Brunson vs Garland vs Fox

Post #1 » by **GeorgeMarcus** » Thu Apr 6, 2023 5:04 pm

You are the GM of a team for one season (22-23) and get to start your roster with one of these three PGs. Who do you take?

I think my order would be Garland --> Brunson --> Fox but I flip flopped on the first 2. While Fox is having a great season, I'm still a little lower on him than the other guys, partly due to play style biases

rand · Post #2 » by **rand** » Thu Apr 6, 2023 6:05 pm

Garland. Probably the best player right now and with the highest ceiling being the youngest, the best shooter and arguably the best playmaker too.

Brunson and Fox are close but I'll take Brunson. His trajectory has been on an insane upswing the last three years. I think there's more likely to be future improvement for him. I also think he's less reliant on athleticism which is an asset once a player passes their athletic peak.

Cavsfansince84 · Post #3 » by **Cavsfansince84** » Thu Apr 6, 2023 6:08 pm

In the long run for its definitely Garland but it will be interesting to see which of these pgs leads their team out of the 1st round and obviously Garland going up against Brunson. That might be the best way to settle it.

Post #4 » by **GeorgeMarcus** » Thu Apr 6, 2023 8:42 pm

rand wrote:Garland. Probably the best player right now and with the highest ceiling being the youngest, the best shooter and arguably the best playmaker too.

Brunson and Fox are close but I'll take Brunson. His trajectory has been on an insane upswing the last three years. I think there's more likely to be future improvement for him. I also think he's less reliant on athleticism which is an asset once a player passes their athletic peak.

Cavsfansince84 wrote:In the long run for its definitely Garland but it will be interesting to see which of these pgs leads their team out of the 1st round and obviously Garland going up against Brunson. That might be the best way to settle it.

Agree that it's Garland if we are building for the future, pretty clearly IMO. For the immediate future I wonder if I'd prefer Brunson's Championship pedigree if I wanted to make noise in the playoffs. I'm undecided on that front

RCM88x · Post #5 » by **RCM88x** » Thu Apr 6, 2023 8:50 pm

I'd agree that Brunson is probably a bit more optimized for the playoffs currently, than either Fox or Garland. But still yet to really be seen.

Garland may be the most individually skilled of these guys but I do worry about his lack of physicality compared to the other two, he's really small for an NBA player, even at his position. Not just in terms of height but also mass.

ronnymac2 · Post #6 » by **ronnymac2** » Fri Apr 7, 2023 4:41 am

Great comparison. If I had to pick one for the future, I think I'd take Garland. He's such a dynamic lead guard with playmaking, 3-point range, and evasiveness. He's done great this season leading Cleveland to being the 8th-best offense in the league. He cut down the turnovers significantly, improved his foul draw, and has constantly improved his in-between game in the 10-16 feet range. Guys like him and Tyrese Maxey are super fun to watch - fast-twitch balls of energy. When they get in a rhythm, look out. It's a 40-point night.

Brunson is a close second for starting a team today, and he's probably the best of the three currently. 24 points and 6 assists with a TOV% of 9.4% is wild. He's so poised and under control at all times. Great feel for the game and basketball IQ. He's actually shooting a career-worst at the rim this season, though that's basically what Garland shoots as well. What has buoyed Brunson's scoring efficiency relative to his final stellar year in Dallas is his jump shot. 16-23 and 3-point range numbers are incredible, and that's despite being assisted way less on his 3s than ever before.

Fox has been very good as well, being the lead guard on the number 1 offense in the league. I admittedly haven't watched much of Sacramento, at least relative to Cleveland or obviously New York.

If I'm trying to win a title in future, I project Garland to be a wild-card second-best offensive player on the team. Either injury or a shooting slump where he keeps shooting might send my team home early, but there's a better chance his dynamic play is hard to game plan for and he carries me to wins deep in the playoffs.

Brunson projects more as a third-best offensive player or 2B. Certainly dependable from a durability perspective and a performance perspective. Kid is rock-solid.

I've seen people projecting NY vs. Cleveland this season in the playoffs. New York has the second-best offense in the league by ORTG, but IMHO, the Knicks do not have the second-best offense in the league in reality. #19 in eFG% doesn't bode well in the playoffs, especially against a legit defense like Cleveland, where they have long bigs who can stymie the shorter Randle inside. NYK have become animals on the offensive boards with Hart, Hartenstein, Robinson, and Randle, and Cleveland is a middle-of-the-pack defensive rebounding team, so if NYK are healthy and compete well enough, I think we can take it to six games, but I do expect Cleveland to win. Last year, I said Cavs are a darkhorse Eastern Conference team in 2024. Their inexperience will show in these upcoming 2023 playoffs, but not against the Knicks, who are similarly young.

After all this, I changed my mind. I will go with Brunson slightly over Garland. All due respect to Ward, Childs, and Prigioni, but this is the first time in forever I am proud of a NYK point guard. So I'll homer pick it.

All three of these lead guards are studs. Add Haliburton and Maxey as well. Great players.