Would you define Steph Curry and his 35-foot three-pointers as a pass-first distributor? He is entertaining to watch and exhilarating to play alongside, but his defining characteristic is not his ability to set up his teammates. Like the teams we will list below, that has become the strategy: to have two players who possess the ability to play make on the floor. Yes, Denver has Nikola Jokić, a premier passing big man, and somebody who helps with the distribution. He averaged 26.1 points in the postseason with 7.1 assists en route to Denver’s first-ever championship. Similar to Bradley Beal, he is a smaller shooting guard who has the ability to play make. Murray isn’t what you would describe as a traditional point guard. Know that, as the Mandalorian says, “this is the way”.ĭon’t believe me? Still banging that “we need a traditional point guard” drum? Let’s look at the last four NBA Champions, shall we? 2023 Denver Nuggets

James Jones is embracing the way that modern NBA basketball is played, and it’s time to stop being the old guy telling people to get off of your grass. I’m here to tell you that it’s all going to be okay. What is this Tomfoolery?! How could this franchise ever veer from the norm?! We certainly must need a dedicated distributor to set up the offense! The Suns expect Bradley Beal to be their starting point guard, per The Athletic. So when The Athletic’s Shams Charania tweets that the plan for Phoenix next season is to have Bradley Beal, who would be defined as a shooting guard, as the primary point guard next season, people start to panic. A decade filled with subpar point guard play. That team was a Caris LeVert jumper away from making the postseason, and it is the best the team had looked in a decade. The season before that? ‘Twas Ricky Rubio running point for the Suns. In that span we’ve seen some of the most productive offenses in the history of the franchise. It’s all we know.įor the past three seasons, Phoenix was led on the court by Chris Paul. After all, this is the land of KJ and Steve Nash, Jason Kidd and Starbury. Suns’ basketball, which is rich with point guard play throughout its history, is causing some to have a hard time coming to grips with how and why Jones would do such a thing. Say goodbye to watching Deandre Ayton set five high-screens-per-possession as CP3 tries to set up the pick-and-roll, only to opt out and not pass the ball to the rolling DA. Their departure signifies that Phoenix is looking to change up their offensive strategy. Who really does these day?Ĭhris Paul, one of the last true point guards in the game, is now with Golden State and Cameron Payne (who is a point guard by in name only) is in San Antonio. James Jones is in the process of building a roster that doesn’t have a prototypical distributor. The new look Phoenix Suns are challenging the traditional narrative as it pertains to the point guard position, especially in the Valley of the Sun.

Jrue holiday stats this year