King James Gospel
Fansided

Where does Darius Garland rank among NBA’s point guards?

By Josh Cornelissen

Darius Garland, Cleveland Cavaliers. Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images
Darius Garland, Cleveland Cavaliers. Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 6
Next
Cavs
Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies. Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images /

Ranking the NBA’s point guards: Tier 2 – Top 20 Players

A handful of other point guards would fall somewhere in the 10-20 range leaguewide. This tier and all subsequent ones are loosely in order but inside of each tier there are reasonable arguments to move any player up or down. Here we have three established veterans and one newcomer blazing his way into Tier 2.

2. Chris Paul, Phoenix Suns

The senior member of the point guard class, Paul’s game of crafty moves and smooth jumpers has aged as well as anyone could have dreamed. At 36 years old he is still an All-NBA candidate who is being mentioned in the MVP conversation, leading the team with the league’s best record. He will surely drop off at some point, but that hasn’t happened yet.

3. Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies

Bursting onto the scene we have a third-year player in Ja Morant establishing himself as one of the league’s most dynamic offensive forces. The Memphis Grizzlies have leapt up to third in the Western Conference as of this writing, and Morant is behind just Stephen Curry and Trae Young in scoring among point guards. His arrow is pointed straight up.

4. Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers

It’s difficult to place Lillard on this list; was his poor play this season simply a result of the abdominal injury he eventually had surgery for, or was it an indication that he is leaving his prime? This is a hedge between the two; prior to this season, he was inside the Top 10 NBA players due to his floor-stretching, shotmaking and team culture setting. If he returns at the end of this season or next year back to his old ways he jumps to the top of this tier.

5. Jrue Holiday, Milwaukee Bucks

Jrue Holiday is the best guard defender in the league, with the size, strength and length to guard up-and-down the lineup. His ability to essentially erase opposing guards was essential to Milwaukee winning the title last season, On offense he is a solid scoring threat who is a plus playmaker, so add it all up and he is right around 20th in the league, and the last entrant in Tier 2.