Four Promising Point Guards Trying To Take The League By Storm

Photo Credit: Christian Petersen - Getty Images

Photo Credit: Christian Petersen – Getty Images

Every offseason, there are good players who become great by hard work and maturity. The opposite also occurs, declining due to age, injuries or other problems. NBA players are highly competitive and take the competition at their positions seriously. There is always someone ready to take that top spot. Let’s talk about the highly competitive point guard position, arguably the most talented position at the league right now. Here are four young players you may see taking the league by storm sometime soon.

*Note: I didn’t include Kyrie Irving in this list due to the fact that he already finished the summer starting for the FIBA World Cup National team; it’s safe to say that he is already breaking out. Also, the jury is still out on Michael Carter-Williams.

 1. Mike ConleyMemphis Grizzlies

He had a rough start to his career, but it seems like Mike Conley has been solid for years now. Shadowed by the two all-star big men in Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. Conley has silently become the most important player on the Grizzlies roster and anybody in the Grizzlies organization will probably tell you the same.

Already the franchise’s all-time assist leader, Conley had a career year and stepped up big time when Gasol and Randolph both missed a portion of the season due to injuries. With all of the injuries the Grizzlies faced, they still managed to make the playoffs thanks to their point guard. Conley averaged 17 points per game and still managed to keep his six assists per game average even though his usage rate rose to 24 percent.

Conley has become a great overall player who makes great passes and rarely turns the ball over. If he can keep up his aggressiveness and become a more dangerous threat to score, he’ll be one of the top point guards for years to come.

 2. Eric Bledsoe – Phoenix Suns

Even though he has been riddled with injuries, Bledsoe is still very young (24). Bledsoe was finally given a chance to start on a Phoenix Suns team that was expected to finish last place. As the season progressed the Suns surprisingly finished with a winning record and almost snuck into the playoffs.

Bledsoe averaged 17.7 points, 5.5 assists, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game last year. His performance translated well to advanced stats as well. Bledsoe shot a True Shooting Percentage (takes into account of 3pt fgs, 2pt fgs, and free-throws) of .578% even though his usage rate went up near 25%.

As long as Bledsoe can cut down his turnovers (3.3 per game) and make better decision making, he will be able to put up All-Star like numbers.  People don’t call him “Mini-LeBron” unless he has potential to be a star in the league. Even though Goran Dragic is the starting point guard right now, Bledsoe helps back him up and also plays as the two; he is considered a point guard to many.

 3. John Wall - Washington Wizards

People are quick to forget that John Wall was the first overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft. Wall struggled with his shot, play-making ability, injuries, and to top it all off, he was equipped with some very bad teams in the first few years of his career. Now that Wall has decent talent around him and with Bradley Beal, the Wizards possibly have the second best backcourt in the league right now (Warriors is number 1).

It is time for Wall to show that he may possibly be a top point guard in the East for years to come. If it wasn’t for Kyle Lowry, Wall would have been the best point guard in the Eastern Conference last year. He made his first all-star appearance, thanks to a season where he was ranked second in assists per game (8.8), eighth in steals per game (1.8), and 11 and 18 in field goal and free throw attempts respectively.

It is clear that Wall decided take a big part of the play-making responsibility which led to a great season for the Wizards. Wall will look forward to scoring over 20 points per game as well as cutting down his turnovers – where he was the worst last year.

4. Damian LillardPortland Trail Blazers

A player who has already made big time shots in his young career, it seems like Lillard is following a career path of Chauncey Billups with his “clutchness.” The difference between him and Billups is that Lillard, at 24, is already this good and his athleticism puts Billups to shame.

Before Damian Lillard came to Portland, LaMarcus Aldridge was ready to leave the Trailblazers. But that deadly scoring duo has changed things around. Lillard’s game winner against the Houston Rockets in Game six put the Trail Blazers in the second round where most NBA experts wouldn’t have predicted in the beginning of last season.

Through two years, Lillard already has a ridiculous average of 19.2 points, 5.8 assists, and 3.3 rebounds per game. He also shoots an astounding 38 percent from three-point range. Where Lillard can improve is his shot decision making; even though Lillard shoots well from three, he is shooting 42 percent from the field.

Lillard also tends to fade away in either the middle or the beginning of the game. I have seen a few games where he’ll have single digit scoring in the first half or first three quarters and then explode in the fourth. If Lillard wants to become elite he has to put pressure on the opposing team throughout the whole game, becoming more consistent.

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Photo Credit: Christian Petersen - Getty Images Photo Credit: Geoff Burke - USA Today