Los Angeles is firing on all cylinders. Ja is a verified lunatic. No doubt one of the leagues premier playmakers, if he continues his current play then he can become more than that. Sacramento has a three-game lead over the No. The Nuggets starwill missmost of the season, as he is still recovering from a torn ACL. As long as Lillard is in Portland, the Trail Blazers will be worth watching. At this point the season is still young, but Harden will probably eclipse those statistics. And yet the exact opposite has happened so far. But with so much talent, its not entirely clear who the best ones out West truly are. You can e-mail himhere, find his archivehereand follow him onTwitter. The Western Conferenceis one of two conferencesthat make up the National Basketball Association(NBA), the other being the Eastern Conference. Charlotte doubled down on their bet with Rozier, offering the 27-year-old a four-year, $97 million extension this offseason. While some people will nitpick Westbrook, he has been an absolute force this year and is having a truly special season. McCollum is one of the league's sharpest midrange marksmen and has a deadly floater to bury the soft spots of opposing defenses. Curry is a good enough player where his struggling is still All-Star level play. He is a few boards and points short of averaging a triple-double while leading the league in scoring. Lillard emerged as a true franchise star last year. For now, Irving is out of the picture in Brooklyn. James Harden, Guard James Harden has made over 2,000 3-point shots in his career. Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James is currently leading all vote getters in the Western Conference with over 3.1 million votes. Oklahoma City is eighth in the Western Conference shooting 36.2% from downtown, led by Jaylin Williams shooting 47.7% from 3-point range. Of course "The Point God" belongs in this tier. The next set of fan voting is set to be updated on Jan. 12. Paul played an instrumental role in Phoenix's unexpected run to the 2021 NBA Finals, averaging 19.2 points and 8.6 assists per game with 49.7/44.6/87.7 shooting splits in the playoffs. With proven veteran leaders and the league's young stars all chomping at the bit to claim the crown of NBA Champion, this year's postseason has you on the edge of your seat. Is he the. Its hard to reconcile Winslows switchability on defense with his offensive ineffectiveness. Giannis Antetokounmpo leapfrog dunked over him. Booker didn't slow down from there, averaging 25.3 points per game to sweep the Denver Nuggets and advance to the Conference Finals. "Ja Morant has been accused of . Paolo Banchero leads the way as the Kia Rookie of the Year chase begins to head for the finish line. They are 13-2 and have had numerous blowout wins. The downside is hes been a weight around the Clippers necks offensively. Hes been misfiring away as recklessly as his dad when he opens his mouth this season, cant finish on drives, building a dream home with his bricks, and fallen on hard times. Simply put, Curry is one of the most impressive offensive forces in the history of the game. With high expectations set in Year 1 for Cunningham and Green, it was nearly impossible to place thefuture superstars. Thats not to say that earning a trip to the All-Star Game as an East guard wont be difficult, considering the fact two 2022 All-Star guards from the West Donovan Mitchell and Dejounte Murray went East in the offseason, thus bolstering the pool of talent in that conferences backcourt. The NBA All-Star Game is an honor bestowed upon the most distinguished hoopers every season. But Damian Lillard didnt want to rebuild, so he brought his game to the next level, increasing his scoring by over four points per game. During that span, Lillard averaged 26.3 ppg and 7.0 apg, including a pair of 40-point nights in back-to-back games in October. From averaging 10.8 ppg in 2018-19, to 19.0 ppg in 2019-20, to averaging 23.7 pgg in 2020-21, Gilgeous-Alexander has shown outstanding improvement. Placing the defending unanimous league MVP fourth in a power ranking of players at his position in his conference is ridiculous. This list only ranks projectedstartingshooting guards in the NBA.). And yet, Angeleno basketball fans must be at least a little bit worried that Westbrook hasn't learned from his previous failures. He pushes the pace and finds open teammates. If you are having difficulty accessing any content on this website, please visit our Accessibility page. Despite that, Lillard and C.J. The 23-year-old has a crafty floater and finishing package, a quick trigger from the outside and elite court vision. These are the players fans wish their teams would load manage. As the sample size gets larger, it appears that Paul may have done just that. To qualify a player must play 70% of his team's games Point guards in the NBA assume the number 1 position on the court and are usually the offensive anchors on a team. As well as hes played so far, we still havent seen Morant with his full complement of weapons. Partly cloudy this evening then becoming cloudy with periods of light rain after midnight. NBA.com is part of Warner Media, LLCs Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network, *Translations are limited to select pages, Power Rankings: Season nears quarter-mark, NBA DFS Picks: Yahoo plays & strategy for March 1, Kia Rookie Ladder: State of chase after All-Star, NBA DraftKings & FanDuel DFS Primer Wednesday 3/1, How the Spurs celebrated Black Heritage Night, NBA set to celebrate Noches neBA program, Feb. 18: State Farm All-Star Saturday Night. But given what weve seen so far in the 2016-17 season, Chef Curry is the fourth best point guard out West. Beasley has the worst clutch field goal percentage among 82 players with at least 25 attempts. Thompson was by far the toughest to place on this list, because when fully healthy, he would come in much higher than seventh. Nickeil Alexander-Walker, New Orleans Pelicans. Curry recorded an outstanding 42.1% of his shots from beyond the arc, further establishing his position as the greatest shooter of all time. In the clutch, only Karl-Anthony Towns, Zion Williamson, James Harden and Damian Lillard scored more points while shooting better than Rozier's 50.0 field goal percentagemark when it mattered most. Bane hasnt played since Nov. 11 as he continues to recover from a Grade 2 sprain of his right big toe suffered in a win against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He displayed his enduring class as he led the Wizards' charge in the playoffs, averaging 23.7 points, 13.3 rebounds, 13.3 assists and 1.5 steals in 36 matches from March to the close of the league year. NBA star Ja Morant was accused of violent or threatening behavior in two police reports, including previously unknown allegations that Morant threatened a mall security director. DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - The Western Conference Player of the Month -- Luka Doni -- is also the youngest player to ever win the award since the NBA started . Portland went all the way to the Western Conference finals, where they lost. "Miami valued my time and level of play," Bouyea said. Trent had an inconsistent role because of injuries and, to be frank, tanking, after being traded to Toronto and it will be interesting to see what he's capable of as a probable full-time starter. But for all his elite class and self-confidence, Dame is yet to taste championship success. Stare into this dark void with me and commemorate the NBA players whove been generating negative plays for their respective (or former) squads all season. Bet. James Harden, Brooklyn Nets With or without Kyrie Irving in the fold, Harden figured to have the ball in his hands more than anyone in Brooklyn. The key for Booker is to stay consistent as he seeks greatness. Possessing star-like potential, general manager Bob Myers and the Warriors' front-office really struck gold with Poole at the end of the first-round in the 2019 NBA Draft, as the 6'4" guard. NBA Trade Machine; Draft; G League; World of Woj; Awards; NBA History . LeBron James and Kevin Durant lead their respective conferences in the first fan returns of #NBAAllStar Voting presented by AT&T. His scoring is up to what would be a career high 28 PPG. LaMelo Ball's terrific rookie campaign was cut short because of a wrist injury. Young made a leap in Year 3, guiding the Hawks to the Eastern Conference finals by posting 28.8 points and 9.5 assists in 16 playoff games. Please logout and login again. Action tips off at 7:10 p.m. Jayson Tatum is a power forward for the Celtics and is considered one of the best playmakers on the team. Be the first one to comment on this story. He rises to the occasion when the game is on the line, as he led the league in clutch points last seasonwhile shooting 51.1 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from beyond the arc in clutch time. Unfortunately, he defended the paint like a scarecrow and repeated processing errors in the pick and roll becoming a target of offenses. However, the NBAs worst rotation players deserve to receive their dead flowers too. He may never be Gary Payton, but even becoming an average defender will make him a much more complete player. Meanwhile, the Blazers are an average 14-15 ATS on the road. And those people arent disappointed. Through the first wave of voting, Curry was voted for 2,715,520 vote to take the top spot in the West for guards. DeAngelo Russell, Los Angeles Lakers, Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports, 5. Denver tried converting Hyland into a point guard. The Magic won't be very good, but there will be some entertaining Suggs highlights. The 32-years old has had a wonderful career in the league, being one of a select few players to have achieved a triple-double in consecutive seasons. He is followed by Zion Williamson in second place, while Jaylen Brown is third. 2. He is undeniably one of the 10 best shooting guards in the NBA. had the NBAs lowest efficiency field goal percentage. The player saw a slow start in his final year with the Washington Wizards, where he struggled with injury, hitting his lowest career point since his early NBA days. Fans of the NBA will look back at this era and wonder just how so many great players ended up playing against each other in the same conference. Thompson has also never shot less than 40% from downtown. $5. However, Portland has struggled without power forward Al Farouq Aminu and have had their issues so far. The first WEST returns for #NBAAllStar 2023! 1 overall pick is destined for greatness. In 2019-20, Beal averaged 30.5 points per game, finishing with the second-highest scoring average in the league, trailing only Harden (34.3). Some are genuinely here due to their low basketball IQs, while others are just held in low regard by fans. As the Golden State faltered in their run to the playoffs, Curry was unable to inspire a turnaround. > 8 candidates to be All-Star guards in the East. We take a look at these five players who make up the very best of the shooting guard position in the NBAs Western Conference. If Portland resolves some of their issues, they will match or exceed last years success on the strength of their franchise player. Darren Collison, Sacramento Kings 14. The 24-year-old (he turns 25 on Oct. 30) had the best game of his young career in his Conference Finals debut, going for a 40-point triple-double to lead the Suns to victory without floor general Chris Paul. Whether its effort, low basketball IQ, rigidness, or the passage of time, these Anti-All Stars, the All-Nosebleeds, All-Asteroid team, or whatever you prefer to refer to them is populated with the NBAs least popular players. Do you agree? Russell Westbrook improves every summer and comes back and plays basketball at a higher level every season. It looked like he had the 2020-21 scoring title all locked upuntil Stephen Curry went full Human Torch over the last two months of the season to finish with an average of 32.0 points per game, just edging out Beal's 31.3. Curry scored 32 points in the loss to go with five rebounds and five assists, amassing his 13th game this season with 30 points or more. Play has sped up, scoring has increased and the game has been brought out to the perimeter as point guards dominate the ball more and more. The Warriors are 19-11-1 ATS at home, not to mention 24-7 straight up. Defensive lineups featuring Nowell are basically at a 4-on-5 disadvantage. In just his third season, Bane has become a legitimate co-star opposite Ja Morant, and hes averaging career highs in points (24.7), rebounds (4.9) and assists (4.8), shooting 45.1% on 3-pointers. His highest scoring game was a 22-point effort in Game 3. Selecting the All-Stars for the guard position in the West is often a tough task, and the 2022-23 season is no different. An average male aged 20 or older in the United State stands just 5'9.5" while the typical height of an NBA athlete is usually around 6 . The Kings are clinging to the No. Top 10 Point Guards in the Western Conference By Isaac Harris Oct 22, 2016 Apr 10, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Deron Williams (8) looks for a teammate to pass off to. NAME. BPG. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) - 2NDXFKN from Alamy's library of millions of high resolution stock photos, illustrations and vectors. The position is unique to evaluate with a handful of established stars, rising talents, skill specialists and rookies eager to make an immediate impact in the league. Jordan Greer is an NBA content producer for The Sporting News. As a result, nearly every team has a franchise floor general; only the 76ers, Bucks, and Kings havent invested highly into one. Up until he was traded to Minnesota, Malik Beasley was a pinpoint triggerman. Download App. Edwards' firstseason may have come up just short of Rookie of the Year honors, but the former No. Not only was that the second-longest streak of its kind in NBA history, its twice as long as any other guard in the history of the league. Without Chris Paul (out the last 11 games with a heel injury), Cameron Johnson (out the last 13 games with a torn right meniscus), and Jae Crowder (who hasnt played all season), Booker has carried the Suns to the best record in the West. But Currys efficiency should have risen as he can turn down more bad looks as a result of Durants arrival. Another amazing fact about Thompson is that ever since the NBA started tracking the data eight seasons ago (since 2013-14), Thompson has accounted for six of the ten highest scoring seasons (including playoffs) on catch-and-shoot three-pointers. The Baby-Faced Assassin bagged his second NBA scoring champion award, despite starting the season badly. Also Read: Stephen Currys Contract Breakdown? It was the deepest postseason run of Lillard's NBA career, a career mostly filled with quick, first-round playoff exits. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) - 2NE17RW from Alamy's library of millions of high resolution stock photos, illustrations and vectors. And even with that being said, the Celtics' captain posted career-highs with 13.1 points and 5.7 assists per game last season,coming into his own as a playmaker. Will there be a changing of the guard in the NBA this season? In Year 7, the young star guard will face loftier expectations than ever before, but if his season is anything like that playoff run, he'll only shine brighter as the stakes get higher. Point God '' belongs in this tier highest scoring game was a 22-point effort in 3... Crafty floater and finishing package, a quick trigger from the outside and 6'3 guards in the nba western conference... Cloudy with periods of light rain after midnight of 40-point nights in back-to-back games in October be worth.! 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