Point guards spark success of Hornets, Jazz

[RonnieBrewer (Ronnie Brewer)]

Point guards spark success of Hornets, Jazz
Paul, Williams building what could become great rivalry
By Sam Smith
MSNBC contributor
Updated: 8:07 p.m. ET Nov. 16, 2006

If the playoffs started today ... wouldn't we all be grateful.

I hate those kinds of stories, but if the playoffs were about to begin, one
of the most intriguing matchups would be ─ and we may well see it next May
and for many years to come ─ between two of the fastest coming young teams
in the league led by what appear to be two of the premier guards in the game
despite being in their sophomore seasons.

Chris Paul of the New Orleans/Oklahoma City/Guess-Where-They'll-Really-End-Up
-Hornets and Deron Williams of the Utah Jazz look like they're coming quickly
and already have a budding rivalry between themselves and their teams.

It could be one of the more interesting subplots to watch in the NBA.

Yes, we hear plenty every time LeBron plays D-Wade and Carmelo plays one or
the other and it usually produces a high scoring shootout.

The Paul-Williams games haven't been as advertised, but have been every bit
as contested for the Nos. 3 and 4 picks in the 2005 draft.

It became so intense and so obvious a matchup last season that the Jazz's
Andrei Kirilenko said Williams got too caught up in Paul's play and Kirilenko
told him, "Don't play against Paul. Don't worry about Paul. Play against New
Orleans, Utah-New Orleans. Your teammates, they will help you."

This season, it's been clear that Williams' teammates have provided him more
help than Paul's teammates have provided for him. But both young players and
both young teams are two of the surprise early season stories in the NBA with
both teams at or near the top of their respective divisions.

Paul, of course, was Rookie of the Year last season when he carried the
Hornets to the brink of the playoffs, led the NBA in steals and was selected
for the USA Basketball team in the World Championships.

There has not been a sophomore jinx for Paul as he is averaging 17.6 points
and 9.7 assists and has had several brilliant games, including 34 points and
10 assists against the Warriors and 20 points and 10 assists against the
Celtics.

He is being likened to Isiah Thomas, arguably the best so-called small player
ever in the NBA and a Hall of Famer. Paul appears to have the potential to
join one of the most exclusive clubs in NBA history, those players who have
averaged more than 20 points and 10 assists in a season like Thomas, Magic
Johnson, Oscar Robertson and Tiny Archibald, the only player to lead the
league in scoring and assists in the same season.

Paul is barely six feet tall, like Thomas, but with an uncanny ability to get
to the basket. His strength is beating opponents off the dribble and pushing
the ball, though he is not yet sophisticated in running an offense, which hurt
him with the USA team, and he is not a particularly good perimeter shooter,
especially from 3-point range.

Despite a poor start shooting from outside, Williams is a good 3-point shooter
and was among the league leaders last season at 41.6 percent. He's bigger than
Paul, about 6-3, and huskier while not as quick. And one of the most improved
players in the league this season.

He's averaging 16.9 points and 8.5 assists for a Jazz team that has the
league's best record and is drawing unusual praise from old school Jazz coach
Jerry Sloan, who said, "This guy's pretty good."

Anyone who knows Sloan knows that's almost a testimonial for a coach who
hasn't taken to young players quickly. It took John Stockton three years to
get into the starting lineup in Utah.

"He understands basketball probably as well as anybody I've ever coached, for
a young guy," Sloan said. "You can run an offense and he knows exactly where
all five guys are going to be, what's going on in a game, and he can adjust
to situations."

After an uncertain first half last season in which he was tentative and
circled the perimeter more than breaking down the defense in the lane,
Williams came on strong after the All-Star break, averaging 12.8 points and
5.2 assists as the Jazz was around .500 after a miserable start, while the
Hornets disappeared from playoff contention.

This season, Williams has had some brilliant efforts, getting 27 points, 15
assists and five steals against the Bucks and in the next game 26 points and
14 assists against the Celtics.

Though the Hornets got the big headlines for their major changes in the
offseason, adding center Tyson Chandler and small forward Peja Stojakovic,
Williams has benefited by the return to good health of Carlos Boozer, the
shooting of Mehmet Okur and the professionalism of Derek Fisher.

Williams is excellent probing the defense in the Jazz's halfcourt game getting
Okur in pick and pop situations and having the court opened with Boozer
drawing more attention down low. But he's also attacked the basket more
in the mold of the Jason Kidd-type player he was likened to coming out of
college. It's enabled the Jazz to surprise everyone with its fast start to
the league's best record.

But these two young point guards and these two teams are going to be eying
one another for some time.

The Jazz parlayed three first round picks to get a shot at a point guard and
chose Williams over Paul and North Carolina's Ray Felton, who went to the
Bobcats.

The Jazz was criticized when Paul bolted to such a fast start and Williams
appeared to take it personally and generally outplayed Paul in the four
head-to-head matchups.

In four games against Paul, Williams averaged 17.0 points and 3.0 assists and
shot 60.9 percent from the field, including 6-of-11 on 3-pointers.

In four games against Williams, Paul averaged 15.8 points and 7.3 assists and
shot 39.5 percent from the field, including 1-of-7 on 3-pointers.

Williams had badly outplayed Paul in their final season in college when
Williams' Illini went to the Final Four, but clearly was resentful of the
constant comparisons with Paul and the national consensus that the Jazz had
made the wrong draft pick.

No, neither player is Steve Nash. But they're far ahead of where Nash was
this early on. Likewise, Kidd was enmeshed in team turmoil in Dallas. Perhaps
Tony Parker is now a step ahead and it's difficult to call Allen Iverson and
Gilbert Arenas point guards the way they shoot so often.

They're already two of the best and are going to be for a long time. It's why
the Western Conference is going to be so much fun to watch. And so difficult
to make the playoffs with the Jazz and Hornets in the mix. Just like when the
Jazz got this Stockton kid two decades ago.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15744583/

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