The NBA: April 2014 Position Battle – The Top 5 Shooting Guards Right Now

In this Position Battle post, we will focus on the top five point guards at this point in the season. We will take into account just the players’ stats for the latest five games of their respective teams. This will, hopefully, give us a more current picture of each player’s production.

Nobody unseats the Beard here, which means James Harden is really that good, or the rest of the NBA SGs are just not that good to begin with. And find out if Swaggy P breaks into the top five!

Note: All of the following stats are based on each player’s stats as computed by HoopsStats.com. They were taken on April 11, 2014 (Manila time).

James Harden is the best out of a shallow pool of NBA off-guards.

5. DeMar DeRozan (TOR) - 21.0ppg, 3.8rpg, 6.0apg, 1.0spg, 19.0 EFF

Toronto has gone 8-2 in its last ten games, helping solidify the Raptors’ hold on the top spot in their division. This also means that they’re still in the thick of the fight for the third seed, but they might not even want that since Miami might finish #2. Nevertheless, DeRozan has been nothing short of awesome for the team north of the border. He’s the only one not making threes on this list, but he’s also probably the most athletic guy anyway, which balances things out quite nicely.

           

4. Klay Thompson (GSW) - 22.2ppg, 4.2rpg, 1.8apg, .500 FG%, 3.8 triples per game, .528 3pt%, 1.00 FT%, 19.6 EFF

Phoenix celebrated the Warriors’ loss to Denver this morning, but they shouldn’t celebrate too much because Thompson has hit 3 or more triples in all but one of his last six games. In short, he’s heating up, and that probably means Golden State has a very good chance of winning most of its last four games and, consequently, locking in #6 in the West. In the meantime, the Suns might still tumble out of the postseason due to a tougher sked.

Klay Thompson is expected to continue waxing hot for the Dubs.
(image by Rocky Widner/Getty Images)

3. Anthony Morrow (NOP) - 19.4ppg, 3.0rpg, 1.8apg, 1.0spg, .607 FG%, 2.4 triples per game, .600 3pt%, .944 FT%, 20.2 EFF

After putting together five straight wins from mid to late March, the Pelicans have lost six in a row, which just means they’re Playoff spoilers no more. Their remaining four games are all against either Houston or Oklahoma City, too, which means they probably won’t end the season on a bright note. Still, one cannot help but admire Morrow, who has scored 14 or more in seven of the Pelicans’ last eight. And will you look at his FG%?! What guard shoots better than 60% from the field?!

2. Randy Foye (DEN) - 16.8ppg, 5.4rpg, 6.4apg, 2.8 triples per game, .438 3pt%, 20.8 EFF

Foye didn’t shoot as well as Klay did in their match-up today, but the former came out with the W, so he still gets the last laugh. Prior to today, he also put up 30 points, 15 assists, and 6 triples in an amazing performance against Houston and the #1 guy on this list. It’s different for Foye, of course, since he is playing with nothing to lose and zero pressure.

Randy Foye has caught fire for the Nuggets, but it's of no consequence
 as they've been eliminated from the Playoff race anyway.
(image by Rocky Widner/Getty Images)

1. James Harden (HOU) - 28.0ppg, 5.2rpg, 7.8apg, 1.8spg, 2.4 triples per game, .889 FT%, 29.0 EFF

Houston is fighting for an all-important first round home court edge, and today’s loss to Denver didn’t help one bit. Three of the Rockets’ next four foes, however, are not Playoff-bound teams, so that should mean Houston will have the inside track to at least three more Ws. Of course, that’s all contingent on how well Harden plays. If Harden scores the way he did against OKC and the Lakers last week (39 and 33 points respectively), then the Rockets are good, but if he gets cold (he shot 11% against Denver), then coach McHale’s squad isn’t out of the woods yet.

Can James Harden make one strong push to end the regular season well
and ensure a first round home court edge for the Rockets?
(image by Garrett W. Ellwood/Getty Images)

  

Outside looking in:

Gerald Green (PHX) - 18.6 EFF

Nick Young (LAL) - 18.0 EFF

Jimmy Butler (CHI) - 16.4 EFF

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