If the 2010 MLB season was the "Year of the Pitcher," the 2010-11 NBA season, at least through the first two weeks, can be characterized as the "Year of the Point Guard."
While the New Orleans Hornets' Chris Paul and the Utah Jazz's Deron Williams first started this resurgence a few years ago and remain at its forefront, a new vanguard is picking up where the two left off. Players like the Chicago Bulls' Derrick Rose, the Boston Celtics' Rajon Rondo and the Oklahoma City Thunder's Russell Westbrook, among others, have taken center stage this season, and the league is taking notice.
Rose already has a season's worth of highlights in just two weeks. A physical freak, he has established himself as the league's premier penetrating point guard, not just for his ability to beat any defender off the dribble but also for his extraordinary finishing talents at the rim. He has mastered a tricky floater, and he has displayed a full array of gravity-defying up-and-under moves ,as well as a Nov. 5 dunk over the New York Knicks that merits considerable rewatching on YouTube.
His points (23.8), assists (9.2) and shots (21.0) per game are all high as he has taken leadership of a Bulls team trying to hold down the fort while they wait for offseason signing Carlos Boozer to return from injury.
Rondo, in a very different manner, provides just as many highlights as Rose and has also found his way into the record books. He broke John Stockton's and Magic Johnson's record for most assists in the first five games of a season with 82 and he stands second behind Stockton with the most assists through eight games with 118. He also tied Isiah Thomas' record for most assists during a triple-double with his Oct. 29 performance against the Knicks in which he recorded 10 points, 10 rebounds and a phenomenal 24 assists.
As ESPN's TrueHoop points out, he has posted at least 15 assists in a game five times this season, which matches the total number of 15-assist games of every other NBA player combined this season. He is at his best on the fast break, where he loves to dive into the line and allow the defense to collapse around him, all the while knowing that either Paul Pierce or Ray Allen is spotting up at the three-point arc. At 11.1 points, 14.7 assists, 3.1 steals and 5.5 rebounds per game, Rondo has become the driving force on a team stacked with All Stars and future Hall of Famers.
Westbrook is in a much different position from Rondo, as the third-year UCLA alum has to take on more of a scoring responsibility with fewer capable teammates — other than Kevin Durant, of course — to pass to. Yet Westbrook has also taken his game to another level this season, raising his scoring (21.2), rebounding (6.5) and stealing (2.30) as he does a little of everything for a Thunder team with high expectations.
More examples pop up throughout the league. The Washington Wizards' John Wall, much to ESPN commentator Colin Cowherd's chagrin, has literally hit the ground running in his rookie season, and no one in the league appears to be able to match the Rookie of the Year candidate's speed and quickness.
Then there's last year's Rookie of the Year, Sacramento Kings guard Tyreke Evans, who has continued his impressive play. Even players like the Memphis Grizzlies' Mike Conley (15.6 points, 8 assists, 3.4 steals per game) and the Charlotte Bobcats' D.J. Augustin (6.4 assists per game but a phenomenal 4.5 assists/turnover ratio) are quietly enjoying breakout years in increasingly important roles.
Paul and Williams certainly still reside near the top of any fan's list of the elite point guards in the NBA, but that list is as dynamic as the players on it. It's the trend those two brought back, however, of explosive, play-making point guards who can attack the rim or find the open man and become the leaders of their team that has taken hold in this league, and the results have been exciting to watch.
