The Elite PG's of the NBA 2016 Edition

[Schilly]

Maybe this has been brought up... maybe not. We have a lot of people in here that like to downplay Lillard so I thought lets see how he stacks up in the league as a whole. So as a metric I decided to look at PG's that are in the top rankings for Scoring and Assists in the NBA.

So here's what we have

Top 5 for Both Scoring and Assists (rank pts/asts)
None

Top 10 for Both
Russell Westbrook (6/4)
Damian Lillard (7/8)

Top 15 for Both
Steph Curry (1/11)
Isaiah Thomes (14/9)

Top 20 for Both
Kyle Lowry (17/13)
Eric Bledsoe (20/15)

Top 25 for Both
Reggie Jackson (21/12)
Brandon Knight (22/22)
John Wall (24/2)

Top 30 for Both
None

Top 35 for Both
Chris Paul (31/3)

Top 40 for Both
CJ McCollum (16/38)

Clearly it is not a perfect ranking system but I do think it gives some merit that Lillard is an elite level PG in the NBA. If I were going to rank them based on this and the Eyeball test this is how I would rank them.

1. Steph Curry
2. Russell Westbrook
3. Chris Paul
4. Damian Lillard

 

[Schilly]

Just to add on, Typically the PG's that score well also distribute fairly well... On the Flip side some of the top assisting PG's don't score much at all. A few Examples being

(pts/asts)
Rajon Rondo (96/1)
Ricky Rubio (132/5)
Jarrett Jack (81/6)

And then the anomaly of not being a PG

Draymond Green (52/7)

 

[Strenuus]

I think 4th-6th in that range is a good spot for Dame. I don't think that's so far fetched even for the most ardent Dame hater.

 

[B-Roy]

The PG war is really Curry/Westbrook *POWER GAP* Paul *POWER GAP* Everyone else depending on the night.

 

[Schilly]

The PG war is really Curry/Westbrook *POWER GAP* Paul *POWER GAP* Everyone else depending on the night.

I don't agree with that in the slightest. You been listening to the Bald One too much.

 

[B-Roy]

I don't listen to the bald one at all.

 

[KingSpeed]

1. Steph Curry
2. Russell Westbrook
3. Chris Paul
4. Damian Lillard

And they're all in the West so it'll be tough for him to make the All Star team since Klay and Harden are most likely in.

 

[Schilly]

I don't listen to the bald one at all.

You should, you share his opinion it seems, might wanna dodge that a little better.

 

[Strenuus]

And they're all in the West so it'll be tough for him to make the All Star team since Klay and Harden are most likely in.

Yup. Will probably take another injury from someone else..

 

[B-Roy]

You should, you share his opinion it seems, might wanna dodge that a little better.

I'm fine with my opinion. That's why it's an opinion.

 

[JfizzleBlazer]

Yeah I think everyone would rather have curry or Westbrook or a healthy Paul. Lillard and wall are probably the same level and I'd take either over Irving.

 

[Strenuus]

Yeah I think everyone would rather have curry or Westbrook or a healthy Paul. Lillard and wall are probably the same level and I'd take either over Irving.

Agreed.

It's why I say 4-6 should be about right for any fan whether they hate him or love him. It's the right spot.

 

[blue9]

(pts/asts)
Rajon Rondo (96/1)

Remember when people said the only reason Rondo ranked high in APG was because he played with PP/KG/RA? The dude is a set-up artist! I wonder if BOS would have won without him.

 

[oldmangrouch]

According to advanced stats (PER, VORP, win shares) Lowry is better than Dame and Wall.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

According to advanced stats (PER, VORP, win shares) Lowry is better than Dame and Wall.

He's definitely a much better defender than Dame is, playing on a significantly better team, and is better at drawing fouls (similar FTA numbers on about 5 fewer FGA/100 poss). He's also likely helped by being the secondary option. I wonder how each team would fare if the two switched places.