Mar. 25, 2011; Phoenix, AZ, USA; New Orleans Hornets guard (3) Chris Paul and Phoenix Suns guard (13) Steve Nash at the US Airways Center. The Hornets defeated the Suns 106-100. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

Even though Steve Nash is no longer wearing purple and orange I still consider this guy a Sun as should all of you! It’s an absolute shame how so many Suns fans turned their backs on this guy because he went to the Lakers, well I got news for you we got not one not two not three but four draft picks in return as oppose to nothing and don’t you forget about all the times this guy had bled for this team. Anyways I’m letting some awful Suns fans distract me again, my apologizes! So today I’m starting a segment where I’m going to rank the top 5 players at every position in the NBA starting from the point guards, this will be a 5 day segment so ladies and gents! Stayed tuned and GO SUNS!

1) Chris Paul

- This isn’t the same Chris Paul from two years ago, he’s not as explosive since his knee injury but he’s still pretty damn good. Paul is the best set-up guy in the league behind Steve Nash, his jump-shot is good enough to keep defenders honest, and his ball hawking defense is good as anyone in the NBA. Paul is also a guy that you can give the ball to at the end of games to make a play for your team, and unlike some other point guards Chris Paul is one those guys who can dominate by scoring when you need him to and passing when you need him to; not many point guards are capable of that.

2) Derrick Rose

- The definition of point guards have changed since the days of John Stockton. Rose isn’t going to win any awards with his passing game but if he ever develops this is guy would be just too good. Has any you ever seen some Derrick Rose highlights? The way this guy can go full speed, change directions while maintaining top speed is insane. Rose puts so much pressure on defenses with his ability to attack the basket and now that he’s developed a jump shot he’s just about un-guardable. Rose still needs to improve his passing but that didn’t stop him from winning the MVP trophy two seasons ago and had he stayed healthy during the playoffs this year who knows what would’ve happened.

3) Steve Nash

- It’s no doubt in my mind that Steve Nash is still a top 5 point guard in this league, the Suns were .500 last season in terms of wins but take Nash away from that roster you’d be lucky to have half of those wins. Nash’s ability to make the best of what’s around him is absolutely ridiculous, yes Nash isn’t the defender Russell Westbrook or Chris Paul is but like how Nash can’t guard them, they can’t guard him either. Nash is obviously past his prime at this point and he doesn’t move as well as he did during his MVP days although his numbers would say otherwise. His scoring has gone down through the years a little his percentage hasn’t, and over the past two seasons Nash has averaged 13.7 and 13.5 assists per 40 minutes which of both are tops during his entire career. Dwight Howard should feel ever so lucky to be playing alongside Nash next season, because with Nash by his side he might just steal that MVP trophy away from Kevin Durant, or LeBron James.

4) Deron Williams

- Deron Williams was a great point guard in Utah, although he hasn’t been as good as he was then he’s still a baller. Williams didn’t have a good year last season but I wouldn’t take that too seriously, being a New Yorker I attended many Nets games last season and D-Will for the most part seemed like he was just out there playing pick-up games and taking a lot of not so good shots at the basket as oppose to be the set-up guy we’ve been used to see. But who can blame him? His best option was Kris Humphries. It showed in his numbers as well last season, Williams shot a poor 41% from the field, and averaged 8.7 assists a game (second lowest only to his rookie year). Williams now with a competitive team and a new arena expect him to be the D-Will we saw back in Utah.

5) Russell Westbrook

- Russell Westbrook is another point guard that’s a score first point guard. Westbrook who played shooting guard in college made the transition to point guard once he reached the NBA and has taken the NBA by storm. Being regarded by many as the most athletic player in the league Westbrook is just a dynamic athlete. Much like Rose, Westbrook isn’t the set-up guy the other three guys are and don’t get confused he’s not looking to set anyone up neither; if your open Westbrook will pass to you but for the most part Westbrook is looking to get his own buckets. Like Rose, Westbrook’s athletic ability is so incredible that if he tried to play like Nash or Paul his talents would be wasted. Westbrook still has a way to grow both as a player and a point guard, his decision making must improve as does his passing ability. His athleticism isn’t going to last forever and once it fades he’s got to have other weapons; granted he’s only 23 and he doesn’t have to worry about father time for awhile.

Well there you have it, these were the guys I put in my top 5 last-season and I’ll stick by them again this season. Many will argue Rajon Rondo deserves to be on this list but if you were the Celtics GM and another GM called offering you any one of these guys for Rondo, would you say no? With the exception of Nash but that’s only due to his age. Rondo is a good point guard but his lack of a jump shot as well as an awful free throw percentage which eliminates his ability to attack the basket late in games because of the disadvantage he has at the free throw line is costly. Rondo has also been playing next to 3 future hall of famers for the most part of his career and it seems at times Rondo gets more credit for the Celtics success than the other 3 guys does, odd; not to mention Rondo also doesn’t seem to have the professionalism of an elite player.I’ve never seen any star player do anything so amateur. Bottom line, the day Rajon Rondo improves his free throwing shooting, not even his jump shot but just free throw shooting he’ll be a top 5 point guard. But hey, Nash is retiring in a couple seasons so there’s an opening! Oh, but wait don’t forget the other young rising point guards like Kyrie Irving and Ty Lawson, look out Mr. Rondo you have some competition.

Their progress is a bit more complicated than we’d like - the developing binary star-system in Oklahoma City is full of so much raw potential that we often look past the nuanced dance still in the choreography stages and yearn for the finished galactic product. To find fault with either is easy and, if done properly, productive; the awareness of their imperfections provides the opportunity to polish and perfect. To point blame, however, is foolish and ignores the roots of balance on which the Thunder’s play is already based.

Durant, to this point, depends a great deal on his point guard – a unique trait for one of this generation’s elite scorers. How dependent is he?

A large 62.4% swath of Kevin Durant’s 10’-11’ points were assisted, compared to 32.3% for LeBron James, 45.7% for Carmelo Anthony, and 36.7% for Dwyane Wade. The other top scorers can call their own number, while Durant’s numbers are predicated on getting his called by others.

The difference in assist percentage might have something to do with how other stars excel at getting to the hoop, while Durant prefers to attack it from afar. He tallied only 3.6 shots at the rim per contest, which ranks 73rd in the league.

“Durant’s limits are his own” – Ethan Sherwood Strauss

These limitations should not be blamed on Westbrook, nor should Durant’s inability to get consistent touches down the stretch, according to Strauss. And he’s right. Rather, what we should gather from these numbers is how much Westbrook – at his best – complements Durant. (more…)