John Wall is the best PG in the East right now

[truwizfan4evr]

We got the best pg in east!

[Zonkerbl]

As of right now? Yes. By the all-star break? Probably. For the season? He's the frontrunner. Come next year? Rose and Rondo will probably take 1a 1b honors back.

I dunno. I always thought Rondo was a bit overrated and benefited a great deal from playing alongside a bunch of smart veterans who knew how to score and stretch the floor. His sub-13 PPG average isn't going to be something one can so easily overlook when he is no longer playing alongside Pierce and Garnett.

I don't know what happened to Rose. Maybe he's just rusty, but maybe he has lost something fundamental, either mental or physical, that may hold him back from being the superstar he once was. He looks terrible right now. And it's hard to blame health. He has had forever to heal from the ACL injury.

Maybe Arenas' arthritis is contagious?

[Dark Faze]

league wide list?

Chris Paul
Stephen Curry
John Wall
Damian Lillard
Russell Westbrook
MCW
Tony Parker
Kyrie Irving
Jeff Teague
Derrick Rose

Would be my current list of notable PG's this early in the season. I do think Russell Westbrook will end up surpassing Wall within a game or two, and I expect a substantial jump from Rose later in the season.

[stevemcqueen1]

Russell Westbrook really shook the rust off in a hurry. I forgot about him. He's up there somewhere behind Chris Paul for best PG.

Westbrook is hard to rate. On the one hand, he is an incredibly aggressive and skilled scorer and energizer bunny that just wears opponents out. Plays excellent, tireless D. Almost never stops attacking. And he scores in huge volume.

On the other hand, he consistently makes the wrong decisions with the ball. It's really really frustrating. I just don't think he has great instincts. Doesn't have that natural feel for the game you see with the other great PGs. But maybe he'll get there in time.

You could say Westbrook was the best guard in the NBA last season and I could accept that. But he's got a few pretty important flaws as a player that when you watch the Thunder and they slip into prolonged stretches of low IQ basketball, you think... this team might not be able to win it all.

It's kind of how I feel about the Rockets and the Warriors too sometimes.

I'd say Paul and Parker are the class of the West right now. I give Paul the nod ahead of Parker though because he's a better defender. Parker actually isn't a great defensive player and has consistently been bailed out by being surrounded by great defenders like Manu, Duncan, Bowen, and now Kawhi.

Then behind them is a tier of Westbrook and Curry. Curry is probably the best offensive PG in the conference but he's a very weak defensive player.

Then I think you get a third tier with quality PGs like Jrue Holliday, Ricky Rubio, and Damian Lillard. Rubio is kind of like the Rondo of the West.

The East has quite a few exciting young PGs. Rose is a household name, but Wall and Kyrie are catching up to him and MCW looks like a future stud. I think that's your future top 4. Then you've got DWill and Rondo in there as the old guard, but I see them declining rather than trending up.

The thing that makes Wall special is his ceiling as an all around player. He's probably the only PG in the league that doesn't really have anything that truly limits him. He's king sized and well put together. He's absurdly fast and explosive. He's got a great handle. He's aggressive and has the heart of a winner. He sees the floor extremely well and anticipates the game at an elite level. He's a pretty devastating defensive player. And now he seems to be able to pull up and shoot from most of the floor.

Every other PG has something that keeps him from either being an utterly complete player, or something physical like being short or slight that is a potential mismatch for opponents. The only thing big that held John back was the jumper and its always been something that can develop in time. In terms of talent and physical advantages, Wall is the LeBron of the PG position.

[nuposse04]

I really didn't think MCW would be this good...but I guess I shouldn't be TOO surprised. He's a fairly "old" rookie. I kind of wonder if he is what Shaun Livingston was suppose to be :/

As for John. I think he's still gambling too much on D, looking for the highlight reel plays...but outside of that I've been content with his production. You can see the desire is there. And the extremely high level of play is only exasperated when Maynor checks in, lol.

[stevemcqueen1]

I really didn't think MCW would be this good...but I guess I shouldn't be TOO surprised. He's a fairly "old" rookie. I kind of wonder if he is what Shaun Livingston was suppose to be :/

As for John. I think he's still gambling too much on D, looking for the highlight reel plays...but outside of that I've been content with his production. You can see the desire is there. And the extremely high level of play is only exasperated when Maynor checks in, lol.

Yeah I can definitely see the Shaun Livingston potential. His career took a sad turn, but for a time Livingston looked like the next perennial AS PG.

MCW will need to get that pullup jumper down pat to have the same kind of scoring potential as Livingston. But they are both such smooth ball handlers and finishers. Very under control. And so long and acrobatic that you can stay in front of them and they'll still reach around you for a soft finish. The game is just so much easier for a player with elite size.

Defensively, the sky is the limit with MCW. Reminds me of Ariza in how he can get into the passing lanes and he's got nice hands for getting strip steals. He's an impressive player.

I can see the complaint about Wall gambling somewhat, but I think the biggest problem is that the units haven't really gelled yet on defense. All of them will play better individually when they get more familiar as a group. John's defense is pretty devastating. He helps out a ton and makes a big impact from doing it and that's pretty huge to get from your PG. It's like having an extra forward on D. How many other teams have that luxury?

He's also become a stud at getting around screens and defending the PnR. It's hard to set a pick on Wall. He's really aggressive.

[tontoz]

I really didn't think MCW would be this good...but I guess I shouldn't be TOO surprised. He's a fairly "old" rookie. I kind of wonder if he is what Shaun Livingston was suppose to be :/

As for John. I think he's still gambling too much on D, looking for the highlight reel plays...but outside of that I've been content with his production. You can see the desire is there. And the extremely high level of play is only exasperated when Maynor checks in, lol.

Yeah I can definitely see the Shaun Livingston potential. His career took a sad turn, but for a time Livingston looked like the next perennial AS PG.

MCW will need to get that pullup jumper down pat to have the same kind of scoring potential as Livingston.

What are you talking about? Livingston couldn't score for crap even before his injury.

[Illmatic21]

I don't know what happened to Rose. Maybe he's just rusty, but maybe he has lost something fundamental, either mental or physical, that may hold him back from being the superstar he once was. He looks terrible right now. And it's hard to blame health. He has had forever to heal from the ACL injury.

I know this isn't a complete apples to apples comparison, but there are similarities between Rose and Arenas which can't be ignored. When Arenas returned from his injury it became clear after a while that he lost whatever it was that made him uber special. Arenas was still a good player when he initially returned, and had it not been for Gun-gate he'd be in the league right now. He had a PER of 18.7 with Washington when he returned in 2009.

I know Bulls fans think Rose will just come back and be 2011 Rose all over again, but there is more than a remote chance that just won't happen. What if he comes back at 90% Rose? That's still awesome, but not ALL-NBA level play in my book.

Derrick Rose will be fine. It's nothing like Arenas. Have you watched Rose play this year? He looks fantastic athletically, he's just rusty as heck. Just like Wall did to start last year. Wall was terrible and took a month before the rust really wore off. Rose will be great this season, it's only a matter of time.

Yeah, he doesn't look like post-injury Arenas at all. Gil was slow, timid, and didn't have his explosiveness.

Rose is still just as explosive if not more. He's just rusty from not having played meaningful basketball in a long time, so his jumpshot and general feel for the game are a bit off. I fully expect Rose to round into form in a few months and end up as the ASG starter/All-NBA.



I would agree that Wall has been the best PG in the East (with Teague a close 2nd). Deron Williams has been pretty bad this year, he's still recovering from injury. Kyrie Irving didn't really have a great game until last night.

[Dark Faze]

MCW is shooting way above his average from three and is still only shooting 40% from the field. Once that drops off things will get ugly. He's still way above expectations right now, but he's got a lot of work on his shot to do before he comes a player. He's doing his thing right now because nobody cares, but the scouting report will get out, his shot will decline to the mean and he'll just be "good".

Still though, I think he'll win RoTY because he's getting the most volume out of all the rooks right now.

And I disagree with Parker being on CP3's tier steve. Parkers flaws were obvious in the finals. He's not a great playmaker but gets a lot of assists because he's the main ball handler in an offense full of ridiculously efficient players in a great system. He's a tier below Curry/Westbrook in the West imo.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I think when all is said and done Victor Oladipo will win ROTY. He's very good and the Magic will make the playoffs.

[Ruzious]

MCW is shooting way above his average from three and is still only shooting 40% from the field. Once that drops off things will get ugly. He's still way above expectations right now, but he's got a lot of work on his shot to do before he comes a player. He's doing his thing right now because nobody cares, but the scouting report will get out, his shot will decline to the mean and he'll just be "good".

Still though, I think he'll win RoTY because he's getting the most volume out of all the rooks right now.

And I disagree with Parker being on CP3's tier steve. Parkers flaws were obvious in the finals. He's not a great playmaker but gets a lot of assists because he's the main ball handler in an offense full of ridiculously efficient players in a great system. He's a tier below Curry/Westbrook in the West imo.

I totally agree on MCW, but I don't agree on Parker. Parker was fabulous in the playoffs. He tailed off in the end because he was physically exhausted and appeared to be playing hurt. He was clearly nowhere near 100% the last few games. Off the top of my head, I can't think of one NBA player who's been more underrated in the 2000's.

[jeffsays]

What about Deron Williams? His scoring is a down this year but probably because the Nets are sharing the ball with a much deeper team- he's averaging 11.5 assists per game.

I hope Rose's health turns out to be good since the Bulls are potentially one of the few teams that could beat Miami but their chances look even shakier. Still too early to write off Rose, he does have some explosiveness getting to the rim- his shots aren't falling right now. At least against Indiana, he got to 17 points on 40% shooting as opposed to shooting under 30%.

Guess we'll have to find out how good Rondo is without Pierce and Garnett.

Just curious, where did you get these numbers? ESPN stats has him at 8.0 assists per game. Where John is tied for 3rd with 8.8 per game.

[dobrojim]

Looks like DC'sOwn initiated a thread re Wall on the Gen board but for
reasons that escape me, it is locked down.

[DCsOwn]

Looks like DC'sOwn initiated a thread re Wall on the Gen board but for
reasons that escape me, it is locked down.

The thread got locked immediately, ostensibly because I encouraged bumping. I re-posted the thread without the bumping designation so hopefully it stays open and there's some discussion on the subject.

[Kanyewest]

What about Deron Williams? His scoring is a down this year but probably because the Nets are sharing the ball with a much deeper team- he's averaging 11.5 assists per game.

I hope Rose's health turns out to be good since the Bulls are potentially one of the few teams that could beat Miami but their chances look even shakier. Still too early to write off Rose, he does have some explosiveness getting to the rim- his shots aren't falling right now. At least against Indiana, he got to 17 points on 40% shooting as opposed to shooting under 30%.

Guess we'll have to find out how good Rondo is without Pierce and Garnett.

Just curious, where did you get these numbers? ESPN stats has him at 8.0 assists per game. Where John is tied for 3rd with 8.8 per game.

My bad- should have said per 36 minutes.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/pla ... ide01.html

[tontoz]

MCW is shooting way above his average from three and is still only shooting 40% from the field. Once that drops off things will get ugly. He's still way above expectations right now, but he's got a lot of work on his shot to do before he comes a player. He's doing his thing right now because nobody cares, but the scouting report will get out, his shot will decline to the mean and he'll just be "good".

Still though, I think he'll win RoTY because he's getting the most volume out of all the rooks right now.

And I disagree with Parker being on CP3's tier steve. Parkers flaws were obvious in the finals. He's not a great playmaker but gets a lot of assists because he's the main ball handler in an offense full of ridiculously efficient players in a great system. He's a tier below Curry/Westbrook in the West imo.

I totally agree on MCW, but I don't agree on Parker. Parker was fabulous in the playoffs. He tailed off in the end because he was physically exhausted and appeared to be playing hurt. He was clearly nowhere near 100% the last few games. Off the top of my head, I can't think of one NBA player who's been more underrated in the 2000's.

I agree Parker is a beast. I think playing with Duncan makes people take him for granted.

[TheKingOfVa360]

Yeah John has been the best PG in the East so far. The crazy thing is I feel he hasn't had a big game yet. Once he does that the gap will widen between him and the field.

[closg00]

We've played a young Philly team twice. Why don't we wait and get a larger sample size before crowning John best PG in the East.

John has to prove himself in the half-court against elite teams before I get on-board the bandwagon.


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[FAH1223]

Russell Westbrook really shook the rust off in a hurry. I forgot about him. He's up there somewhere behind Chris Paul for best PG.

Tony Parker, CCJ. Tony Parker. He's still quick as ever, crafty, automatic from mid range, picks his spots, can get double digit assists when he wants... and has the hardware.

I think SA is still the best in the West.

And I disagree with Parker being on CP3's tier steve. Parkers flaws were obvious in the finals. He's not a great playmaker but gets a lot of assists because he's the main ball handler in an offense full of ridiculously efficient players in a great system. He's a tier below Curry/Westbrook in the West imo.

He got injured in the finals and still hit what should have been a dagger in Game 6 when he put SA up 5. True, Parker is more of a scorer but his all around game has risen to MVP level.

Not to mention he dogs CP3 when they play each other. I like CP3, hate his flopping, but he hasn't gotten it done in the postseason.

[payitforward]

If Rose gets back to form that could change, and Kyrie is always going to be on his heels but...

As of right now, he's the best.

Thoughts?

Really? As of right now in these limited games and minutes? I'd say overall he hasn't been quite as good as Teague or Prigioni, and he hasn't been nearly as good as Michael Carter-Williams. Or Mario Chalmers for that matter.

He was certainly very good last night -- keep it up!