National Basketball Association

Will standout PG class take NBA by storm?

Published Mar. 15, 2010 7:38 p.m. ET

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While Blake Griffin has spent his first professional seasoning slap-boxing with L.A. Clipper karma, the NBA's current rookie class has demonstrated more talent and chutzpah than the experts predicted.

It should be noted that these alleged experts generally predict draft-related gloom every year. But with the aforementioned Griffin originally registered as a potential runaway winner of the Rookie of the Year distinction, the gap created by his absence has been plugged by a bounty of first-year point guards.

And it was far from expected.

But before applauding these rookie ballhandlers and projecting their impact on the league's future, please understand that I consider Sacramento Kings ace Tyreke Evans a much greater weapon when working as (hybrid position-creation warning) a point shooting guard. It really shouldn't matter what we call him when the kid puts up 29 points, 9 rebounds and 11 dimes, like he did in his last game. Anyway, without arm-wrestling with basketball fans over what constitutes a card-carrying point guard, let's revisit the premise of how these young players who initiate their teams' offenses (how's that for a broad-brush definition?) might shake up the NBA.

The quick answer is probably not as much as we'd hope.

How can that be? Isn't the great, tried-and-true point guard essential for any basketball team to flourish?

Well, if flourishing is defined by winning championships, the answer is ... not so much. While you are chewing on this blasphemy, let's go ahead and admit that things certainly seem easier with a genuine, high-caliber point guard. And some of the league's superior players at that position have helped lift their teams to greater success.

However, to get a stranglehold on the O'Brien Trophy, it's a fine idea to suit up a mega-superstar player (position optional) who can create enough issues for opposing defenses that teammates are gobbling up scoring options when the mega-superstar isn't. In a nutshell, Phil Jackson has steered 10 teams to NBA titles since 1991 without the luxury of a high-level, draw-and-kick-style point guard.

Sure, the triangle offense makes it easier to achieve court balance and capitalize on overplays and defensive missteps. But it also doesn't hurt that all 10 championships were accomplished with either Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant riding shotgun to the triangle. Three of those crowns were taken with Shaquille O'Neal working with Phil and Kobe.

The San Antonio Spurs have hauled in multiple titles with Tim Duncan (and considerable help from David Robinson). The Houston Rockets took two during MJ's baseball interlude, thanks to the work of center Hakeem Olajuwon.

So, this suggests that to win a title, you need a transcendent wing player (Dwyane Wade) and/or a dominating center, right? That certainly has trumped big-name point guards, but we also need to recognize that the great point guards of the last 20 years haven't exactly been lining up next to Hall of Fame centers.

And we also are here to insist that there really isn't any guarantee that any specific type of player -- or combination of players -- will bring a championship.

Where does that leave us in this review of this season's rookie point-guard class?

Actually, the increasing number of players arriving in the NBA with the ability to compromise a defense through dribble penetration to create scoring opportunities for themselves or others is rooted in how the game is being played at lower levels. The popularity in spread-style, continuity sets at the high school, club and college levels is spawning a generation of guards that flourish off the bounce.

With few NBA coaches willing to spend the time devising zone defenses to prevent dribble penetration (league defensive rules also help prevent this from happening, too), kid point guards enjoy much wider gaps in defensive alignments than they've seen in college or even high school.

With 17 point guards (and that's a loose definition of the position) drafted last June, the NBA and its fans have enjoyed the work of Evans, early ROY contender Brandon Jennings of the Milwaukee Bucks, scoring-and-dime machine Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors (he's dropped 25 or more points six times since Feb. 21), Minnesota Timberwolves playmaker Jonny Flynn and Darren Collison, who has taken advantage of Chris Paul's infirmity to post huge numbers for the New Orleans Hornets. If the season ended today, only Jennings would be lining up for the playoffs.

We've also seen big contributions and team-altering efforts from Denver Nugget Ty Lawson and nasty defensive potential in Philly 76er Jrue Holiday.

Toney Douglas has been starting for the New York Knicks, Rodrigue Beaubois should be ready when Jason Kidd leaves the Dallas Mavericks and Eric Maynor is a nice talent who has to work behind (and sometimes alongside) Oklahoma City sophomore Russell Westbrook.

So what can we expect as these kids grow up? With the 24-second clock putting a premium on creating a clean look on offense in a big hurry, the screen-and-role tactic (which almost dates back to Naismith, it seems) has become more popular than ever. This puts an even greater emphasis on the point guard, and this year's rookie class is loaded with guards who excel at it.

The dynamics are simple. Make the opposition declare how it will defend the ball screen, space out shooters for three-point looks on the perimeter and allow your quickest player with the ball access to the lane. Much like the Utah Jazz with John Stockton and Karl Malone, the Phoenix Suns really ratcheted up the frequency of this maneuver with then-coach Mike D'Antonio using it to take advantage of talents brought to bear by Steve Nash and Amar'e Stoudemire.

Does this mean teams caught lining up without a great young point guard are doomed to suffer? That's a bit extreme. Sure, the Atlanta Hawks might be pure murder had they drafted Paul or Deron Williams instead of Marvin Williams, but any team can excel on offense with spacing, a break-down threat, solid shooters and at least reasonable post scoring.

Jackson's Lakers won the title last season with Derek Fisher working as a spot shooter offering enough lateral movement to defend point guards. The Cleveland Cavaliers have one of history's best break-down guys and distributors in three-man LeBron James; Mo Williams can handle and defend, but his greatest value is knocking down jumpers off of LeBron's kicks.

The Boston Celtics won two years ago with a legit point guard in young Rajon Rondo, but he was not an upper-echelon point guard back then. The Cs won with crazy defense and big-play ability by three future Hall-of-Famers with something to prove.

The San Antonio Spurs grabbed one of their titles with PG Tony Parker checking in as Finals Most Valuable Player, but Tony has been more of a sprinter/scorer than the definition of a lead guard.

In the NBA, the absence of multiple defenses, full-court pressure, half-court traps and other sideline trickery that defines high school and college basketball allows teams to work with someone simply capable of making an entry pass. An NBA offense is so set-oriented that a pretty decent shot can be created through a phalanx of screens or uncomplicated isolation.

The ability to push on the break and make the right pass at the right time still exists on most teams, but too much offense is predicated on flipping the ball to the go-to guy and getting out of the way.

We can only hope that the rise in baby-faced point guards leads to more movement-based offense and an even bigger move toward scoring in transition.

But until the champagne is poured on the heavy head of someone like Kidd, Nash, Paul or Williams, we can't pencil in the teams with these rookie hotshots for a title any time soon.