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Williams, Paul are the future at point guard
Charley Rosen / Special to FOXSports.com
Posted: 8 hours ago
The two best point guards in the league are Steve Nash and Jason Kidd.
Period.
None of their contemporaries can match either the mature decision-making
or the purity of purpose of these two. But Nash is 33, and Kidd is nearly
34, so their respective pasts are longer than their projected futures.
Looking into the crystal ball, it's clear who the next pair of outstanding
point guards will be: Chris Paul and Deron Williams. No question about it.
Guaranteed to happen.
That's why Utah's sure-handed 108-94 dismantling of the Hornets had such an
intriguing sub-plot: Paul and Williams going at each other.
Here are the pertinent details:
Paul vs. Williams
Player MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A REBS A ST TO PTS
Paul 39 4-11 1-3 5-7 2 13 3 1 14
Williams 37 7-14 2-5 4-4 2 6 1 4 20
So who got the best of the confrontation?
In direct head-to-head matchups (discounting switches and fast-break
sequences), Paul shot 4-10, while Williams was 6-11. Paul also forced three
shots and one pass, and Williams forced one of each.
Hmmm. Not much difference here.
Also, since neither of them were placed in iso situations, the only clear
case of one beating the other off the dribble for a score was a
fourth-quarter take by Williams. Moreover, it seemed that Paul had trouble
finishing whenever he ventured into the trees ─ and that's when all of his
ill-advised shots were launched (including an embarrassing off-balance
air-ball from 5-feet out). Williams, then, seemed much more comfortable when
he was able to carry the ball into the paint ─ looking for kick-outs or
drop-passes rather than shots.
Virtually every time that Paul handled the ball in the attack zone, he was
presented with a high screen. However, in the first half, Utah's bigs made
quick shows that forced Paul to back up long enough for Williams to recover.
In the second half, Paul made tighter cuts around the screens and was able to
beat the bigs to the corner. Even so, whatever advantages Paul managed to
gain from these screens was minimal since the Hornets mostly ran various
post-ups and baseline isos anyway.
The Hornets did have Paul work his way up and around staggered screens on two
occasions. He lost Williams on the first and knocked down an open 18-footer.
The second time the Hornets ran this play, Williams battled his way through
the screens and stuck with Paul, who dropped a terrific dime into Desmond
Mason's hip pocket ─ but the ensuing layup was missed.
Every aspect of Paul's game was unquestionably hindered by a massive tape job
on his sprained left thumb. Perhaps that's why his defense was even more
erratic than his shooting. For sure, he deflected several passes that turned
into steals ─ and on one second-quarter play Paul beat his counterpart to a
high-screen, thereby forcing Williams to change direction and upsetting the
timing of the Jazz' proscribed play. Paul also recovered from a slick
cross-over by Williams by tipping the ball from behind ─ but Utah won the
scramble for the loose ball.
On the other hand, Paul was faked out of his jock twice by shifty head-fakes
that allowed Williams clear looks at the rim. Fortunately for the Hornets,
Williams missed both shots. Paul looked even worse on an early-offense
sequence in the third quarter, when he reached for Williams' dribble and
wound up falling on his face.
Williams, on the other hand, was rarely given a high-screen to play with. But
all of Utah's screen/rolls were classic ones in which the screener actually
rolled, received a pass, and plowed his way to the hoop for a layup.
Flashbacks of Stockton and Malone!
For most of the game, though, Williams simply made wing-passes or superb
entry passes that effectively initiated Utah's precision offense. Several of
Williams' long-range bombs were taken under duress when the shot clock was
approaching oblivion ─ yet his step-back jumpers (he hit three of them) were
absolutely impossible to defend. As was a double-crossover move
(right-to-left-to-right) that eventuated in a pull-up jumper from 20-feet.
Williams certainly didn't play offense on his heels, but he seemed to prefer
hoisting up perimeter shots to plunging headlong into the lane.
For the most part, Williams did an admirable job defending Paul. He wisely
went under one screen and allowed Paul to shoot (and miss) a 3-ball. He also
stayed in front of Paul during a semi-break, forcing the smaller man to back
the ball out to the perimeter.
Williams got more defensive help on high S/Rs than did Paul, but he also
showed an unfortunate tendency to get lost in no-man's land ─ neither
re-attacking Paul, nor switching on to the screener.
So, then, how do the two compare? And who's better?
Paul is quicker, with and without the ball.
Williams is much stronger.
Paul is more of a creator, while Williams is more of a facilitator. That is,
Paul mostly has to generate his own assist-opportunities, whereas Williams'
are created by the constant ball- and player-movement in Utah's offense.
That's why Paul tends to over-handle more than Williams.
Paul had a better handle moving north-to-south. Williams is better dribbling
east-to-west (and vice versa) to set up his jumper.
Williams is a better finisher, and a much better shooter with better range
and a quicker release. Williams is also more adept at creating his own shots.
Neither is more than an average defender, yet Paul's quicker hands gives him
a slight edge here.
If Paul delivers better lob passes, Williams' entry passes are superior.
Both have incredible court vision, and Williams is just a bit more under
control.
Paul is the perfect point guard for the Hornets' S/R, free-lance offense.
Williams is the perfect point guard for the Jazz' disciplined offense.
There is one deciding difference, however slight it might be: Paul is
probably as good as he's ever going to be. But Williams is still developing
his "pure" point-guard skills. And in today's game, where post-up players are
routinely doubled, point guards have to be more consistent perimeter shooters
than ever before.
Also, Paul's speed is somewhat neutralized by NOK's reluctance to run.
For the moment, then, Williams is a shade better than Paul. But what happens
"tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow" remains a mystery.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/6529498
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