Amidst all of the pre-season hype that is going on in the NBA world, a mini-feud has started that could bring back a rivalry. In case you missed it, yesterday there was a bit of bantering going on back-and-forth (through separate media interviews, mind you) between Dion Waiters and Washington's backcourt duo of Bradley Beal and John Wall. Back on Monday, Beal declared the Washington backcourt the best in the NBA.
Waiters disagreed with that statement. Per ESPN's Dave McMenamin, Waiters response was as follows:
Waiters disagreed with that statement. Per ESPN's Dave McMenamin, Waiters response was as follows:
"That's nonsense," Waiters said after practice Tuesday. "(Beal is) supposed to say that, but I know deep down, he's not messing with me and Ky (Kyrie Irving). I think me and Ky are the best backcourt, young backcourt. That's all."
We here at Moondog try to support our Cavs players as much as possible, but the feud brought up an interesting question:
Who really is the best backcourt duo in the NBA?
And as always here, we try to back up our claims with as much analysis and data as possible. So without further ado, I present to you our analysis of the best backcourts in the NBA.
Who really is the best backcourt duo in the NBA?
And as always here, we try to back up our claims with as much analysis and data as possible. So without further ado, I present to you our analysis of the best backcourts in the NBA.
In order to figure out the best backcourt, I needed to set up some parameters for who would qualify for the analysis. Somewhat arbitrarily, I decided that players who averaged over 20 minutes per game and played in at least 41 games could count as a player significant enough to be a "starter" (even if they were not starting in a majority of the games). This of course took out two major players in Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook.
After paring down the qualifying players, I then took the percentage of the player's per-36 stats compared to the average of the group, using the following stats: rebounding, assists, steals, blocks, turnovers (inverted), personal fouls (also inverted), points, shooting percentages, PER, and win shares. A player's score was determined by a composite of all the respective percentages. The "backcourt" was not determined by starter, but by the best two players per team (ex. allowing Ginobili to be in the backcourt, despite coming off the bench). 4 teams did not have two qualifying players, which included Boston (Rondo was hurt), Chicago (Rose was hurt), Memphis, and Utah.
Here are the results:
After paring down the qualifying players, I then took the percentage of the player's per-36 stats compared to the average of the group, using the following stats: rebounding, assists, steals, blocks, turnovers (inverted), personal fouls (also inverted), points, shooting percentages, PER, and win shares. A player's score was determined by a composite of all the respective percentages. The "backcourt" was not determined by starter, but by the best two players per team (ex. allowing Ginobili to be in the backcourt, despite coming off the bench). 4 teams did not have two qualifying players, which included Boston (Rondo was hurt), Chicago (Rose was hurt), Memphis, and Utah.
Here are the results:
As you can probably see, the top guards in the group are Curry, Harden, Paul, and Lowry. The bottom guards are Mack, Waiters (yes... Waiters...), Stucky, Young, Allen, Gordon, Nelson, and McLemore.
Not looking good Waiters... Not looking good... But can Kyrie bring up the average for the backcourt? Will that make the Cavs the best backcourt in the NBA?
Not looking good Waiters... Not looking good... But can Kyrie bring up the average for the backcourt? Will that make the Cavs the best backcourt in the NBA?
Turns out the answer is no. The Cavs fall short of that title by a combined 4.75 composite points. Not only that, but they end up falling 18th overall of the 26 teams in this analysis. Amazingly, Chris Paul is such an impressive player that he and Darren Collison combine to be the best backcourt in the NBA, shortly followed by the popular favorites for this discussion in Curry/Thompson and Dragic/Bledsoe. Houston and Toronto also manage to round out the top-5 ahead of Washington, who ends up 6th overall. |
So, as it turns out, neither the Cavs or the Wizards have the best backcourt in the NBA (yet). While it's fun to hear the smack talk between Waiters and the Wizards duo, it's clear neither has truly proven themselves. What is fun though is to see the Washington/Cleveland rivalry starting up again, which was a staple in the early LeBron years.
Even though the numbers above say the Clippers have the best backcourt, who do you think has the best guard combo in the NBA? Submit your vote below!
Even though the numbers above say the Clippers have the best backcourt, who do you think has the best guard combo in the NBA? Submit your vote below!