Now that the 2010-11 NBA season is well underway, it’s a good time to take a look at how the point guards are performing in fantasy play.  As owners know, having a reliable point guard on your team is instrumental to attaining success, given the multiple categories in which they contribute.

 

As always, HOOPSWORLD assumes a nine-category league (points, assists, rebounds, steals, blocks, three-pointers made, turnovers, FG%, and FT%) when talking fantasy hoops.

 

Please note that we considered players with eligibility limited only to the point guard position in Yahoo! Fantasy Leagues.  Many players are ranked as a point guard as well as a shooting guard (Dwyane Wade, Monta Ellis and Raymond Felton, for example), but we elected to stick solely with the point guard-ranked position.

 

Let’s take a look at the top five leaders in the point guard position per game in each major statistical category*, averaging at least 30 minutes per game so far in the 2010-11 season:

*Note -All stats represent games played through 12/9/10

 

Points-            Derrick Rose (25.1)              Least  Turnovers -     Beno Udrih (1.4)

                        Russell Westbrook (23.7)                                         D.J. Augustin (1.7)

                        Deron Williams (21.8)                                              Jason Kidd (2.1)

                        Stephen Curry (20.1)                                                Brandon Jennings (2.5)

                        Brandon Jennings (18.5)                                         Chris Paul (2.5)

 

Assists-          Rajon Rondo (14.1)             3-Pointers Made-      Brandon Jennings (1.9)
                        Steve Nash (10.5)                                                    Stephen Curry (1.7)

                        Chris Paul (10.5)                                                      Jason Kidd (1.7)

                        Deron Williams (10.0)                                             Chauncey Billups (1.6)

                        John Wall (9.1)                                                         Derrick Rose (1.5)

                                                                                                           Jameer Nelson (1.5) (tied)

 

Rebounds-     Russell Westbrook (5.5)                 FG%-              Rajon Rondo (.528)

                        Chris Paul (4.6)                                                        Tony Parker (.518)

                        Rajon Rondo (4.6)                                                   Steve Nash (.508)

                        Derrick Rose (4.3)                                                   Stephen Curry (.489)

                        Deron Williams (4.2)                                               Chris Paul (.478)

                        Kyle Lowery (4.2) (tied)                                            Jameer Nelson (.478) (tied)

                        Brandon Jennings (4.2) (tied)

 

Steals -           Chris Paul (3.1)                                FT%-               Stephen Curry (.909)

                        John Wall (2.4)                                                          Chris Paul (.905)

                        Russell Westbrook (2.2)                                          Chauncey Billups (.893)

                        Rajon Rondo (2.2)                                                    D.J. Augustin (.892)

                        Andre Miller (2.1)                                                      Steve Nash (.884)

                        Stephen Curry (2.1) (tied)

                        Mike Conley (2.1) (tied)

 

We skipped blocks per game, but Derrick Rose leads point guards with 0.6.

 

Here are the top five point guards leading in PER (Player Efficiency Rating):

1. Chris Paul (27.0) – Leads the league
2. Russell Westbrook (25.1) – Second in the league
3. Deron Williams (23.6) – 11^th in the league
4. Steve Nash (23.4) – 13^th in the league
5. Derrick Rose (21.6) – 17^th in the league

 Now that we see which point guards are posting the best numbers in fantasy categories, there are several names that keep popping up.  We will concentrate those multiple contributors:

 

Chris Paul – New Orleans Hornets

{AUTHOR_BOX}The now-healthy 6’0 point guard has seemingly taken up where he left off last year when injury limited him to just 45 games.  In addition to having the top-ranked PER, Paul is also leading the league in steals per game at 3.1 (and led the league in 2007-08 and 2008-09) and Win Shares, plus he has the lowest turnovers, by far, of all the point guards on this list.  His points per game (15.7) marks the lowest in his career.

 

Deron Williams – Utah Jazz

On the other hand, Williams’ points per game (21.8) marks the highest in his career, averaging over three points more than last season.  The crunch-time wonder is making it work without Carlos Boozer.  He gives you consistent numbers in steals, assists and rebounds: unfortunately, there is consistency in rather high turnovers (3.4), too.  His three-point efficiency has taken a hit, but free-throw accuracy has increased.

 

Russell Westbrook – Oklahoma City Thunder

All of the sudden, Westbrook has become a reliable fantasy beast.  You have to actually see the box score comparing last year to this year to fully appreciate the improvement:

 

Year	Team	G	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	OFF	DEF	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TO	PF	PPG
09-10	OKC	82	82	34.3	0.418	0.221	0.780	1.7	3.1	4.9	8.0	1.3	0.4	3.27	2.49	16.1
10-11	OKC	23	23	37.2	0.440	0.231	0.871	1.8	3.7	5.5	8.6	2.2	0.4	4.09	2.57	23.7

 

Every number has increased, save for blocks which remain the same.  His current PER jumped to 25.8 (second in the league, as noted above) from 17.1 last season.  He leads point guards in John Hollinger’s Value Added and Estimated Wins Added, and leads the league in total free throws.  However, he leads the league at in turnovers committed.

 

Derrick Rose – Chicago Bulls

Like Westbrook, you have to see the year-to-year stats to appreciate what Rose has accomplished thus far:

 

Year	Team	G	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	OFF	DEF	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TO	PF	PPG
09-10	CHI	78	78	36.8	0.489	0.267	0.766	0.8	2.9	3.8	6.0	0.7	0.4	2.78	1.23	20.8
10-11	CHI	19	19	38.7	0.456	0.372	0.774	0.9	3.4	4.3	8.2	1.1	0.6	3.74	2.26	25.1

 

Rose said recently that Carlos Boozer’s return will make his game easier; if so, watch out as Boozer’s presence just may open the court in a big way for Rose’s game.  He’s already shooting lights-out most nights (ppg ranked fourth in the league), seemingly taking his game to the next level.  A little work on free-throw shooting, steals and turnovers would make fantasy owners happy.

 

Steve Nash – Phoenix Suns

Nash must tire of all the attention drawn to his age (he turns 37 in February), but we would all like to know his secret.  Now in his 15^th year, his scoring average (18.2) is at his highest level since the 2006-07 season.  He’s tied with Chris Paul in assists per game (10.5), second in the league.  He’s playing more minutes (33.8) than he has averaged the past two years.  He only missed one game last year; he’s missed 30 games over the past nine years.  Nash’s FG% remains consistent (.508), but three-pointers are decreasing and turnovers per game (3.6) are always a consideration.

 

Rajon Rondo – Boston Celtics

It appears Rondo, who recently proclaimed himself 77% healthy, will continue to play through his hamstring and foot injuries.  His stellar assists per game of 14.1 places him firmly in first place in the league, and he’s averaging 11.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.2 steals.  In addition, his .528 FG% puts him first among point guards.  It makes one wonder what numbers he could be posting if he were 100% healthy.

 

 

Quick Hits:

 

Stephen Curry – Golden State Warriors

The bad news first: On Dec. 9^th, Curry rolled his right ankle for the fourth time this season.  Good news: An MRI did not reveal any torn ligaments.  Common sense suggests Curry should rest for a bit to get the ankle fully healed.

 

Brandon Jennings – Milwaukee Bucks

Leading in three-pointers among point guards, Jennings is averaging 3.0 more points per game than last year (now 18. 5 ppg).

 

Aaron Brooks – Houston Rockets

Brooks had targeted a December 10^th return from his November 6^th ankle injury, but it didn’t happen.  In fact, he’s not even practicing, and no official return date has been set.

 

John Wall – Washington Wizards

Wall has already missed seven games of the first 21 due to various injuries.  The rookie logged two double-doubles in the last two games and is averaging an impressive 17.4 points, 2.4 steals and 9.1 assists per game.