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Saw this over on the General Board and was blown away at the respect The Dragon gets there.

Point Guard Rankings..Opinions wanted
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1338101

He was initially left off this OP's list of elite point guards, and many posters refused to discuss it since he was left off. Certainly saw some Suns homers in there but lots of non-suns chiming in about Dragic.

A couple also mentioned Isaiah needed more recognition too.

Always loved the elite backcourts of Phoenix, excited for this season.

Is anyone else surprised at the national recognition Dragic is getting now?

Its not really "national recognition" until the media recognizes it imo. Sure Dragic is getting recognized more by RealGMers but that's different.

And poor OP of that thred...he didn't exclude Dragic because he thought Dragic isn't good enough, he excluded Dragic cause he figured Dragic played SG with Bledsoe in the lineup.

It seems to me that Dragic was thought of as a shooting guard which I kinda agree with. And if he is considered a 2-guard, I would slot him as the 2nd best behind Harden. But I can see how they would think Dragic is a shooting guard and not the point although in our system there really are no positions for the most part.

SF88 wrote:Its not really "national recognition" until the media recognizes it imo. Sure Dragic is getting recognized more by RealGMers but that's different.

And poor OP of that thred...he didn't exclude Dragic because he thought Dragic isn't good enough, he excluded Dragic cause he figured Dragic played SG with Bledsoe in the lineup.

I think the media recognizes him. Zach Lowe said he is his favorite player to watch in the league. Also, the media votes for NBA All Teams.

According to 82 games
He played 62% at PG.
45% at SG.

But he's left off this list

NaturalBuns wrote:According to 82 games
He played 62% at PG.
45% at SG.

But he's left off this list

With Bledsoe out, someone had to nominally be the point guard so it's no surprise he's listed by 82 games as being the point guard 62% of the time. But I'd be hard pressed to argue against him as either a point guard or a shooting guard.

Sometimes, I feel like Goran Dragic is more respected by the rest of the league than he is by Suns fans.

Zelaznyrules wrote:With Bledsoe out, someone had to nominally be the point guard so it's no surprise he's listed by 82 games as being the point guard 62% of the time. But I'd be hard pressed to argue against him as either a point guard or a shooting guard.

I agree. Unless you follow Suns basketball, I think you could easily confuse Dragic as an SG.

I kind of view him more as a shooting guard. As they say you are what you can defend and he much better at guarding 2s. Quick 1s give him trouble on d and he's big enough to guard 2s since there just aren't a lot of the prime Joe Johnson or kobe type 2s now days that punish smaller sgs.

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WeekapaugGroove wrote:I kind of view him more as a shooting guard. As they say you are what you can defend and he much better at guarding 2s. Quick 1s give him trouble on d and he's big enough to guard 2s since there just aren't a lot of the prime Joe Johnson or kobe type 2s now days that punish smaller sgs.

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Yeah that's what I was thinking. I would have slotted him in as the 2nd best shooting guard in the league behind only Harden.

When they're both healthy :

On offense, Bledsoe is usually the PG and Dragic the SG. Since Dragic is the better shooter and cutter, makes sense to have him play off the ball.

On defense, Dragic is usually the PG and Bledsoe the SG since the longer and stronger Bledsoe matches up better with the bigger guards.

But they often switch roles. At times Dragic also brings the ball up the court, and since Bledsoe is also quicker/faster it's better to have him guarding the speed demon star PG's of the league for certain matchups.

By default, the offensive roles are usually what gets taken into account positionally, so Bledsoe is more like the PG and Dragic the SG.

When will people learn that the Phoenix Suns don't bother with positions?

They just don't matter to us. We had Tim Thomas and Boris Diaw playing "center" minutes in 2006.

BurningHeart wrote:When will people learn that the Phoenix Suns don't bother with positions?

They just don't matter to us. We had Tim Thomas and Boris Diaw playing "center" minutes in 2006.

Give it up, BH

People think easier when they have their boxes in which they fit everything. It's just how humans are.

im still puzzled how people percieve goran as SG as he was always a terrible shooter in europe

he will always be a PG, at least for me

and by reading thread in GB i would think that he is not respected as he is totaly ignored cause the OP "didnt see him play last year"(WTF) and cause bledsoe is PG that had fever assists than dragic last year.

mixerball wrote:im still puzzled how people percieve goran as SG as he was always a terrible shooter in europe

he will always be a PG, at least for me

and by reading thread in GB i would think that he is not respected as he is totaly ignored cause the OP "didnt see him play last year"(WTF) and cause bledsoe is PG that had fever assists than dragic last year.

Jump shooting is a skill that players typically improve at later career stages, Dragic is a much better shooter now than he was as a rookie.

And he actually often played at SG with Slovenia on the national team, with Lakovic or Udrih at PG.

mixerball wrote:im still puzzled how people percieve goran as SG as he was always a terrible shooter in europe

he will always be a PG, at least for me

and by reading thread in GB i would think that he is not respected as he is totaly ignored cause the OP "didnt see him play last year"(WTF) and cause bledsoe is PG that had fever assists than dragic last year.

Dragic was about a 40% 3-point shooter and played very well off the ball unlike Bledsoe who significantly struggled doing that at times.

b-ball forever wrote:

mixerball wrote:im still puzzled how people percieve goran as SG as he was always a terrible shooter in europe

he will always be a PG, at least for me

and by reading thread in GB i would think that he is not respected as he is totaly ignored cause the OP "didnt see him play last year"(WTF) and cause bledsoe is PG that had fever assists than dragic last year.

Jump shooting is a skill that players typically improve at later career stages, Dragic is a much better shooter now than he was as a rookie.

And he actually often played at SG with Slovenia on the national team, with Lakovic or Udrih at PG.

when he was younger he was ofcourse unexperienced and was a sub alongside those guys(mostly lakovic, cause udrih is a bitch when it comes to national team) but this last european chips he was a prime ballhandler and lakovic was his replacement of the bench.
yeah we all know he is a way better shooter know, but he was brought up to be a pg and if you are mentioning national team he is without a doubt a PG

back to nba. bledose and dragic alternated in the pg role through the game. but he is still pg first, sg second. its quite disrespectful to leave him of a pg list.

Suns Court 23 wrote:

mixerball wrote:im still puzzled how people percieve goran as SG as he was always a terrible shooter in europe

he will always be a PG, at least for me

and by reading thread in GB i would think that he is not respected as he is totaly ignored cause the OP "didnt see him play last year"(WTF) and cause bledsoe is PG that had fever assists than dragic last year.

Dragic was about a 40% 3-point shooter and played very well off the ball unlike Bledsoe who significantly struggled doing that at times.

doesnt mean he is not a pg. means he is offensively dangerous pg.


all in all, he is a basketball player that plays a guard position. versatile guard. can create for others and for himself on and off the ball.

mixerball wrote:

Suns Court 23 wrote:

mixerball wrote:im still puzzled how people percieve goran as SG as he was always a terrible shooter in europe

he will always be a PG, at least for me

and by reading thread in GB i would think that he is not respected as he is totaly ignored cause the OP "didnt see him play last year"(WTF) and cause bledsoe is PG that had fever assists than dragic last year.

Dragic was about a 40% 3-point shooter and played very well off the ball unlike Bledsoe who significantly struggled doing that at times.

doesnt mean he is not a pg. means he is offensively dangerous pg.


all in all, he is a basketball player that plays a guard position. versatile guard. can create for others and for himself on and off the ball.

Agreed, I just think that for our team he plays the 2 guard better than Bledsoe and can be perceived to be a 2 guard