Point guards: Kidd, Marbury at opposite ends of spectrum   Sept. 24, 2003
By Mike Kahn
SportsLine.com Executive Editor
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    There are two kinds of point guards in the NBA, says Joe Dumars, president
of the Detroit Pistons and a former NBA All-Star.

Not quite as simple as good and bad, although there are plenty of both. It's a
little more complicated than that.

  
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The Suns' Stephon Marbury emerged as a leader last season in Phoenix. (Getty I
mages)  
There are those who see the floor and those who see the basket, with a rare mi
nority of players who happen to do both. Dumars had the good fortune of playin
g next to Hall of Fame point guard Isiah Thomas but also was the backup point
when Thomas left the game.

So Joe knows point guards.

"When Isiah was in the game, I would run the creases and look for an open spac
e for my shots," Dumars said. "When he left the game, I had to pick my head up
, see the floor and create for the other four guys. It's a much tougher job. T
hese days there are two different kinds. There are the ones like Jason Kidd an
d the ones like Stephon Marbury."

Coincidentally, they were traded for each other two seasons ago, and what once
looked like a lopsided deal, with two-time Eastern Conference champion New Je
rsey getting Kidd from Phoenix, might turn into a wash. Marbury, four years yo
unger, came on incredibly the second half of last season and into the playoffs
until a shoulder injury slowed him and the Suns.

But they are distinct. Kidd is the prototype playmaker. He'll push it whenever
possible, but he is forever aware of who is going where and where his teammat
es like their shots. Marbury tends to look for his shot first unless someone e
lse is wide open.

Gary Payton, like Thomas, has the unique ability to be a consistent scorer and
a distributor for his teammates. Payton and Oscar Robertson are the only play
ers in history to average at least 20 points and eight assists five years in a
row.

"It's rare that you see anybody like that anymore," Dumars said. "But both Jas
on and Stephon dominate the game in their own way."

There are others. Actually, Nick Van Exel, traded from Dallas to Golden State,
is eminently capable of doing both, although he can be very erratic when he g
ets in a shooting mode. Still, his toughness is unquestioned.

Positional Rankings
Date Position
Aug. 29 Power Forwards
Sep. 3 Small Forwards
Sep. 11 Centers
Sep. 17 Shooting Guards
Sep. 24 Point Guards
Oct. 1 Top 50 players
Houston's Steve Francis is cut from the Marbury mold -- drive to the rim for t
he score or the foul, otherwise dish it to the spot-up shooter. Baron Davis of
the New Orleans Hornets is the same kind of player, as is Dumars' point guard
with the Pistons, Chauncey Billups, and Washington's big free-agent signing,
Gilbert Arenas.

In Dallas, Steve Nash is more discriminating with his shots. The same goes for
Sacramento point guard Mike Bibby. And the one pure point guard in the draft,
Texas' T.J. Ford, is headed to Milwaukee after just two seasons in college ba
sketball. He has been compared to Thomas, only shorter and certainly without t
he kind of pure scoring skills Thomas had. Still, Dumars likes Ford a lot, wit
h his uncanny quickness and ability to find the open man.

"It's going to be hard because I'm going to be going against a different guy a
lmost every night and they're all great players," Ford said. "But I'll learn.
There is so much talent in the NBA, every night will be a different experience
and make me a better player."

Points well taken.

1. Jason Kidd, New Jersey Nets: With two consecutive East titles in his pocket
, he's setting the pace. But his ankle problems could become chronic now that
he has hit 30. Nonetheless, he's the best for now.

2. Stephon Marbury, Phoenix Suns: There is no better point off the dribble tha
n Marbury, who seems to growing as a leader. He's stronger and finally figurin
g out what it takes to be a star instead of posing as one.

3. Gary Payton, Los Angeles Lakers: This is a slight drop for The Glove, but h
e's 35. Nevertheless, once he gets a sniff of championship fever with the Lake
rs, he will be relentless on both ends. Guaranteed.

4. Steve Francis, Houston Rockets: A younger, perhaps stronger version of Marb
ury, he hasn't figured out yet what it means to make his teammates better. But
for pure talent, the guy is off the charts.

5. Baron Davis, New Orleans Hornets: Coming off back and knee problems, Davis
could be third best on this list, or he could drop to 10th. This is a pivotal
year for him to prove he belongs among the best.

6. Steve Nash, Dallas Mavericks: It will be interesting to see how far Nash ca
n take the team this season without Nick Van Exel to clean up after him. He's
a talented leader and a relentless player, that's for sure.

7. Mike Bibby, Sacramento Kings: He's coming off a rough season marred by a br
oken foot that never let him get back into the swing of things. A great shoote
r and distributor, he'll prove his worth this season.

8. Nick Van Exel, Golden State Warriors: Warriors fans may discover him to be
a lefty version of Tim Hardaway if he's into it. He's as quick and slick with
the ball and the shot as any point guard in the game -- but erratic.

9. Chauncey Billups, Detroit Pistons: He was on his way to being the story of
the East until a sprained ankle ended his and the Pistons' hopes of beating th
e Nets in the conference finals. He's on the brink of being special.

10. Gilbert Arenas, Washington Wizards: One of the few big free-agent signings
this summer, Arenas promised a trip to the playoffs for the wayward Wizards.
Gee, you'd hate to see empty promises start this soon.

Also under consideration: Andre Miller, Denver Nuggets; Sam Cassell, Minnesota
Timberwolves; Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs; Jason Williams, Memphis Grizzli
es; Jason Terry, Atlanta Hawks; Brent Barry, Seattle SuperSonics; Eric Snow, P
hiladelphia 76ers.


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