Point Guard Quick Hits and Ranking Adjustments (9/6/10)
Sep 6, 2010 Blog
It’s time to make another pass through the point guard rankings and start refining the original framework that I put up in late July. I’ve had a few mocks and I have adjusted a few players after giving individual teams a more in depth look. I also wanted to give a heads up to a bias that can creep into rankings. I love Head to Head leagues and unfortunately my views of players sometimes gets skewed by this. Every time you encounter a list of rankings on the internet, always stop and check the categories and whether the rankings are based more on H2H or Rotisserie play.
The latest PG rankings can always be found under the 2010-2011 Rankings tab at the top of the homepage.
Players Moving Down
Derrick Rose – After completing the fantasy team preview of the Chicago Bulls, it’s very possible that Rose loses some touches to newly acquired Carlos Boozer. I also had the chance to watch Rose in the FIBA tournament and he still doesn’t trust his jumpshot. He had plenty of opportunity to launch a few and just looked hesitant. If that jumpshot hasn’t gotten better, then his ranking won’t go up as much as I expected. His defense was getting better, but I think he’s just keeping the energy up right now for Coach K, which he probably won’t do over a whole season.
Steve Nash – I’m starting to get the feeling that losing Amare Stoudemire is going to hurt a little more than people think. Can Nash put up 11 assists a game with Lopez/Warrick at PF? And he’s got Hedo Turkoglu looking to play a little point forward and possibly steal a couple of assists too. Defenses may also play a little tougher on the perimeter since they don’t have as much to worry about with the Suns’ interior scoring.
Jose Calderon – He’s already injured and it looks like Jarrett Jack has a strong hold on the starting PG spot.
Rodney Stuckey – Will Bynum is the better facilatator and he wants more time, which could force more of a platoon than fantasy owners would like. The guard rotation is still crowded and it isn’t looking like Detroit has any plans whatsoever of getting rid of Richard Hamilton right now.
Players Moving Up
Stephen Curry – If Derrick Rose and Steve Nash are moving down, then Curry has to move up, almost by default. His mid to long range shooting ability is just getting too hard to ignore, especially if Derrick Rose hasn’t improved his long range shooting to keep up with Curry. I’ve watched some of Curry’s play in the FIBA and he’s looked a little lost and made some really bad passes. Rose may still have the edge on Curry when it comes to getting the ball to open teammates. I’m still not totally convinced that Curry’s stats weren’t inflated due to excessive usage at the end of last season, but I’m feeling a little better about him. Not first round good, but better. I’m going to move him from #7 to #4, one notch ahead of Rose, and force him to earn that ranking in camp or get moved back down.
Mo Williams – After doing the Cavaliers team preview, it’s pretty clear that Williams is going to have to pick up the offense, which should increase his fantasy value. The hole left by LeBron taking his 33.5 usage stat to South Beach is hard to ignore.
Darren Collison – Collison got traded to Indiana after I did my initial rankings and now he’s got a starting job. I like Collison, but the guy is still unproven and now that the pressure is on it’s time to see what he’s got. He could move up even further once I see how he performs in camp.
Jarrett Jack – It’s looking like Jack is going to be the starter in Toronto. He was solid last season, but his ranking could be affected by Calderon’s injury and minute.
Players Holding Steady
Russell Westbrook – Westbrook is as athletic as any point guard out there. I watched him make a couple of moves attacking the basket against Iran that were just sick. If he could just improve that jumper. He’s one of those guys I warned about being ranked based more on H2H than Roto. If you subscribe to the thought that week to week shooting samples are too small to be predicted, then Westbrook has to move up the rankings. If you are in a Roto league, then his percentages will force him down in the rankings. At this point, his shooting percentages keep him a notch behind Steve Nash.
Tyreke Evans – I’m not moving Evans down, but it may be time to move him to the SG rankings soon. It looks like Beno Udrih will technically be playing the PG spot. Yahoo has him listed at PG and SG, but I haven’t seen what the other sites are going to do with him yet.