The chatter is loud over the NFL scab referees screwing up games. You know what I say? Forget football and come enjoy basketball. We have thrills, spills, and spine tingling chills. David Stern is possibly the least offensive out of the big four’s commissioners, arguably, theoretically. Fantasy basketball is pretty gosh darn fun, too. Our lil ol’ website concludes our 2012-2013 fantasy basketball rankings today, looking at Point Guards. The best PG should give me sexy assists or threes or I may as well have another Small Forward. I tend to love all point guards, though. To determine my top twenty position players, I keep going until I’ve reached an internal consensus. I went through 21 players before I found my top 20 Centers, 23 Small Forwards, 24 Shooting Guards, 27 Power Forwards and 29 Point Guards. They’re basically my babies. All of them. I’m like a cat lady but with PG. As always, disagreements can be left in the comments.
1. Chris Paul – See top ten for 2012 fantasy basketball for Chris Paul’s projections.
2. Russell Westbrook – See top ten for 2012 fantasy basketball for Russell Westbrook’s projections.
3. Deron Williams – See top twenty for 2012 fantasy basketball for Deron Williams’ projections. Thus concludes our first tier, “Point Honor Guard.”
4. Brandon Jennings – New tier, includes Kyrie Irving, and says “Great Taste (I like threes).” I am clearly ranking him this high based on his continue uptick in minutes and production combined with his age. He will also be entering his fourth season, so he is firmly established with the NBA’s rhythm and blues. He obviously hurts you with FG%, but I like his potential for a solid mix of threes, points, assists, and steals. Projections: .432 fg/.820 ft/2.1 3pt/20.4 pts/3.7 rbd/5.7 ast/1.5 stl/0.4 blk/2.7 tov
5. Kyrie Irving – We’re only looking at a rookie season of production, but presuming he avoids the mythical sophomore slump, we should see an increase of minutes which should see an increase in production, plus truly good ratios. Projections: .478 fg/.895 ft/2.0 3pt/19.7 pts/3.5 rbd/6.0 ast/1.5 stl/0.2 blk/3.9 tov
6. John Wall – New tier, runs through Rondo, and is called “Less Filling (I like assists).” I apologize for referencing a horrible, horrible, horrible beer. The new look Wizards will continue to feature Wall at PG. He has some weaknesses (TOV, FG%), but overall puts forward a good game. GG, gg. Projections: .415 fg/.789 ft/0.3 3pt/16.8 pts/4.6 rbd/8.5 ast/1.7 stl/0.6 blk/4.0 tov
7. Tony Parker – Parker is getting “older” (read: 30), and he had another productive season last year. He won’t give you much in terms of threes or rebounds (or blocks, of course), but those assists look as pretty as his ex-wife, Tampa Bay Third Baseman Evan Longoria. Projections: .494 fg/.795 ft/0.3 3pt/19.3 pts/3.2 rbd/8.1 ast/1.1 stl/0.1 blk/2.5 tov
8. Rajon Rondo – Okay, so, the assists are through the roof and the steals are aces, but no threes, few points, too many turnovers and a crappy FT% keep him a little further down on my rankings. Projections: .454 fg/.603 ft/0.1 3pt/12.3 pts/4.6 rbd/11.9 ast/2.0 stl/0.1 blk/3.9 tov
9. Stephen Curry – This tier is called “Sure, I will stuff this into my mouth” and includes Ty Lawson. These are guys I’d like to snatch in the fantasy draft. Ankle problems aside, his numbers are really pleasing. Just looking at what I am projecting him at, I could move him higher, but I’m not ready to bump some of the other guys. I could change my mind after a few preseason games, although that sounds like work, so probably not. Projections: .485 fg/.853 ft/2.0 3pt/17.3 pts/3.9 rbd/5.8 ast/2.0 stl/0.2 blk/3.2 tov
10. Ty Lawson – There’s upside and youth, plus solid ratios, a three per game with nice assists and steals. His name sounds like a character from an 80s cartoon. Projections: .502 fg/.818 ft/1.0 3pt/17.5 pts/3.5 rbd/6.4 ast/1.5 stl/0.1 blk/2.2 tov
11. Steve Nash – This tier begins here and runs until Lillard. I call this, “There’s just one thing…” He’s on the Lakers now, so his assists should remain amazing, but there’s just one thing, he won’t be anywhere close to the offensive front. He is going to be weak with steals, blocks, turnovers, and perhaps most importantly, points. Projections: .488 fg/.900 ft/1.0 3pt/12.2 pts/2.9 rbd/12.3 ast/0.5 stl/0.1 blk/3.8 tov
12. Kyle Lowry – Should be the focal point of the team’s offense, but there’s just one thing, he is also going to compete with a still reliable Jose Calderon. How’s that work, exactly? It doesn’t scare me away, but I am tempering expectations. Projections: .415 fg/.870 ft/2.0 3pt/15.5 pts/5.0 rbd/6.0 ast/1.7 stl/0.2 blk/3.1 tov
13. Mike Conley – He’s still young and able to dish out assists and grab steals, but there’s just one thing, he already has five seasons under his belt and it doesn’t look like he’s going to improve his offense anymore. Projections: .445 fg/.777 ft/1.0 3pt/13.5 pts/2.7 rbd/6.6 ast/1.9 stl/0.2 blk/2.4 tov
14. Damian Lillard – He dominated the summer league and is one of a number of rookies that people are eyeballing. Hell, I have two eyeballs on him. There’s just one thing, he’s a rookie in the big boy league. Still, I’m looking at these points projections…was I high when I came up with that? Well, he’s the starter and the kid’s got talent, so **** it, go for him. Projections: .408 fg/.882 ft/1.5 3pt/18.9 pts/3.7 rbd/5.9 ast/1.1 stl/0.1 blk/3.4 tov
15. Jeremy Lin – I’m going to cheat and make Lin his own tier, “OMG TOV.” If you ignore his ungodly turnover rate from last season, this is a guy that could produce big dividends. How do you ignore the turnovers, though? That’s like saying the girl is a butterface but her face has a beard, three warts and an empty eye socket. More here. Projections: .450 fg/.800 ft/0.5 3pt/17.0 pts/2.7 rbd/5.5 ast/1.6 stl/0.3 blk/5.2 tov
16. Jeff Teague – This tier goes from Teague to Holliday and is called “Hey, these guys, they’re alright.” I like Teague enough, he may not make other people’s top 20. Good ratios, a three per game, some assists, some steals, etc. Projections: .480 fg/.801 ft/1.0 3pt/13.8 pts/2.5 rbd/5.2 ast/1.7 stl/0.5 blk/2.3 tov
17. Jrue Holliday – See Teague, Jeff. Projections: .441 fg/.798 ft/1.1 3pt/13.9 pts/3.8 rbd/5.2 ast/1.4 stl/0.3 blk/2.9 tov
18. Isaiah Thomas – This tier includes the last three guys and is called “Upside Ahoy.” He should see more minutes this year, and perhaps I’m undervaluing him in the rankings, but I assure you he is not undervalued in my heart. Projections: .452 fg/.843 ft/1.4 3pt/13.8 pts/3.0 rbd/4.7 ast/1.0 stl/0.1 blk/2.2 tov
19. Mo Williams – Will be starting, should put up some solid numbers. Projections: .428 fg/.888 ft/1.9 3pt/15.2 pts/2.6 rbd/5.5 ast/1.0 stl/0.1 blk/2.8 tov
20. Goran Dragic – Left Houston as Lowry’s backup to become Nash’s replacement in Phoenix. Again, will be starting, probably will score more PPG than I am giving him credit for. I’d happily grab anyone in this tier, so don’t sweat that. Projections: .473 fg/.685 ft/1.3 3pt/12.9 pts/2.9 rbd/5.9 ast/1.3 stl/0.2 blk/2.7 tov
Outside of the top 20, there’s some additional names I’d like to highlight, but I actually have a herniated disc and the prospect of sitting any longer is less than desirable, so what I’m going to do is toss up an afternoon post to highlight a few other Point Guards, either later today or tomorrow. I’m sure you’re excited. Are your nipples erect? Don’t lie. Okay, I’m out, for real. We’ll talk soon.
