Baseball had its “year of the pitcher.” Golf had its “year of everyone else.” Basketball might be having its “year of the point guard.”
Yes, it’s still early, but if the season ended today, four of the top-five MVP vote-getters would probably be point guards — Chris Paul of the Hornets, Rajon Rondo of the Celtics, Derrick Rose of the Bulls and our old friend Deron Williams of the Jazz. Not to mention the rookie of the year award, which could go to Washington floor general John Wall — if he can fend off Blake Griffin and Gary Forbes.
Oh, and what about Tony Parker, who carried San Antonio to nine- straight wins, while dealing with a divorce.
“And,” Denver coach George Karl said, “I don’t care what you say — LeBron James is a point guard,” in reference to the control-the-ball point-forward position.
Paul’s Hornets started 8-0, surprising everyone from New Orleans to New Zealand. He plays with a chip on both shoulders.
Rondo is out of control — tallying triple-doubles and leading the league with 14.9 assists per game (stirring memories of the years Steve Nash won the MVP).
“He’s doing unbelievable things with the big three in Boston,” Portland coach Nate McMillan said. “Without him, they don’t win. He’s making big plays. And he’s a general out there on the floor, knowing what he wants to do and where he wants to go with the ball.”
Rose, an all-star last season, entered the weekend with a 25.5 scoring average, fourth-best in the league, right ahead of Carmelo Anthony.
“He knew he had to improve his perimeter game,” McMillan said. “And now that he’s shooting — basically he has the green light — and if he’s knocking down his shot, there’s really no way of guarding him, because you’ve got to give him two, three steps, that’s how fast he is. And defensively, he really started to commit, and that’s basically what (coach) Tom Thibodeau stresses.”
And D-Will had an amazing stretch this month, leading Utah to four consecutive wins after falling behind by double digits. Denver fans know what this guy can do. He has become arguably the most effective guard in the league in shooting on pin-downs.
“Point guard is the most valuable position in the regular season,” Karl said. “But in the playoffs, center tilts ahead of the guard. When you have a guy who has 70 percent of the decision-making, it’s easy to coach the other 30 percent.”
Defying the odds.
Watching Wesley Matthews of Portland explode for 20 points and 10 rebounds against the Nuggets made me think of the prospects of Denver’s Forbes. No, just because they’re both undrafted doesn’t mean they’re the same player. But Matthews and Forbes have that defensive-minded, gotta-prove-people-wrong attitude on the court. They don’t take possessions off. They’re a special breed — the overlooked.
The old boss.
In Portland last week, Karl had dinner with one of his closest friends in basketball, former Nuggets executive Mark Warkentien, who was let go by the team last summer. Karl has been complimentary of Denver’s new regime, but also isn’t afraid to go to bat for Warkentien, who won the NBA’s award for the top exec in 2009 — but is currently not with a team.
“I told him, ‘Mark, you’ve done it the right way, the game will give you an opportunity. I know you think the game will slap you, but you’ve done too many things the right way — just wait and be patient.’ It’s hard though. But he deserves to be in the league, he’s a special talent in a very funny and friendly way, which is great for coaches.”
The new-look Spurs.
Remember when San Antonio used to score in the 80s and 90s but beat teams due to its methodical defense and pace-controlling? Well, with some young guns and some offensive momentum, the Spurs average 108.4 points per game, second in the NBA to the Lakers at 112.2.
SPOTLIGHT
Hill and Nash, Phoenix’s old-timers
Grant Hill wasn’t just born in the 1970s, which is an oddity for current NBA players — he was born in 1972, the year “The Godfather” came out. Steve Nash is his junior — born in 1974. But both guys just keep on chuggin’, carrying a Suns team that is third in the NBA in scoring despite the departure of Amar’e Stoudemire to New York.
The 38-year-old Hill averages 12.2 points in 27.4 minutes, and still has Dukelike hops, after all those surgeries.
“Ever since he’s been in Phoenix, he’s had a fountain of youth,” Nuggets coach George Karl said. “He has a bounce. He’s accepted that he’s not the man, but that he’s a defensive guy. And he does a great job running the court. He’s one of the more athletic wings at running the court and at a very old age. That’s about all I can say (nice) about any Duke guy.” (Karl, of course, played at North Carolina.)
Nash, who turns 37 in February, pours in nearly 20 points per game and averages 8.9 assists for the Suns.
A few days ago, Karl gushed about how Nash consistently makes his teammates better with passing and leadership, paying Nash perhaps the ultimate compliment: “I wouldn’t make a trade for anyone who played for Phoenix. You don’t know the Steve Nash effect.”
Nash is one of the coolest regular dudes in the NBA. For instance, at halftime against Denver, he was walking with his teammates in the tunnel to the court, when he spotted a woman holding a crying baby. He actually went over and started talking baby-talk to the kid, genuinely trying to get the youngster to stop crying. Pretty cool guy.
