Since Xiao Hua became the president of the NBA in 2014, in order to increase the enjoyment of the game, the league has encouraged players to attack through the modification of rules, and in order to pursue efficient offense, the teams have gradually evolved into the "small ball era" with a fast pace of attack and defense and a rising proportion of three-point shooting year by year.
So far this season, the most criticized point guard by fans must be Wei Shao, as the most critical reinforcement for the Lakers in last offseason, the "triple double king" with an annual salary of up to $44.21 million, unreliable shots and incredible mistakes on the court have recently involved him in the trading whirlpool, but the super high annual salary and the sluggish state have deterred other teams.
Ten point guards who have played diametrically opposed to Westbrook's slump this season:
10, Russell annual salary of 30.01 million US dollars
Season stats: 18.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, 7 assists, 40.8 percent from the field and 35.4 percent from three-point range.
Halfway through the season, the Timberwolves, who have been privately dubbed the "fish belly" of the West by fans, currently have a record of 22 wins and 23 losses, ranking ninth in the West, and only 0.5 wins away from the seventh-ranked Lakers, and have entered the ranks of the playoff tickets.
Looking at the data alone, the team played best is the "double", Downs and Edwards, two inside and one outside, the offensive end is full of deterrence, averaging 46.5 points, 14.4 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game. Russell, who is the lowest pick in the Big Three draft, seems to have suffered an offensive curse this season, contributing an average of 9.5 hits per game and not giving the team much help on the scoring end.
But the reason why Russell can be selected for this list is mainly based on the excellent overall view on the court and the defensive ability of the backcourt, currently averaging 12th in the league with seven assists per game, and the defensive efficiency on the field is as high as 103.9, ranking 38th in the league, and the Timberwolves can achieve the tenth result in the current defensive efficiency of the league, which is inseparable from Russell's defensive command in the backcourt.
In recent rumors about Simmons' trade, the talented Timberwolves are also on the shortlist, and they can use their chips to make a first-round pick for Russell+. Compared with Russell, Simmons's "coffee position" is larger, stronger in the organization and defense end, and the two offensive players of the partner Towns and Edwards will be more creative, and the strength of the team will be significantly improved.
9. Garland's annual salary is $7.04 million
Season stats: 19.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 8.1 assists, 46.9 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from three-point range
In the 2019 draft, Garland, who is 1.85 meters tall, was selected by the Cavaliers with the fifth pick in the first round, coming to a team that chose to "swing bad", and Garland, who has excellent offensive ability, was soon entrusted with the responsibility of averaging 17.4 points and 6.1 assists per game last season, shooting nearly 40% from three-point range, becoming the most stable scorer around Sexton.
This season, due to the team's core Sexton suffered a left knee meniscus tear season reimbursement, Garland took his place, compared to the former offensive ribs, Garland is more leadership in attack and assists, he can currently contribute 8.1 assists per game, behind Paul, Harden, Trae Young, Murray (Spurs) and Lowry, ranking sixth in the league.
It is worth mentioning that Garland, who is not excellent in height and arm span, has performed amazingly on the defensive end this season, and his current defensive efficiency on the court is 102, which is 23rd in the league, and Paul, Gobert and other stars who are better at defending are ranked higher. The 21-year-old is now blooming at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, and the strength he has shown has also made the team management consider whether to trade Sexton.
After the first three rounds of voting in the All-Star race, Garland received a total of 340,000 votes, ranking ninth in the Eastern Conference backcourt, and given that the All-Star bench players are determined by the heads of 30 teams, Garland, who sits on home advantage (this season's All-Star is held in Cleveland), has a good chance of being selected as an All-Star for the first time in his career.
8. VanVleet's annual salary is $19.68 million
Season stats: 21.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 6.9 assists, shooting 42.4% from the field and 39.8% from three-point range.
As the most inspirational player in the NBA in recent seasons, VanVleet, who is 1.85 meters tall, has an arm span of 1.88 meters, and is at the bottom of the league, has achieved the transformation from a missed draft to signing a four-year, 85 million middle-class contract.
In the process, he was lucky, unconditionally trusted by head coach Nas, and followed Leonard to help the Raptors win the first championship in team history, but at the same time, the efforts behind him are more worthy of our respect, and he hit more unreasonable three-pointers against the Warriors in the Finals, becoming an indispensable role player for the team.
Last offseason, when Lowry joined the Heat in a sign-and-replace manner, the team management also tacitly accepted that the team entered the reconstruction period, and the team's Siakam, Anunoby, and Dragic could all be used as trading chips, and the fans did not have a little expectation for the team's record this season.
But so far this season, the Raptors have a record of 22 wins and 21 losses, ranking eighth in the East, and have every opportunity and strength to fight for a playoff ticket (teams ranked 7-10 in the regular season enter the playoffs).
The team can achieve results that surprise fans, the biggest contributor is Van Vleet, who leads the team in five statistics of scoring, assists, steals, playing time (the first in the league), and three-point shooting rate, and uses strength to lead the team to win in desperate moments many times.
This season, VanVleet hit 3.9 three-pointers per game, only second to Curry's 4.9, ranking second in the league, and the phenomenon level of play has allowed him to get fan support in the All-Star vote, and is currently in seventh place in the East with 577,000 votes, or there is a certain probability that he can be selected as an All-Star this season.
7. La Mello Bauer earns $8.23 million a year
Season stats: 19 points, 7.3 rebounds, 7.7 assists, 1.6 steals, 41.8% from the field and 37.1% from three-point range
In 2010-2019, when Michael Jordan became the owner of the Hornets (former Bobcats), he helped the team choose a total of 13 rookies, including multiple lottery signs, but so far, only Kemba Walker has been selected as an All-Star, missing Players such as Lillard, Alphabet Brother, Mitchell and other players, and the poor selection vision has become the favorite topic for fans after dinner.
In the 2020 draft, Jordan chose Lamelo Ball with a probing sign, who did not participate in the NCAA league, accepted his father's choice to go to the Australian NBL League gilded, he averaged 17 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7 assists per game, but shot less than 40% from the field. Poor shooting posture and untamed personality made fans not expect much from Jordan's selection.
But in the first year of the rookie, Ball used his strength to help the boss find face, averaging 15.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game, and his all-round play made him push Edwards to be elected the best rookie. So far this season, Ball has gradually replaced Hayward as the team leader, with dexterous passes and excellent big-picture views helping the team to 114.6 points per game, ranking second in the league.
At present, the Charlotte Hornets are seventh in the East with a record of 26 wins and 20 losses, only 3.5 wins away from the Nets in the East, as long as the main players in the late stage are not plagued by injuries, this perennial team has a super 80% probability of breaking into the playoffs, and as the team's new leader, Lamelo Ball almost booked an all-Star bench.
6. Trae Young's annual salary is 8.33 million US dollars
Season stats: 27.9 points, 4 rebounds, 9.4 assists, 45.5% shooting, 37.2% three-point shooting
In the summer of 2018, Trae Young, who was less than 1.85 meters tall, made it to the Lotto zone with an average of 27.4 points per game in the NCAA during his freshman year, and immediately exchanged clubs with Doncic to the Atlanta Hawks after being selected by the Lone Ranger with the fifth pick in the first round.
In the 17-18 season, the Hawks only achieved a record of 24 wins and 58 losses, ranking first in the Bottom of the East, and the team needed an offensive player to lead the team out of the quagmire, so the offensive and defensive Trae Young was initially cultivated as a rebuilding core.
In the second year of his rookie, Trae Young, who has unlimited firing rights, averaged 29.6 points and 9.3 assists per game, and was selected as an All-Star for the first time in his career, and his personal performance was no less than that of Doncic next door. Subsequently, third-year Trae Young ushered in a breakthrough in the results of the team, leading the Hawks to the Eastern Conference Finals, averaging 28.8 points and 9.5 assists per game on his first playoff trip, responding with strength to arrogant New York fans and "basketball experts" who mocked the eagles' management vision.
So far this season, Trae Young has continued the firepower on the offensive end, shooting a career-high in both shots, and his offensive efficiency on the floor is 116.1, ranking sixth in the league. But the current Eagles record is only 20 wins and 25 losses, is gradually drifting away from the playoffs, dissatisfied with the status quo of the management wants to seek change, the current team only Trae Young and Capela is not for sale, Collins, Bogdanovic, Gallinari and other main players with annual salaries of more than 10 million can be traded, the current Eagles favorite star is Simmons.
5, Mitchell's annual salary is 28.1 million US dollars
Season stats: 25.5 points, 4 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.6 steals, 45% shooting, 33.9% three-point shooting
In the summer of 2017, Mitchell, who had just finished his sophomore year, chose to impact the NBA with the NCAA league average of 15.6 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, which was a significant gap between Trae Young and his height of only 1.85 meters, which allowed him to be selected by the Utah Jazz until the 13th pick in the first round.
After entering the league, Mitchell, as the team's top star, has helped the Jazz to reach the playoffs for 4 consecutive years, and the "one inside four shots" and "Mitchell + Gobert" system created by Snyder have repeatedly tried and failed in the regular season with little defensive intensity, and the team's record in recent seasons has ranked in the top four in the West.
So far this season, Mitchell has played very steadily on the court, averaging 25+4+5 per game, of which three-point shots account for 48% of the total number of shots, compared to the less efficient breakthrough kill, Mitchell trusts his outside feel more. It is worth mentioning that mitchell's current offensive efficiency in the field is 118.3, ranking first in the league, and his contribution and threat on the offensive end make the Jazz gain the first place in scoring per game and offensive efficiency.
Last summer, after the Jazz failed to break through the second round of the playoffs for four consecutive years, the team began to work on player reinforcement:
To alleviate pressure on Mitchell's organizational end, he renewed his three-year, $68 million contract with low-key traditional defender Conley;
To strengthen the defensive depth of the forward line, it took $18 million for three years to get veteran Guy;
In order to ensure gobert's rebound after the game, whiteside was signed with the veteran's base salary.
The low-key Jazz have quietly completed the all-round reinforcement, and as long as the main players do not suffer from injuries, they will be the biggest contenders for the championship.
4. Holliday's annual salary is 32.43 million US dollars
Season stats: 18.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 49.3% shooting, 38.6% three-point shooting
In the 2020 offseason, in order to keep the alphabet brother, the Bucks not only provided a 5-year, $227 million super salary contract, but also actively sought reinforcements in the free market, after the failure of the Bogdanovic trade, the Bucks gave a big chip to get Juju Holliday, the specific transaction plan is: The Bucks sent George Hill + Bledsoe + 3 first-round + 2 first-round swaps to get Holliday.
The deal quickly blossomed, and with Holliday's help on both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, alphabet brothers were like tigers, and after successfully crossing the nets, the Bucks were unstoppable. In the Finals G6, Holliday played 46 minutes, with a total of 12 points, 9 rebounds, 11 assists and 4 steals, plus or minus +12, helping the team win the championship, and throughout the playoffs, Holliday's total plus-minus was +159, the highest in the league.
At last summer's Tokyo Olympics, Holliday's contribution was second only to Durant, especially the defensive end, successfully limiting Doncic and Fournier, and is an irreplaceable star of the US men's basketball team.
So far this season, Holliday has been on the floor with an offensive efficiency of 115.3, ranking 10th in the league, ranking first in the league in terms of limiting opponents' shooting percentage in the fourth quarter, and limiting opponents' shooting rate in the final quarter:
(1) Holliday (Bucks) 31.1%
(2 ) Dream Chasing (Warriors) 32.2%
(3 ) Sable (76 persons) 33%
(4) David Mitchell (King) 33.6%
(5) Robert Williams (Celtic) 33.7%
3, Curry's annual salary is 45.78 million US dollars
Season stats: 26.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 42% shooting, 38.4% three-point shooting
I believe that Curry ranked third, may cause some fans to be dissatisfied, after all, Curry's fan base is too large, from the results of the third round of all-Star voting, Curry currently has a total of 6.02 million votes, leading the Second Western Conference backcourt Morant 3.4 million votes, has locked an All-Star starting position. But do not consider the off-field factors, only look at the performance on the field, Curry's play is indeed a bit "crotch".
Curry's performance this season has been polarized, with the breaking of Ray Allen's three-point record as a reference point, and the previous game has recreated the dominance of the MVP era when he was unanimously elected, and various unsolvable three-point projections have helped the Warriors to take the top spot in the league. But after breaking the record, Curry's performance is called "unbearable", the most intuitive data is the shooting percentage, and the overall shooting rate is not as good as Wei Shao.
In the recent 2-point win over the Jazz (Mitchell was absent), Curry felt cold throughout the game, 5-of-20, 13-of-13 three-pointers, and had 13 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists. Curry also made history in this game, becoming the first player in the NBA to shoot at least 12 three-pointers in a single game but still win.
Throughout January so far, Curry has shot 35 of 117 three-pointers, shooting 29.9%, which is the worst monthly three-point performance of his career so far, and the NBA's all-time three-point king has suffered a harsh winter in his field of expertise.
Although the offensive end is bad, Curry can not be ignored in the organization and defense end, so far this season his defensive efficiency is 99.9, in the league 10th, the net efficiency value on the court is as high as 13.8, second only to the Bucks Hill, ranking second in the league. It is believed that with the return of Dream Green, Curry's state will gradually pick up, and the Warriors are still the favorite to win the championship this season.
2. Morant's annual salary is $9.6 million
Season stats: 25.3 points, 6 rebounds, 6.9 assists, 48.8 percent from the field and 35.7 percent from three-point range.
As the so-called "blue is better than blue", Morant's performance this season can be described as a blockbuster, not only the personal data has reached the level of All-Star, but the Grizzlies he leads (with an average age of 24.3 years) currently has a record of 32 wins and 17 losses, pushing the Utah Jazz to be in third place in the West. His outstanding performance gave him a temporary lead over Doncic in the All-Star voting, and he is expected to complete the achievement of being selected as a starter for the first all-star in his career.
However, judging from the process of several games between the Grizzlies and the Lone Rangers, morant and Doncic data are not much different, and in terms of control of the game alone, Doncic is obviously at ease, taking into account individual scoring and tandem teams, and easily leading the team to win. And Morant scored on the court by himself, the level of his teammates is indeed limited, the shooting rate is ridiculously poor, and the current gap between the two is mainly reflected in the overall situation.
This season is the third year of Morant's career, whether it is personal data or team results, Morant is not inferior to James, Rose, Durant and other stars of that year. As long as Morant does not suffer major injuries in the next few years, and the home team strengthens the lineup as soon as possible through trades, then the Grizzlies will most likely have the western "fish belly" team in the previous two years in the next few years, turning into a strong contender for the championship.
1. Paul's annual salary is $30.8 million
Season stats: 14.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 10.1 assists, 2 steals, 48.4% from the field and 31.6% from three-point range.
"Honest and old, can still eat"! In the 17th season of his career, Paul ushered in his personal "second spring", in the past two seasons, he led the Thunder and Suns, two teams forgotten by fans, to the playoffs, and last year touched his Finals floor, everything was so sudden, but everything was taken for granted.
Last offseason, Paul waived the more than $40 million player option, an option that gave the Suns more room to maneuver and complete contract extensions for the likes of Shamet and Bridges. This shows from the side that Paul came to the Suns and is bent on leading this young team to open a new era, as for his subsequent 4-year, $120 million contract extension, it can only be said that his current strength is worthy of this top salary.
The Suns currently have a record of 36 wins and 9 losses, compared to the warriors with the second record have a 3-game advantage, and the suns core Paul + Booker's desperate moment play becomes the key to the team's victory, according to statistics:
Booker has shot 62.5 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from three-point range at key moments this season (within five points of the final five minutes).
Chris Paul's goal difference at key moments this season was +64 points, ranking first in the league.
In the crucial moments of the season, the Suns recorded quite horribly to 15 wins and 3 losses.
In addition to his own excellent performance, Paul as the league's only remaining traditional point guard, his help to his teammates is also immediate, to take a simple example: After coming to the Suns, After Paul's points and assists, Paul currently averages 10.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, and the defensive efficiency on the court is as high as 95.2, achieving re-employment.
As a veteran at the age of 36, Paul has sacrificed the ball on the offensive end this season, putting more energy into organizing a defensive end, and averaging 10.1 assists per game in the league. There may be fans who hate Paul's small moves on the court or fouls, but as the leader of a team, Paul puts team victory first, and this alone deserves the respect of fans.