Ranking the five best backcourts in the NBA for 2015-2016
By Brad Rowland
3) Los Angeles Clippers – Chris Paul and J.J. Redick
Yes, Chris Paul is this good.
Some have vaulted Stephen Curry and/or Russell Westbrook ahead of Paul for “best point guard alive” status, but for my money, the 30-year-old Paul still holds the belt. He is, quite easily, the best pass-first player in the NBA as he emerges from back-to-back assist titles, but Paul does much more than that. Despite his relative lack of size, he is a strongly above-average defender for the position, and as a shooter, Paul knocked down nearly 40% of his threes on the way to a 60% true shooting mark a season ago. In short, he’s the reason that the Clippers are on this list.
With that on the table, J.J. Redick is no slouch in his own right. For reference, Redick posted better numbers (across the board) than a player like Bradley Beal last season, and he appears to be improving even at the age of 31. Even if the Clippers got a slightly reduced version (i.e. the 2013-2014 season), Redick is a 40% career three-point shooter (43.7% in 2014-2015) who defends well and doesn’t need the ball to be successful. It is fair to surmise that Paul is the “worst” of the 10 players included on these five teams, but the gap isn’t wide and Paul’s excellence keeps them here.
Next: 2. Chicago Bulls