Ranking NBA’s Southeast Division Point Guards
By Greg Hall
Here is the long-overdue Divisional Point Guard ranking from the Eastern Conference. The Southeast Division for me was not the easiest to rank, and as always I am interested to see if you would rank them the same. The list below explains my reasons for the ranks.
Aug 1, 2014; Las Vegas, NV, USA; USA Team Blue guard John Wall (30) dribbles the ball during the USA Basketball Showcase at Thomas & Mack Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
| RANK | NAME | TEAM | RATIONALE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Wall | Washington Wizards | I believe this past year was a breakout one for Wall. He set new career highs for APG (8.8) and PPG (19.3). Wall is always a threat to penetrate into the heart of the defense and score or distribute when he does. Wall gained his first taste of the playoffs this past season and is surely eager to return. |
| 2 | Jeff Teague | Atlanta Hawks | Teague has matured over the past couple of years into a very effective player. He seems to be able to penetrate into the paint at will, and has proven himself a hard to defend PG. I believe he may have peaked, but he is always a threat to score or distribute when he is on the floor. |
| 3 | Kemba Walker | Charlotte Hornets | I have been very disappointed with Walker until this past season. This year Walker had a 39.3% FG% and averaged 6.1 APG. Walker really came of age in the Playoffs with a 47.3 FG% and 6 APG. I expect Walker to take the playoff experience he gained to improve his game for the upcoming season. Walker going into his 4th season would be expected to improve again this year. |
| 4 | Victor Oladipo | Orlando Magic | Oladipo struggled with his shooting in his rookie season. He averaged 41.9% FGP and 32.7 3P% so it makes sense to ask why I have rated him above those already on this list. Oladipo is an explosive athlete with tons of potential. His upside is going to be hard to predict until he has a few more seasons under his belt, but has shown he has All-Star Potential. I expect improvement on all his numbers this year. |
| 5 | Mario Chalmers | Miami Heat | You might ask how I can rank the NBA finals point guard as worst in the Divison? I look at the Miami Heat team last year and it was pretty clear LeBron James was orchestrating the offence. Chalmers' role seems more to provide outside shooting and play defense. I believe he will struggle trying to run the offense without LeBron. I also do not expect numbers like 3 Point % (38.0) and Field Goal % (45.4) to stay nearly as high next season. Chalmers will struggle to match Assists Per Game total (4.9) which was mediocre last year. |
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