Point Guard Rankings for Today's Games
Point Guard Season Rankings, News and Notes
Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets) 6'0 175 - 23 years old
Career G MPG PPG FG% FT% 3PTM-3PTA (%) OREB DREB APG TOPG STPG BPG
Stats 222 36.8 18.2 45.6 84.0 192-569 (33.7%) .8 3.7 9.5 2.45 2.30 .06
I'm going with Chris Paul as the top point guard pick of the NBA 2008 preseason draft rankings. He has most of last year's team coming back and has the security of a new contract. Paul is durable (80 games last year) and should average around 36+ minutes a game. He led the league in steals (217) and assists (925) and averages about 1 three per game. His scoring should hover around 22 a game with good FG and FT percentages. He is clearly one of the top draft picks for the 2008 - 2009 NBA fantasy basketball season.
2008 - 2009 PRE-SEASON DRAFT RANKINGS
Brevin Knight (LA Clippers) -
Beno Udrih (Sacramento) -
Derek Fisher (LA Lakers) -
Jamaal Tinsley (Indiana) -
Jameer Nelson (Orlando) -
Carlos Arroyo (Orlando) -
Raymond Felton (Charlotte) -
Devin Harris (New Jersey) -
Stephon Marbury (New York) -
Jordan Farmer, Roger Mason, Nate Robinson, Louis Williams, Jarrett Jack, Antonio Daniels, Kyle Lowery, Chris Quinn, Bobby Jackson, Anthony Johnson, Travis Diener, Keyon Dooling, Sebastian Telfair, Sam Cassell, Chris Duhon, Jannero Pargo, Damon Jones, Tony Allen, Luke Ridnour, Dan Dickau, Marcus Williams, Mike James, Chucky Atkins, Earl Boykins
Gilbert Arenas (Washington Wizards) 6'4 215 - 26 years old
Career G MPG PPG FG% FT% 3PTM-3PTA (%) OREB DREB APG TOPG STPG BPG
Stats 431 37.4 22.8 42.7 80.9 904-2523 (35.8%) .9 3.3 5.5 3.33 1.76 .24
Ranking Gilbert Arenas as the number 2 point guard draft pick in the 2008 - 2009 NBA fantasy draft is risky due to last year's knee injury. His projections will depend on the news surrounding the condition of his knee. If he is healthy, a number two pick is justified, as his minutes should continue to hover around his career average of 37. It is still July and player rankings are going to change before the first game in November, so I'll be looking at that knee to determine his final draft ranking.
Baron Davis (Los Angeles Clippers) 6'3 215 - 29 years old
Career G MPG PPG FG% FT% 3PTM-3PTA (%) OREB DREB APG TOPG STPG BPG
Stats 608 35.5 17.1 41.4 69.2 1044-3211(32.5%) 1.0 3.0 7.2 2.77 1.95 .41
Baron Davis is another player whose ranking may change over the next few months. Davis signed with the Clippers thinking Elton Brand was going to be a teammate, but Brand bolted for Philly. Davis' ranking will depend on who the Clippers get to fill the void left by Brand. Davis is going to be a risky pick since he could either try to carry the team on his shoulders OR become very discouraged when the Clippers are out of the race on February 1.
Steve Nash (Phoenix Suns) 6'3 178 - 34 years old
Career G MPG PPG FG% FT% 3PTM-3PTA (%) OREB DREB APG TOPG STPG BPG
Stats 860 30.9 14.3 48.5 89.7 1252-2902(43.1%) .6 2.4 7.9 2.66 .79 .07
Nash had a great year in 2007, but the risk with him is his age. I don't know if he will slow down, but everyone gets old eventually and slowing down is inevitable. Ranking him at number 5 should still be pretty safe since he will get the assists. Nash averaged 34 minutes a game last year which was 4 minutes over his career average. Another alarming stat was the 3.66 turnovers per game, which was nearly a full turnover higher than his career average.
Deron Williams (Utah Jazz) 6'3 208 - 24 years old
Career G MPG PPG FG% FT% 3PTM-3PTA (%) OREB DREB APG TOPG STPG BPG
Stats 242 34.4 15.3 46.6 77.4 256-684 (37.4%) .5 2.5 8.1 2.77 .94 .22
I'm giving Deron the number four ranking on the draft board. He jumps Steve Nash due to being 10 years younger than Nash. Deron has his best ahead of him, while Nash has peaked and could decline at 34 years old. Utah has all of it's team coming back and the chemistry should still be there. Williams' player projections will increase from last year's actual stats.
Andre Miller (Philadelphia 76ers) 6'2 200 - 32 years old
Career G MPG PPG FG% FT% 3PTM-3PTA (%) OREB DREB APG TOPG STPG BPG
Stats 733 34.8 14.4 45.8 79.9 103-508(20.3%) 1.2 3.0 7.5 2.73 1.38 .21
Ranking Andre Miller at number 6 may be a stretch, but Philadelphia is going to be competitive this year with Brand on board and Miller will be giving full effort (just like he always does). Miller put up nearly 7 assists per game with Reggie Evans at PF, and you can bet that number will increase with Elton Brand around. I do think his scoring average will drop back from the 17.0 he put up last year to somewhere around his career average of 14.4.
Chauncey Billups (Detroit Pistons) 6'3 202 - 31 years old
Career G MPG PPG FG% FT% 3PTM-3PTA (%) OREB DREB APG TOPG STPG BPG
Stats 758 31.8 14.8 41.6 88.6 1270-3295(38.5%) .5 2.4 5.5 2.0 1.02 .16
Tony Parker (San Antonio Spurs) 6'2 180 - 26 years old
Career G MPG PPG FG% FT% 3PTM-3PTA (%) OREB DREB APG TOPG STPG BPG
Stats 540 33.1 16.0 48.7 71.6 291-927(31.4%) .5 2.6 5.5 2.49 1.00 .07
Tony Parker had some injury issues last season, but his stats were solid and remarkably consistent with what he has done over his entire career. He is still only 26 years old and can improve on last season. One curiosity with Parker though is his subpar free throw shooting percentage of 71%. You would think such a good shooter (career 48.7 FG%) would be a better free throw shooter.
Jason Kidd (Dallas Mavericks) 6'4 210 - 35 years old
Career G MPG PPG FG% FT% 3PTM-3PTA (%) OREB DREB APG TOPG STPG BPG
Stats 1026 37.3 14.2 40.1 78.1 1355-4025(33.7%) 1.5 5.2 9.3 3.19 1.99 .30
One of the guys that is much better in real life than in fantasy basketball. Kidd's scoring dropped to 10.8 last year, but his rebounding and assist numbers were still good. His minutes also dropped in Dallas. Kidd looked uncomfortable after getting traded to Dallas but hopefully it was just an adjustment period and he can come out strong in 2008-09.
Mike Bibby (Atlanta Hawks) 6'2 190 - 30 years old
Career G MPG PPG FG% FT% 3PTM-3PTA (%) OREB DREB APG TOPG STPG BPG
Stats 723 36.2 16.6 43.9 80.6 1044-2814(37.1%) .6 2.7 6.2 2.48 1.29 .17
Unlike Kidd, almost all of Bibby's numbers got better during his time with the Hawks. He had a very tough adjustment period, but by the end of the season he was feeding Joe Johnson and Josh Smith and even doing some scoring of his own. His draft ranking will depend alot on what happens with the contract status of Josh Smith. Hopefully, Atlanta will sign Smith and give this team a shot at getting back to the playoffs which will increase Bibby's value.
Jose Calderon (Toronto Raptors) 6'3 210 - 26 years old
Career G MPG PPG FG% FT% 3PTM-3PTA (%) OREB DREB APG TOPG STPG BPG
Stats 223 25.1 8.7 50.0 85.6 111-302 (36.8%) .4 1.9 6.1 1.51 .86 .07
I'm looking for Calderon to have a breakout year. Toronto traded T.J. Ford, so Calderon has the point guard position all to himself. Bringing in Jermaine O'Neal should also take some of the defense off the perimeter, thereby allowing Calderon to get open and increase his scoring totals. He has an incredible 50% career field goal shooting percentage. Calderon has already shown that assists are his strong category, averaging 8.3 a game in only 30.3 minutes. His minutes will increase this year and so should his stats.
Rajon Rondo (Boston Celtics) 6'1 171 - 22 years old
Career G MPG PPG FG% FT% 3PTM-3PTA (%) OREB DREB APG TOPG STPG BPG
Stats 155 26.7 8.5 46.3 63.0 11-48(22.9%) 1.0 3.0 4.5 1.83 1.66 .14
Mo Willliams (Milwaukee Bucks) 6'1 185 - 25 years old
Career G MPG PPG FG% FT% 3PTM-3PTA (%) OREB DREB APG TOPG STPG BPG
Stats 329 28.7 12.5 44.4 84.8 283-788(35.9%) .6 2.5 4.9 2.24 .96 .11
July 13, 2008 This is the first pre-season draft ranking for the point guard position. These are very rough rankings and they will probably change a million times before October, but at least they give us a starting point for our player projections. I haven't separated the players by drilling down into their stats since most of these initial rankings could change simply due to trades, free agent action, injuries and the progress of certain rookies. Check back often as the draft rankings will change as fantasy basketball news rolls in.
