Friday, July 25, 2008

Chris Paul v.s Deron Williams


If you have trouble deciding who's a better player, imagine how the Utah Jazz felt in the 2005 NBA Draft.

The Jazz ended up selecting Deron at number 3, and the Hornets jumped on the oppourtunity to draft Chris Paul at pick number 4.

Since then, both have put up solid numbers, but who is the better point guard all around?

Lets start off looking at Chris Paul's strengths.

Paul has great court vision, which is a neccessity in today's NBA. Not only can he pass, but he goes into the lane without fear of bigger defenders, he can make floaters and pull up jump shots consistently. Has quick hands and feet, which results in the ability to get steals. Paul is a good ball handler, he can shake almost any defender in the Leauge.

Weaknesses:

Although he has quick hands, Paul doesn't seem to anticipate where the ball is going to be, and while he gets 2 or 3 steals he can also let the guy he's guarding score 40. He also seems to get a bit out of control, in college he developed a reputation as a guy who is willing to throw a cheap shot, even before the incident in the last game of the regular season where he punched Juilus Hodge below the belt. *

Overall, he is a great guy with amazing talent, but needs improvement on defense and attitude.

On to Deron Williams:

First of all, he may not look like it, but Williams is strong as an ox. This strength enables him to knock down deep threes, go into the lane and finish with contact, and fire passes to other teammates that defenders can't get to. He shoots fundamentally and consistently, and has fantastic playmaker skills. He has a good basketball IQ, he makes smart decisions and handles the ball well.

Weaknesses:

Although he shoots well, he could have a quicker release on the ball, this way he won't get blocked as much. He isn't very quick, so defense becomes a major concern. He lets guys like Wade and Parker score on him pretty easily, but if he could improve his lateral quickness he would be a force to reckon with.

Overall, he is a smart point guard with good all around skills, but he needs to get faster and improve on the defensive side.


My take on who's better:

Right now, Chris Paul is the better point guard. He doesn't have a very good team but took them to the playoffs with a good record. He basically did everything himself, he played a lot of minutes but didn't seem to tire out. He is very competitive and has a winning attitude. Williams could get to Paul's level if he could just win in the playoffs and improve on defense. Paul would burn Williams in one-on-one, but Williams' passing and shooting skills are better. If i were to build a franchise around one of these players, it'd have to be Chris Paul because of his abilities, and leadership.








2 comments:

Ryne Nelson said...

Great article with a lot of resources. I agree Paul is the better player right now, but Williams might eventually have the upper hand because of his size and durability.

Adam said...

Did you really say if he wins in the playoffs he could be on the same level as Chris Paul. You do know that Deron has been deeper in the playoffs than Chris right. And in my opinion Deron is a better defender than Chris. All he does is steal the ball. He is a horrible on the ball defender and when he gambles to try and steal the ball it usually compromises his team.
Try again.

Deron has passed Chris imo.