Little Men Show Game
February 26, 2015
There is a new breed of point guards forming in the NBA. Instead of just having the role of being the facilitator, point guards now come in different shapes and sizes. With players like Chris Paul and Stephen Curry in the consideration for the Most Valuable Player award, the NBA is now a little man’s game.
The traditional point guard was seen as the player who brought up the ball, took charge of the offensive and defensive schemes, and delivered the ball to teammates for open looks. The perfect example of this type of player was former Utah Jazz and Hall of Famer John Stockton. Considered as one of the best point guards to ever play the game, Stockton holds the NBA record for career assists and perfected the pick and roll with his fellow big man teammate Karl Malone.
Currently, there are many different types of point guards in the NBA. The league consists of athletic point guards like John Wall and Derrick Rose, creative point guards like Rajon Rondo and Ricky Rubio, scoring point like Damian Lillard and Westbrook, and all-around point guards like Paul and Curry.
With the game becoming more spread out and faster, teams expect more from their point guards. Instead of just searching for bigs on the court, franchises are now looking for versatile guards that have the potential to do nearly everything on the court. An elite player is who is able to score, find open teammates, and defend, are qualities most likely attributed to the point guard position.
In the past, coaches’ number one options were their big men in the paint unless they had wings like Michael Jordan and Clyde Drexler. The point guard would find the center in the paint and the center would finish the play with his arsenal of post moves. However, with teams adjusting to the pick and roll strategy, the roles of the point guard has been changed. Instead of being just a conductor and facilitator, they are now the playmakers and shot-creators for the team. Point guards now have the choice of driving in the paint after a screen or hitting the big man on the roll.
Since there is currently a drought of skilled big men and wings in the NBA, the eyes of basketball fans around the globe are now focused on the talented point guards. With Russell Westbrook delivering an explosive and game-changing dunk every game to Kyrie Irving showing off his creativity with his ball-handling combinations, the league is highlighted by the elite point guards.
With this new type of point guards, the basketball world has now something to watch as games are filled with exciting dunks and ankle-breaking moves.
