The Great Point Guard Myth

These players ARE NOT important!

The greatest lie the devil ever told wasn’t convincing the world that he didn’t exist. No, no, no, Lucifer’s best fib was convincing anyone with a higher basketball knowledge in today’s world that guards, in particular point guards, are important to winning a NBA title. You can’t turn on ESPN, TV or radio without hearing talking heads say the same thing over and over again about the NBA. “It’s a point guard driven league.” “Point guard play is so key this time of year.” “You gotta get point great guard play or it’s over.” Every time I hear this I want to punch my laptop.

The NBA is the easiest league to figure out. That’s why it’s not as popular as the NFL. The flexibility and unpredictably of the NFL is what makes it great. Those things, flexibility and unpredictably, make it a better sport to bet on. Anything can happen. The Houston Texans and Atlanta Falcons are the ultimate case study. In 2012, both were a combined 24-7, won their divisions AND a playoff game. One year later, 8-26 and now at the top of the NFL Draft!

Teams like Philly and Kansas City are the same in reverse. Loser in 2012, but winners in 2013. The players contracts aren’t guaranteed in the NFL so players can come and go almost exclusively on their production level. Look at someone like Albert Haysworth in the NFL and Amar’e Stoudemire in the NBA. Both 32 years old. (Haysworth now Stoudemire in November) Both have been shot years ago athletically but because Haysworth was in the NFL he was cut and hasn’t even sniffed a field since 2011, while Stoudemire is still sucking the life out of the New York Knicks. (Cut to Knicks fans punching their laptops and Stoudemire putting on a ski mask to pick up his check while Gilbert Arenas drives the getaway car.) If the NFL was like the NBA, Haysworth would STILL HAVE TWO MORE SEASONS OF CHECKS COMING TO HIM. (RE-READ THAT SENTENCE!)

You can rebuild and retool on the fly in the NFL. Every year you can start over and do it again. Every team has a REAL SHOT! You don’t even have to have a first round pick to find a star in the NFL. Look at the Seattle Seahawks. Russell Wilson was a third round pick. You rarely, and I mean RARELY, get a great player outside of the top ten in the NBA Draft, much least the second round. That’s the NFL’s greatest advantage over the NBA. Philly football fans can honestly believe in their team’s chances to win a Super Bowl this season. If you’re a Philly basketball fan and you think the Sixers are going to win the NBA, you need to run outside and check the date on a newspaper because you’ve traveled back in time to 1982.

Going into this NBA season we could identify roughly five teams with a REAL chance at the title (Miami, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Chicago, and Indiana) and ten teams with the same chances as my six-year old son’s youth summer camp team. (LA Lakers, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Boston, Sacramento, Utah, Orlando, New Orleans, Cleveland and Minnesota.) There are only five guys on the court for each team at one time so naturally the eye test works so much easier in the NBA than the NFL.

Is this man on your team? If not, chances are your team WON'T win it all.

I can’t tell you who the best lineman is in the NFL. I just look at whoever gets voted All-Pro and say “Seems right to me.” I don’t need a NBA expert to tell me LeBron James is the best player. You could bring Martians to Earth with no knowledge of the game of basketball, show them the first half of a Miami game, tell them what numbers are, then ask which player was the best and they’d say the tall one in the number six jersey.

Because the number of players is so small, you could swap LeBron in for the following teams and they have a legit chance to winning the title this season; Clippers, Thunder, Bulls, Portland, Houston, Memphis, Washington, Spurs, and Pacers.You could put James on ANY team they’d all win at least 50 games and make the playoffs. Put Peyton Manning on the Jags and the Jags are STILL gonna suck. Look at how the same roster fell apart after he left Cleveland that first season. This isn’t a best point guard wins league, it’s a best PLAYER wins league. The only time the best point guard wins the title is if the best player just HAPPENS to be a point guard. Lets look at the past champions, their starting point guard and see when best point guard wins the title.

2013-12 Heat: The Immortal Mario Chalmers.

2011 Mavs: Jason “I Became A Coach Two Years Later” Kidd.

2009-10 Lakers: Derek “Never Made an All-Star, All-Anything, NBA Team” Fisher

2008 Celtics: Rajon “At The Time I was the weak link” Rondo

2007 Spurs: Tony “Only One All-Star, not as good as I am now” Parker

2006 Heat: Jason “White Chocolate/Flash In Pan” Williams

2005 Spurs: Tony “Not Good Yet” Parker

2004 Pistons: Chauncey “You Didn’t Know I Was An All-Star Yet” Billups

2003 Spurs: Tony “Even Worst” Parker

2002-00 Lakers: Derek “As Good As I’ll Get And STILL Never Be An All-Star” Fisher

1999 Spurs: Avery “The only individual award I’ll win is Coach Of the Year” Johnson

1998-96 Bulls: Ron “Guess What? I never made an All-Star Either” Harper

1995-94 Rockets: Kenny “More famous for being Barkley’s second banana” Smith

1993-91 Bulls: John “Never made an All-Star” Paxton

1990-89 Pistons: Isiah "FINALLY" Thomas

Magic and Isiah. Last of the great point guards to win NBA Championship

I had to go ALLLL the way back to 1990 for the last “best point guard in the league” NBA title. (And Isiah being the best is debatable cause Magic was still Magic so the best point guard may have not even WON the title those seasons.) And the last best player being a point guard title was the 1988 Lakers with Magic. Having a great point guard is about as important as having a “great” pinky toe. You technically need one, but you’ll live without it.

There is one way to win a title. Have one of the five best players in the league at the time, PLUS at least one active “I can make or made” an All-Star teammate. Jordan was the best but had Pippen. Shaq was the best but had Kobe. Kobe was the best but had Pau. LeBron is the best, but has Wade & Bosh.

 

Serious how the hell did the Mavs win the 2011 title?

Only the 1994 Houston Rockets had the best player do it solo. The 2004 Detroit Pistons were aliens. (Hindsight shows us that Detroit had four All-Stars in Billups, Hamilton, Wallace Ben and Rasheed both that is. But they still should not have been able to win.) And the 2011 Dallas Mavericks themselves still can’t believe they won. 

They didn’t have the best player or an active All-Star sidekick. Dirk was an All-Star but wasn’t even a top five in the league guy at the time. I still have NO clue how they won that title over Miami. You can’t say 2008 Celtics didn't have a top five guy because KG finished second in the MVP so he was clearly one of the five best players.

This isn’t rocket science. This is as easy as it gets. We don’t need to waste time talking about point guard play. All you need from your point guard is a guy who can just keep it together. Someone who doesn’t make a huge mistake in the huge moment. You don’t need the best point guard. You just need the best guy, regardless of position. That “best point guard” moniker has gotten Chris Paul NO TITLES. Derrick Rose, NO TITLE. Steve Nash, NO TITLES. Jason Kidd, NO TITLE in his prime. Gary Payton NO TITLE in his prime.

Want to know if your team is going to win the title? Ask yourself two simple questions. “Does my team have the best player?” “Does my team have one of the five best players?” If the answer to either or both was no, then no. If the answer to one or both was yes, then maybe. And maybe is a hell of a lot better than no.

History On the Horizon (My 5 Biggest Questions Going Into the 2013-14 NBA Season)

Jordan’s Bulls. Shaq and Kobe’s Lakers. Russell’s Celtics. Miken’s Lakers. That’s it. Two titles in a row is nothing to sneeze at by any means, but three in a row is the stuff of legend. NBA immortality. That’s what’s at stake for LeBron James and the Miami Heat going into the 2013-14 NBA season. James enters his 10^th season CLEARLY, whether you like it or admit it or not, entrenched as the league’s best player. Never has his “King” moniker been so fitting as James is the reigning and consecutive NBA MVP, Finals MVP and NBA champion. (Something only Jordan and Russell did by the way.) I mean, you just gotta give it up at this point. The man is one of the best basketball players ever and he's at the apex of his powers. You're going to get to say you watched LeBron James play basketball and that's going to mean something one day. (Plus this commercial is cool as hell. It's getting harder and harder not to like this guy.)

In the offseason, Miami added former number one pick, walker, zombie, Greg Oden and the always complicated, Michael Beasley. These are low risk, HIGH reward moves that could help Miami cement themselves into NBA history, but here's the issue with that. The last team to make three straight finals where the Los Angeles Lakers from ’08-’10. That team could only win two of three and the Heat are in the same spot as my Lakers a few years ago. After three straight years of going to the edge of the playoffs, does Miami even get back to the Finals let alone win it?

Getting to the Finals four times in a row is damn near impossible. (The last team that did it was the Boston Celtics from ’84-87. And they only won two of four. And that was with the original "Big Three" Bird, McHale and Parrish.) The injury bug has merely “nipped” at the Heat's heels and nagging injuries to Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh didn’t derail their title hopes these past two season, but does that luck last? No matter who your team is, if you love the NBA and the history of the game, you have to at least understand why this is the biggest question going into this season. CAN THE HEAT THREE-PEAT?

2: Can Rose rise with the Bulls?

The Chicago Bulls are the best threat to beat the Heat almost by default. With the return of superstar guard and former MVP Derrick Rose, the Bulls looked primed to truly challenge Miami. To play devil's advocate, a few years ago, and at full strength, the Bulls still fell to Miami in only five games, so what’s different now you say? Maturity.

You always have to wait your turn in the NBA. The Bulls were 41-41 in 2009-’10 before they took a huge leap to 62-20 in 2010-'11. Teams never get that good and win right way. Rose got hurt during the playoffs the next year and last season the Bulls lost to Miami again in five games. But now the Bulls are more seasoned, they have a much better two-guard in Jimmy Butler, Deng and Noah are improved and healthy to boot. There are a few challengers in the East but none as intriguing as the Chicago Bulls and Derrick Rose.

3. How will Dwight Howard play now that he’s “happy” again?

A few years ago I watched Dwight Howard’s Magic play Derrick Rose’s Bulls live in Orlando and I took away two things from that game. There are a lot of hot women in Orlando and Rose and Howard were All-Stars for a reason. You could ALWAYS tell them apart from the other players on the court. I didn’t have bad seats but they weren’t great, but Howard and Rose popped off the court the same way they popped off the screen at home. They were that much better than everyone else. Rose looks like the same guy I saw in Orlando after a few preseason games but Howard doesn’t look like THAT guy anymore.

Howard played with a level of athleticism that no one else in the league did. Not even LeBron James. He was a defensive anchor and could jump instantly but not anymore. He has to bend to leap now when he just use to rise up almost effortlessly. I give him credit for his time in LA if only because he came back months before he was suppose to, played on a bum shoulder and STILL led the league in boards. Primadonna/wish-washy behavior aside he’s still the best center in the league.

Playing in Houston with James Harden, Howard’s finally got a young elite player that can flank him. Kobe Bryant wasn’t the kind of player that would ever work playing with someone like Howard. Kobe doesn’t play games. He doesn’t joke. It’s all business all the time and it’s ALWAYS HIS team. As great as Harden is, he’s going to take second billing to Howard and without any issue in doing so. All the excuses are gone for him this season. He’s where HE chose to be. He’s got a great YOUNG team. He’s healthy. Let’s see what you got Howard.

4. Which West “window closing” team can come back?

ESPN ranked Oklahoma Thunder forward Kevin Durant and teammate Russell Westbrook number 2 and 5 respectively. Houston’s James Harden was ranked 4. Damn! According to this rankings, had OKC kept Harden, the Thunder would three of the top five players on the planet. Westbrook is going to miss the first few weeks of the season and they lost Harden’s replacement in Kevin Martin but the Thunder are still going to be good because they have the second best baller in the world in KD but is that enough? 

Kendrick Perkins is a complete waste on the court and forces them to play 4 on 5 when he's in the lineup. (I have a higher plus/minus for the Thunder and I don't even play for the team!) Plus we don't even know if Westbrook comes back the same. I really think OKC screwed themselves by taking Harden's failure in the Finals versus the Heat too much into account when it came to keeping him. OKC was banking on Serge Ibaka getting better so they payed him instead of Harden. They should have amnestied Perkins when they had the chance, took the cap hit by resigning Harden because it's looking more and more like their title hopes left when Harden did.

San Antonio Spurs got about as close as you can get to winning the title without actually winning it. Now they’re a year older and the Rockets, Warriors and Clippers are all on the rise in the West. Each year I keep expecting Tim Duncan and the Spurs to fall off a cliff but it doesn’t happen. Greg Popvich keeps finding ways to get the best out of this team. On the plus side, Tony Parker is going to be healthy and Kawhi Leonard looks like a budding All-Star so the Spurs aren't totally out of it. But does Duncan have enough left in the tank? Especially after laying it all on the line to win last season.

The last "window closing" team in the West is the Memphis Grizzlies. They seemed so close to winning the title when Zach Randolph looked other worldly and Marc Gasol stepped up but fast forward a few years later and all that has changed. They got rid of a great coach in Lionel Hollins, shipped off their 3rd best player in Rudy Gay and still didn't improve their horrid outside shooting. It was a struggle for Memphis to get to 90 points and in the NBA nowadays that's a huge problem. I say Memphis is a 50 win, lose in the second round type of team at best.

5. What the hell is going to happen to the Lakers?

I know, I know. There are a TON of other great questions going into the season. Are the Boston, Brooklyn Nets too old to win it all? How will the Knicks look? Will the Pacers take the next step? Can Doc Rivers get the Clippers off the hump? Which team is going to suck bad enough to get Andrew Wiggins? If not from a historical perspective, the Lakers are just fascinating from a pure intrigue standpoint. Let's face it, the Lakers are always a story when you're talking NBA basketball. (And this is my list, I’m Laker fan and I’m going to talk about my team. So yeah, deal with it!)

They lost two of their best players from a season ago, only Steve Nash is under contract past this season and Kobe Bryant is trying to come back from one of the most devastating injuries any athlete, regardless of age and sport, can have. But the Lakers two biggest issues continue to be off the court, in my opinion anyway. They STILL have the wrong coach in D’Antonio and Jim Buss is about as fit to run this team as the lady that was giving me my popcorn in Staples last week.

A year ago it just "seemed" like Mike Brown wasn’t the right fit, so the Lakers smartly removed him from the position. Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol and Kobe were in full swing, and Phil Jackson was itching to coach, but what does Jimmy Boy do? Hire a coach that cares about defense the same way the French care about fighting back in a war. A coach that NEVER adjusts to his players and forces them to play his style NO MATTER WHAT. Until the Lakers fix this mistake THEY’LL NEVER, and I'll say it again, NEVER, win an NBA title.

When Kobe comes back (Because we all know he's crazy enough to suck the blood from his daughters' necks if meant getting back on the court sooner.) there is NO WAY he lets the Lakers suck. The team was horrible last year and he STILL dragged them, kicking and screaming no less, into the playoffs. But why do that again this year? Why kill yourself for this team Kobe? Lakers fans I'm sorry to say this, but the boys got no shot and you know it. Why not bottom out and get one of the lottery picks in the best draft since ’03? Am I the only one that knows that being in NBA "no man’s land" is the worst thing ever. You’re not good enough to win the title but with Kobe you’re just good enough to sneak into the playoffs as an 8^th seed. And what does that get you? No lottery pick and a first round ass beating. (Milwaukee Bucks fans are SCREAMING at their computers right now.) You want to be contending for a title or sucking your brains out. Those are the only real places to be in the NBA and smart execs know that. Winning titles or rebuilding. Not treading water.

The Lakers are going to have the cap space to rebuild via free agency and I’m still not sure who the team attracts to Los Angeles. Melo, LeBron, Wade and Bosh could all become free agents in the offseason, but I don’t see any of those guys coming specifically with a coach like D’Antonio at the helm. (Lakers fans get over it, Melo ALREADY got a dose of D'Antonio, so you think he wants to sign with LA to get coach by a guy he hated. That's like becoming roommates with your ex-wife.) I'm not sure if LA has the pieces to make a splashy trade like they tried to do for Chris Paul (I’m STILL mad at David Stern!) and they did do for Dwight Howard. They're going to suck and if they do make the playoffs it's not going to be pretty, but when you’re the Lakers you're always going to have people talking. Love 'em or hate 'em, basketball is better when the Lakers are in the mix.

It’s time to rebuild in LA and here’s hoping they do it. But what do you guys think? I know I missed a few, so leave me a comment below telling me what you think is the biggest question going into the season. Follow me on Twitter @ParisLay. Thanks for reading and as always ENJOY THE VIEW!