Ric Bucher thinks Dwill is the best pg because...

[Go Lakers]

I agree Williams is the best point guard, however that is a terrible argument by Bucher.

Okafor is an average center, West is good but Milsap is better IMO. Jefferson when healthy is as good a center with the exception of Howard and maybe a healthy Yao.

Williams is the better player because he's more complete.

He is a better rebounder, just as good a scorer, much better defender, and a better closer IMO.

 

[Jazzfannut83]

Funny tweet back and forth between Bill Simmons and Bucher...

sportsguy33
My question: How many more pro-Deron columns before they let you back in Utah? RT @RicBucher About to take my talents to an ESPN chat room.

RicBucher
@sportsguy33 to answer the bigger question: i'll keep beating the deron williams' drum til your ilk grasp why he's better than CP3.

 

[dantheman]

Say what you want, but one thing I know for sure is that we will smash NO when we play them next, what else matters?

 

[NUMBERICA]

This is an ESPN Insider debate between Ric Bucher and Chris Brussard, in which they argue who the best PG in the NBA is. Brussard takes CP3 (even though last year he claimed it was DWill) and Bucher takes Deron.
https://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/news/story?id=5791960

Rehashing this debate is funny. The case now made for CP3 being the best PG in the league is that, despite Deron averaging better numbers (22 and 11 compared to 17 and 10) Chris Paul's team has a better record. It's a shame they didn't want to count wins into the debate from 2006-08 when Deron was averaging 19 and 10 and Paul 22 and 11.

+2. EXCELLENT point.

 

[unluckyseventeen]

If you're talking about individual players, I don't see what the point is of comparing their team's records. Basketball comes down to much more than what one person on a team is doing.

 

[Hopper]

If you're talking about individual players, I don't see what the point is of comparing their team's records. Basketball comes down to much more than what one person on a team is doing.

When it comes to point guards, overall team play is a measure. Deron has often said that his only job, as a point guard, is to help the team win games (not rack up points, assists, or rebounds, per se).

 

[unluckyseventeen]

When it comes to point guards, overall team play is a measure. Deron has often said that his only job, as a point guard, is to help the team win games (not rack up points, assists, or rebounds, per se).

Isn't that everyone's job? Help the team win?

It seems to obscure to pin a team's success so greatly on one particular position in basketball. It's not like an NBA PG has nearly as much responsibility for their team winning as a Goalie in Hockey, QB in Football or Pitcher in Baseball. An NBA PG's job is essentially to make decisions within their offense that either get points for themselves or somebody else. There's still the other factors of people being in the right spots, making shots, playing defense and other players also making those same good decisions. The PG is a little more responsible, offensively, than any other player on the floor (but even that is obscure when considering starting PGs like Ron Harper/Steve Kerr, Paxson, Sam Cassell/Kenny Smith all won multiple rings from the PG position but were hardly the backbone or even the initiators of their offense), but team success should play a minor role in determining their quality as a player in comparison to their individual abilities.

I guess my argument also fits into disagreeing with the notion of "lets measure the career of a player by how many Championships their team won", because a team wins a Championship, not a player or two. They might have an influence on that, but without quality teammates a single player isn't going to win anything.

If you want to talk about their role vs one another, then the best numbers to look at are their effectiveness on usage of possessions, rather than what their team's record is. Either way, it's still going to be apples and oranges and people will say whatever player they like best is the better player.

 

[Hopper]

I tend to agree, and I only said wins are "a" measure (not "the" measure). That said, it's much easier for one-on-one scorers, for example, to put up big numbers on a bad team than it is for a point guard to get assists on that team. So the overall quality of the team you're on, and the position you play, will affect your "numbers," if that's what people go by (and most do).