ESPN .....Top 10 Backcourts....

[magnifier661]

Seriously?

CP3 alone makes their backcourt better than ours. I LOVE Lillard, am thrilled we drafted him and think he had a GREAT rookie season, but he's not even close to the same class as CP3 at this point. CP3 had a PER = 26.4 last season. That was 3rd highest in the league, trailing only LeBron and Durant and a full 10 points higher than Lillard. And, PER isn't a true measure of Chris Paul's value. It's amazing that a player who only averaged 16.9 ppg had such a high PER (as PER heavily favors scoring). Paul's true value is that he makes his teammates better. HUGE advantage Clippers.

I love Mo Williams and think he was a great pick up. However, Jamal Crawford averaged 16.5 ppg and had a PER = 16.8 coming off the bench for the 56 win Clippers while Mo Williams averaged 12.9 ppg with a PER = 14.4 as a starter for the 43 win Jazz. Advantage Crawford.

Not that it really matters at this point, but I'll call Reddick (PER = 14.7) vs. Matthews (PER = 14.1) a tie. Advantage no one.

The Clippers 3 guard rotation is definitely an entire level better than the Blazers. But again, ours is MUCH better than it was a year ago. So, I'm happy we are moving in the right direction.

BNM

I agree with everything you posted except for the Crawford part. I believe Crawford will be the Achilles heel to the Clippers. He forces shot after shot and hogs the ball in the 4th. All the greatness of Paul and others get fucked with Crawford ruining the flow with his ISO offense.

 

[Draco]

Harden is the best 2 in the NBA right now. Even better than Kobe.

I don't disagree with this.

 

[Draco]

Play a 3-on-3 tournament between the two back courts and I think you'd find that the stats don't tell the whole story.

But who would win in a game of HORSE?

Maybe what matters more than either result is how those players impact a game of 5 vs 5.

 

[magnifier661]

I don't disagree with this.

That asian dude Lin is probably the worst guard to pair with Harden though. I think a shooting guard; even steve blake would be a better fit, IMO.

 

[HailBlazers]

Not that it really matters at this point, but I'll call Reddick (PER = 14.7) vs. Matthews (PER = 14.1) a tie. Advantage no one.

Do you think Reddick is as good as Mathews defensively?

 

[handiman]

But who would win in a game of HORSE?

Maybe what matters more than either result is how those players impact a game of 5 vs 5.

You missed the point. We're talking about the best back court, not the best team. The stats only tell us how those players rank in a regular 5-on-5 team game, which is pretty much irrelevant to the discussion.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

I'm happy with the Blazer's backcourt, except maybe defensively.

 

[BBert]

Play a 3-on-3 tournament between the two back courts and I think you'd find that the stats don't tell the whole story.

My money is on the Clips. Chris Paul is the best player on either team, and that 3x3 playground shit is Crawchuck's bread and butter. Wes' defense isn't going to save them.

 

[Draco]

You missed the point. We're talking about the best back court, not the best team. The stats only tell us how those players rank in a regular 5-on-5 team game, which is pretty much irrelevant to the discussion.

Well Oh Ok thanks for the clarification. I thought this was the rank of NBA backcourts for an NBA team. I didn't realize it was a rank for a game of 3 on 3. Guards that have good post skills, physical toughness and defense are much more valuable since they will be doing all the rebounding and shotblocking. Passing and outside shooting would be far less valuable. A guy like Rajon Rondo would be one of the most valuable players along with other physical tall shooting guards.

Why are we supposed to care about this? Is the NBA going to have a 3 vs 3 tournament?

 

[Run BJM]

Do you think Reddick is as good as Mathews defensively?

If you look at the advanced metrics they're pretty similar for their careers. Redick actually has a pretty good reputation around the league as being a decent defender, though I haven't seen enough of it to really buy in.

But the Reddick-Matthews discussion is making me think of the "West Matthews is a top 10 SG" contingent. So does that make Reddick top 10 as well? They're both well rounded role players who mainly shoot and play defense.

I think Iggy will start at SF. We'll see how that works out though. GSW may want to start Barnes.

Even if he does start at SF, he'll play plenty in the backcourt when Barnes is in the game. And we know hes going to have to play as a PG sometimes.

 

[Denny Crane]

Do they rank front courts?

 

[handiman]

My money is on the Clips. Chris Paul is the best player on either team, and that 3x3 playground shit is Crawchuck's bread and butter. Wes' defense isn't going to save them.

That's a fair point, but then if Crawford goes playground, CP becomes ineffective and the advantage is our's.

Well Oh Ok thanks for the clarification. I thought this was the rank of NBA backcourts for an NBA team. I didn't realize it was a rank for a game of 3 on 3. Guards that have good post skills, physical toughness and defense are much more valuable since they will be doing all the rebounding and shotblocking. Passing and outside shooting would be far less valuable. A guy like Rajon Rondo would be one of the most valuable players along with other physical tall shooting guards.

Why are we supposed to care about this? Is the NBA going to have a 3 vs 3 tournament?

Sarcasm aside, what I was trying to say is that not separating out just back court players clouds matters. Stats are heavily influenced by front court teammates, substitution patterns, etc. If we want to know who has the best back court, we have to look at how just those players would fare head to head. It's not that complicated to understand, is it?

 

[Sean is the Mannion]

If Klay was more consistant then you could put them in the top 3.