Combo guards are so tough to build around. I think they ultimately will be on non-winning teams until they are just at the peak of their primes and it is realized they are best served as an electric 6th man who can come in for the 1 or the 2.
Just like Jason Terry.
Next are Devin Harris, Stucky, and Ellis.
Completely disagree about Devin Harris.
He's got a better passing rating (a weight statistic that gives more credit to close-range 2pt shots, and takes away more for passing turnovers) than Jameer Nelson. He's got a better assist ratio than Raymond Felton or Tony Parker, and he's got more assists per 48 mins than Russell Westbrook. He's got the 20th best assist to turnover ratio in the league.
He's a point guard, for sure.
Not too impressive for a team worst in the NBA last year, 6th worst record this year.
Stats are nice. But I wouldn't be surprised if Lebron is better than Devin Harris in all of those stats. Does that make Lebron a pg? I realize lebron is one of the most unique players in the history of the NBA, but my point is, stats isn't what I use to put a player at a certain position. I weight more heavily the player's overall game.
Where would you rank Harris on a list of point guards? Probably a little outside the top 10. Where would you rank him on a list of 6th men? Easily top 5 and he has the extra valuable ability to play 2 positions off the bench rather than 1.
Yeah, somewhere right around 10.
But does that mean everyone who isn't a top 10 PG is a "Combo guard"?
Also, saying he'd be a good bench player doesn't mean he should be a good bench player.
Imagine if you could have Ray Allen come off the bench. He'd be the most potent, reliable instant offense machine in the NBA. If you're starting Kobe Bryant, then having Ray Allen come off the bench is an awesome idea.
But, most teams aren't starting Kobe Bryant..they're starting guys worse than Ray Allen.
Even if Devin Harris would be a great option off the bench (which he was when he was 23), he's still a better starting option than 50% of the starters in the league at the point, easy.
Tier 1: Chris Paul, Deron Williams
Tier 2: Rajon Rondo, Russell Westbrook, Steve Nash, Derrick Rose
Tier 3: John Wall, Jason Kidd, Devin Harris, Raymond Felton, Tony Parker
Tier 4: Brandon Jennings, Andre Miller, Mike Conley, Kyle Lowry,
Arghhh, just wrote a post and lost it! So, to paraphrase...
Very nice tiers, IP. My quibbles are petty. I think D-Rose is definitely tier 1 now. He's the only pg in the league that his team would absolutely reject a 1-1 trade for either of the tier 1 guys before the end of the day. I have Harris/Felton tied for the 11,12 spots in my rankings.
So, I have a gripe with the Harris/Ray comparison. Ray is a top 5 SG. Harris is outside the top 10 IMO. Not quite apples to apples. I don't have stats to support, but I don't feel like Ray torches 2nd lines any more than he torches 1st lines. Maybe he does, I don't see it as obvious though. I think Harris' explosiveness would allow him to be more effective vs. second lines than first lines. Or, like the 6th man often does, come in fresh and explode against starters who have slightly tired after 6 minutes of playing already.
Yeah, Harris is still better than 50% of the league at PG. But was Manu a top 15 SG during the Spurs championship runs while inferior SG's like Mike Finley started over him? I think that Devin Harris can provide that Manu-like punch off the bench that makes him more valuable as a 6th man than as a starter. I find him extra valuable there because he can come in for 2 positions (both guards) just like Manu could (both wings).
