LeBron is a shoot first player. You don't score as many points as that guy has without taking a lot of shots. Just because he is a very willing passer doesn't mean shooting isn't what he does the most and first.
Every team needs a dominant ball handler. Doesn't have to be the PG. But you need a wing at least. Only Duncan and Hakeem won without that dominant wing/guard.
I'm actually starting to like Lin more and more. He still drives me crazy because he can play so good then play absolutely terrible the next game. He's like a roller coaster. But, Im ok with that for now. He definitely has the potential to be a nice point guard so I say let him grow with the rest of the team.
Its not about how dominant they are but how well they control the game...ALL of those guys listed had good heads on their shoulders and were mature and make very few mistakes.
That makes sense... other than the two Heat PG's... White Chocolate and Chalmers definitely don't fit that description, but all the others do.
This. People get too hung up on what labels. You want someone to be the dominant ball-handler and create easy looks for other players. Typically we expect that to be the 'PG' who is generally around 6'0-6'3. Players like MJ, Kobe and Lebron have been the play-maker for their respective teams, while the 6'0-6'3 players on their team have been relegated to more marginalised roles. Basically you want a very talented perimeter scorer who can handle the ball and run an offense and the bigger & faster he is the better. That's why Magic, MJ, Kobe and Lebron have been so successful while Stockton, Nash, CP3 haven't been. Gross generalisation sure but you get the idea. In the NBA size, height & athleticism is extremely important.
Drexler was good . So was cassell And maxwell And Kenny smith. They knew how to get the big man the ball and when to shoot and create. They knew he was the main man and adjusted accordingly. They didn't need a dominant pg, just smart ones who make open shots and don't turn the ball over
Winning the Finals isn't an indicator of the importance of a point guard. The team with the most dominant player usually wins, regardless of position, and the best player in the league isn't usually a point guard. Probably not since Magic.
Exactly. Look at the teams that were in the Finals and the best players. Kobe, Jordan, Hakeem, Lebron, Duncan, etc. Basically the team that has the best or arguably the best player in the league will win. There are a few exceptions (Pistons with Billups), but it's extremely rare in the NBA. When you think of the most dominant players in the NBA from the last 20+ years you think of guys it's a very short list of a few players. Those teams that had those guys... Bird, Magic, Jordan, Hakeem, Lebron, Shaq, Kobe, Duncan were the teams that won.
Important, not imperative. Wasn't as important in years past when you had dominant 4s and 5s, but the league has drastically changed.
When you have a ball-dominating wing player, the PG is not really a PG. Bringing the ball up, passing it to the wing player and taking spot up shots is not playing PG. There were not a lot of great PGs in the 90s and early 00s (after the Magic/Isiah era). In the past 5 years or so, however, a lot of talented PGs have come out. We'll see what happens when this crop mature. Chris Paul could be the first elite PG since Isiah Thomas who wins a ring, although I really hope he doesn't.
This. Just give me a dominant anything. There aren't too many dominant PGs since probably Magic.... I think the Bulls can win with a dominant PG, if Rose eventually returns at full strength.
This is so not true. He's shooting over 50% this year averaging about 18 attempts per game. Compare that to someone like Kobe who one year neared 30 attempts per game at 27. LeBron's highest average attempts per season has only peaked at 23 and that was only one season when he was on a horrible Cavs team in '05. This guy is an efficient scorer as well as a willing passer compared to someone like Kobe a true shoot first wing player. You really hate LeBron dontcha?
How is it not true? Lebron averages 20 shots per game for his career. He averages more shots per game than Durant and Harden right now (ft attempts factor in). Guys like Magic, Nash, Stockton, and CP3 are guys that are/were not shoot first players. Nash averages 10 shots per game, Magic 13, Stockton 9, Paul 13. Those guys were looking for others before anything else and only shot when they had to. Why you feel the need to say that a guy that has averaged 20 shots per game is not a shoot first player is beyond me.
Both these quotes are kinda what I was getting at, but maybe didn't articulate it the right way in OP. I should've added that if you have a max-salary PG, that probably means you don't have enough to get that dominant wing(s)/big as well. I think the Thunder made an awful decision in keeping Westbrook over Harden (but good for Rockets lol). They could've plugged a decent PG next to KD/Harden/Ibaka and been much more effective IMO. Clippers are in the same boat with CP3. All they really have next to him is Blake, and he can't handle the ball/create, nor is he anywhere near the level of the great bigs listed above, which is why I never consider them a true contender. Also, in the playoffs, it seems like great PG's can be slowed down with good solid team defense.
True, but he is their pg. Can't really deny that. Wade is more of a pg than Chalmers as well. Chalmers is just a short spot up shooter.
