point Guard.

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	Min	FG	FGA	FG%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	REB	AST	STL	TO	Blk	PF	PTS
Player A	37.4	8.8	19.7	44.5	1.6	4.8	33.2	5.9	6.9	85.8	4.1	7.7	1	3.4	0.6	1.7	25
Player B	34.8	7.5	17	44.2	0.4	1.3	32.7	6.5	7.7	84.2	4.6	8.2	1.9	3.9	0.4	2.5	21.9

Another interesting comparison above. One of these players is an MVP while the other isn’t even the best player on their team. Player A is Rose again and Player B is Russell Westbrook. The New Age Point Guard has confused the game. How can just 3 PPG separate the player who was deemed Most Valuable from the player who is second banana on their team? This new style of Point Guard seems eerily similar to the shift to mobile Quarterbacks in the NFL after Michael Vick’s initial success. While mobile Quarterbacks and these aggressive athletic new Point Guards are entertaining to watch, are they really what’s best for the game?

The NBA is seeing a changing of the
guard at the Point Guard Position

In their respective team’s last games, Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook have combined to shoot 27-65 and hand out just 15 assists. Rose’s Bulls lost some he was dragged through the mud by Charles Barkley in the post game analysis despite Chris Webber’s valiant effort to back up Rose’s performance. Westbrook’s Thunder team beat Memphis so he was lauded for his big game. What goes unnoticed in Westbrook’s performance is that it took him 33 shots to score his 40 points while he handed out only 5 assists. Teammate Kevin Durant score just 5 points less while taking 13 fewer shots. How can a player who is supposed to be chiefly responsible for running the offense only acquire 5 assists while playing along side a player as hot as Durant?

The NBA has undergone a shift. The evolution of the game has turned the reigns over to the little guy. Prior to 2005, Bob Cousy, Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson were the only Point Guards to be named MVP. Since then, Nash has won twice and Rose became the fifth member of the Point Guard MVP club. While analysts continue to tell us that this is the best crop of young Point Guards the league has ever seen, I’m left to wonder if they are even Point Guards. Players like Rose, Westbrook, Rondo, Tyreke Evans and John Wall have all been crowned as the next generation of great Point Guards, yet all have one common knock on their game, they can’t knock down jump shots on a consistent basis. Do you think any one went under a screen on John Stockton or Steve Nash? If they did then they certainly paid for it. An aging Mike Bibby stands about 5 feet off of Rondo and almost dares him to shoot jumpers.

NBA Point Guards have suddenly turned into scoring threats and are being applauded for it. In years past this same attribute has been the demise of players considered tweeners. Jason Terry and Gilbert Arenas were constantly doubted from college to the pros, called Shooting Guards in Point Guard’s bodies. Each player even found most of there success after being moved to Shooting Guard. Allen Iverson is playing in Turkey because of the same style of play that just won Derrick Rose an MVP.  Bob Dylan sang that “Times, they are a changing” and that statement couldn’t be more true about the NBA. Defensive changes have opened the game up and allowed these Point Guards more freedom. Is this transformation of the Point Guard position good for the game? It has certainly made it more entertaining. One thing is for sure, when Dr. James A. Naismith tacked a peach basket up in a YMCA, I don’t think he ever envisioned that a 7ft German who does most of his damage from 20ft from the basketball and speedy players under 6’3 would be dominate forces in his game. The game has evolved and will continue to do so; the biggest question is what comes next?