Hoops Habit: Lillard in 6th tier of NBA point guards

Everybody always overlooks Parker. You HAVE to respect his game. Not flashy, but he is a great PG!

 

Oh I think he's a really good point guard. But do you think he's on the same level as Westbrook, Paul, Rose (when healthy)?

I just don't think so.

I'd put him in Tier 2 or maybe Tier 3.

 

He's team first, the other guys aren't. Maybe it says alot about me, but I'd take the other guys first!

 

How can one be a Tier 1 PG when only averaging 5.9 APG?

 

Tony Parker had MVP consideration last season. He is most CERTAINLY a Tier 1 guy. Especially shooting .522 from the field.

Edit: And had he been completely healthy in the last 3 games of the finals, the Spurs might have won.

 

Again, I'm not saying he isn't a great point guard. I'm saying I don't think he's in the top 2-3.

 

He's too limited offensively. You have to carefully assemble the right team around him to cover up his weaknesses. That isn't the mark of a top tier guy.

That's been Parker's rep his entire career, but somehow he always ends up being the best PG on the floor night in and night out. Dude flat out gets it done.

 

Lillard pretty much schooled him the few times they faced each other.

 

He not only was 'in the running', he won the 2010-11 MVP over Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Kevin Durant (top 5 in order).

 

It will be interesting to see if the injury robbed him of any of his ability.

 

You have to carefully assemble a team around ANY given player. Rondo does as good a job as any in covering up his own weaknesses - his FG% is right there with (often better than) the rest of the PGs in the conversation. He picks his spots wisely, which should be another positive attribute in his favor. Just because he can't shoot 3s shouldn't detract from the fact that the rest of his game is rock solid. Show me another PG who averages ~10apg while playing great defense and crashing the glass. There are only two other players who come close and those are CP3 (who often gambles on defense) and Westbrook (who doesn't come close to Rondo's team-running ability and shoots far too much).
Of course Rondo needs good teammates around him in order to win - the only player in the league who doesn't is LBJ.

 

How many years ago was that? And he doesn't even play anymore. I thought these tiers were suppose to reflect the current state of PGs in the NBA.

 

Again, I thought these tiers were for TODAY'S talent. Why are we bringing history into a conversation about the present?

 

I'm not saying Rondo isn't a very good PG. I've been a big fan of his since college and never understood why he wasn't a top prospect. But, shooting a good percentage doesn't negate the fact that he's very limited away from the basket. All that says is he's good at recognizing his weakness and staying away from it. Yes, he's done remarkably well despite being a poor outside shooter. The other top tier guys are much more well-rounded offensively and would make Boston that much stronger, which is why I can't rank Rondo that high.

 

Okay, we'll just have to agree to disagree on this. I know you're not saying he's not good - I just think he's being overlooked in favor of inferior PGs. Recognizing your weaknesses is a HUGE "skill", and very undervalued IMO. Not taking bad shots is every bit as important as taking good shots.
(And Rondo's outside shooting isn't as bad as his reputation would have you believe - from 16-23' he shot 48% last season! For PGs playing 20mpg+, that's good for 5th best. It's his mid-range shooting that's not good - but again, he mitigates that by not shooting from mid-range. If all players stopped shooting from their lowest-percentage locations the game would be so much better!)

 

TP only played in one of those games vs POR last season, but ya Dame took him that night.

Dame: 29pts, 7rebs, 6asts, on 50% FG in 40mins, W
TP: 21pts, 2rebs, 5asts, on 47% FG in 37 mins, L

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201212130POR.html