Jeff Teague’s series performance (17-4-3, 56% shooting) against the Bulls in the Eastern Conference Semis got me thinking about all the promising point guards that came out of the 2009 Draft. Take a look:
5. Ricky Rubio, T-Wolves
6. Jonny Flynn, T-Wolves
7. Stephen Curry, Warriors
10. Brandon Jennings, Bucks
17. Jrue Holiday, 76ers
18. Ty Lawson, T-Wolves (traded to Nuggets)
19. Jeff Teague, Hawks
20. Eric Maynor, Jazz (traded to Thunder)
21. Darren Collison, Hornets (traded to Pacers)
25. Rodrigue Beaubois, Thunder (traded to Mavericks)
29. Toney Douglas, Knicks
It’s pretty amazing that with the emergence of Teague in Atlanta, no fewer than six players on that list have developed into starting caliber point guards in the NBA. Four others (Douglas, Beaubois, Maynor and Flynn) are rotation players.
Here are the 2010-11 stats for each player, sorted by Efficiency Per Minute, which is I believe the best way to quickly compare a player’s production.
| Name | MPG | PPG | APG | RPG | SPG | TPG | FG% | 3P% | EPG | EPM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stephen Curry | 33.7 | 18.6 | 5.8 | 3.9 | 1.5 | 3.1 | .480 | .442 | 19.3 | .573 |
| Ty Lawson | 26.3 | 11.7 | 4.7 | 2.6 | 1.0 | 1.7 | .503 | .404 | 13.4 | .508 |
| Jrue Holiday | 35.4 | 14.0 | 6.5 | 4.0 | 1.5 | 2.7 | .446 | .365 | 16.4 | .464 |
| Darren Collison | 29.8 | 13.2 | 5.1 | 2.8 | 1.1 | 2.5 | .457 | .331 | 13.6 | .455 |
| Toney Douglas | 24.3 | 10.6 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 1.1 | 1.1 | .416 | .373 | 10.9 | .449 |
| Jeff Teague | 13.7 | 5.2 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.9 | .438 | .375 | 6.0 | .435 |
| Brandon Jennings | 34.4 | 16.2 | 4.8 | 3.7 | 1.5 | 2.3 | .390 | .323 | 14.5 | .422 |
| Roddy Beaubois | 18.0 | 8.4 | 2.3 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 1.7 | .422 | .301 | 7.0 | .390 |
| Eric Maynor | 14.6 | 4.2 | 2.9 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 0.9 | .402 | .385 | 5.6 | .380 |
| Jonny Flynn | 18.6 | 5.3 | 3.4 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 2.1 | .365 | .310 | 5.0 | .268 |
| Ricky Rubio | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
From a numbers standpoint, Stephen Curry appears to be the best of the class, but Lawson, Holiday, Collison, Teague and Jennings are all solid starters and could potentially pass Curry as the years wear on.
This list makes Minnesota GM David Kahn look pretty silly considering he found a way to pretty much whiff with Rubio (who still is playing in Spain) and Flynn (who has been a disappointment, given his draft position) with all that talent on the board. He did draft Lawson, but traded him to Denver for Martell Webster.
And the Timberwolves still don’t have a point guard to build around. All of Kahn’s eggs are in Rubio’s basket at this point and he really needs the young Spaniard to make a splash when he finally arrives.
