Ranking Dejounte Murray Among Point Guards in the West
5. Chris Paul, Phoenix Suns - 14.1 ppg, 10,7 apg, 4.1 rpg
Chris Paul is not a high-volume scorer anymore, but he’s still leading the league in assists and has led the Suns to the second seed after a slow start. He is not taking that many shots but is still hitting them when he needs to. He’s still one of the best defenders at his position and does not look like a 36-year-old when he plays. Once again, expect the Suns to make some noise late in the season with him at the helm.
4. Dejounte Murray, San Antonio Spurs - 18.1 ppg, 8.0 apg, 8.3 rpg
Most of the players with similar stat lines have been dismissed for having some sort of flaw. Maybe they’re inefficient or bad at defense or are only succeeding because they have no one else to give the ball to. Dejounte Murray has no excuses. He’s just playing elite basketball on all levels and is establishing himself as one of the best players in the league.
A defensive stud and Defensive Player of the Year candidate, Murray is not backing down and is taking and making the most shots of his career. The Spurs are in a bad place right now, but with Murray in charge, they have a clear path back to the top.
3. Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies - 25.1 ppg, 7 apg, 5.9 rpg
If we redid the 2019 NBA Draft, would Zion still go first overall? He has more potential than Ja Morant still, but Morant is putting up All-Star numbers and might finish the year in the MVP conversation. I’d take results over potential at this point. The Grizzlies still need to build and develop a complete team around Ja, but they have one of the best young assets in the entire league, as well as the third-best point guard in the West.
2. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks - 24.9 ppg, 7.9 apg, 8.3 rpg
Luka Doncic just gets to shoot and shoot and shoot. And he scores a lot too. A walking triple-double, the only thing worth complaining about is his defense, which is serviceable, just not elite. I think he’ll finish his career with a stat line similar to prime Westbrook, except he’ll make his shots. The Spurs may have the fourth-best PG in the conference, but they don’t have the best in the Lone Star State.
1. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors - 28.4 ppg, 6.6 apg, 5.9 rpg
I said Ja was in the MVP conversation, but they should just give the award to Stephen Curry right now. He’s putting up these numbers on very good defense playing for the best team in the league without Klay Thompson.
Later this month when Klay comes back, Curry is going to get in his bag even more and probably averaged 35 points over the second half of the season. He’s ruined the league for everyone else and is far and away the best guard in the Western Conference.