Opinion The NBA Thread

[Knightmare]

The Cavs will improve but they don't look like a championship team. They seem really poorly constructed. You've got LeBron who likes his catch and shoot guys and Irving and Waiters are both off the dribble only shooters.

Then Love like Bosh at Miami is not having the offense run through him as he needs to be the case to be effective.

Those things plus their terrible lack of defense and dribble, dribble, dribble offense from all their ball handlers and they just look ordinary at this point until they make some makes.

They could just about look better with Bismack Biyombo, Ryan Anderson, Kyle Korver and Jimmer Fredette starting next to LeBron with that group from a chemistry perspective a better fit with LeBron as someone who wants to penetrate and kick it out to catch and shoot 3pt shooters and Biyombo as someone who can protect the rim and not need possessions on offence.

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As for the Kings. They're looking better. Rudy Gay is playing career best ball. Cousins was great last season but is only not just getting recognised because the guys around him are going better.

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The Pelicans I'm enjoying watching. Omer Asik is a perfect compliment for Anthony Davis as one of the best defensive and rebounding guys in the game and is another of those guys who doesn't need any possessions on offense.

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The Bucks and Magic are two other surprise teams outside of the Kings. Fournier was a great addition to that roster. Frye was another strong get as a floor spacer. And Vucevic is playing well also.
Then the Bucks are just playing hard. Brandon Knight is competing well and has elevated his game. Jabari Parker is playing well and Antetokounmpo is also looking more settled this season.

 

[the mighty T]

Strange to think that a guy like Dellavadova actually adds a whole lot more structure when he starts at the two. They'll end up bringing Ray Allen in and that'll help the bench mob, but a few things need to change. Love has become enamored with his outside shot with Varejao planted uner the basker, when he should be posting up more. Waiters is a non factor at the moment and needs to find his place in the rotation. The Cavs will be a defensive liability all season though and thats where they'll come undone against the Bulls and the Wizards come finals.

I can see the Pelicans and Kings fighting it out for that last spot in the West. And even though its early days, its hard to see OKC putting enough of a run together to earn a top four seed. Dropping too many games and too undermanned. In terms of surprises, Boston havent been nearly as bad as I had anticipated and actually have a half decent offensive rating. They'll need to pull the trade with Rajon and pick up a few assets before the deadline because I don't see him hanging around.

 

[nahnah]

Cavs need to do a few things.
Trade waiters, can't have him moping around any longer.. Has never been a good partner to kyrie.
Bring is a shot blocker or a big that can alter shots... I personally think we have one on the roster that doesn't get enough mins (amundson)
Bring in a reliable 3 and D guy at the shooting guard position ( is Afflalo available?)
And finally they need to be patient, it will work out.. It takes time. But they need to beat those Washington pricks tomorrow or I'll be mad.

#funfact - kyrie and Lebron have played more mins together than rose and butler.

 

[the mighty T]

Cavs need to do a few things.
Trade waiters, can't have him moping around any longer.. Has never been a good partner to kyrie.
Bring is a shot blocker or a big that can alter shots... I personally think we have one on the roster that doesn't get enough mins (amundson)
Bring in a reliable 3 and D guy at the shooting guard position ( is Afflalo available?)
And finally they need to be patient, it will work out.. It takes time. But they need to beat those Washington pricks tomorrow or I'll be mad.

#funfact - kyrie and Lebron have played more mins together than rose and butler.

The bolded is sad, funny and completely believable. Its going to be a long year for Mr Rose sadly.

 

[Lockyer24]

Cavs will take a year to gel any success a bonus this season.

 

[the mighty T]

Cavs will take a year to gel any success a bonus this season.

It's a very different structure to the Heat model. Almost everybody on the Cavs lineup is lacking in playoff experience, rookie coach at the helm and frankly there's not enough depth. Championship teams bat 10 deep in their roster where Cleveland's current bench is a shambles

 

[BEEG]

Just found this thread been a good read

I bet on the NBA almost every day love it also support Dallas but have a soft spot for GSW

I think the main chances at winning it all will be Spurs,GSW,Cleveland probably in that order

Atlanta just keep winning bookies keep offering up great odds they are underrated

 

[wicksy]

Just found this thread been a good read

I bet on the NBA almost every day love it also support Dallas but have a soft spot for GSW

I think the main chances at winning it all will be Spurs,GSW,Cleveland probably in that order

Atlanta just keep winning bookies keep offering up great odds they are underrated

Disagree on the Spurs. Memphis, Clips, Thunder, Raptors have a better chance.
Time is starting to catch up with Pop and his team unfortunately.

At the moment it looks like GSW are miles ahead of everyone though. Lee to come back in and Ray Ray being courted... They could get seriously, seriously dangerous very soon!!

 

[wicksy]

Nah what I was saying was from an overall game wins perspective (in both conferences), the Durant injury might mean you leap frog the Thunder which I wouldn't have had happening if Durant had stayed healthy.

My thoughts (and we can check this at the end of the season for the lolz)

1. Spurs
2. Thunder
3. Bulls
4. Cavs
5. Warriors
6. Clippers
7. Grizzlies
8. Wizards
9. Mavericks
10. Raptors

Warriors could really surprise in the West this year.... They still lack in the front court but have added good depth and only really need the splash brothers to improve a little bit to make a real impact in the playoffs.

I am a prophet.

 

[Knightmare]

GSW look the best in the league now. Best 3pt shooting team in league history and also balanced offensively/defensively with incredible defence with Bogut who is not Bogus and all guys chipping in and even some real depth with guys like Speights, Green and Livingston some examples of that.

In making that statement and understanding what GSW are doing I don't even think GSW will make the Western Finals. They're a fast break team. Playoffs is all about half court as AFL finals is about contested footy. I expect they'll really struggle as a result of that dynamic with the likes of San Antonio and Dallas in my view better suited to playoff ball. Memphis could be another.

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Houston is another team that has really caught my attention. They've got an impressive record and they've been doing it for a stretch now without Dwight. And that is after losing Parsons to Dallas as a free agent and gaining Trevor Ariza who is better defensively but not as dominant or consistent offensively. They're just seemingly finding guys from nowhere, plugging them in and continuing to win. It will be interesting when they hit full health what they'll be able to do.

Even more interesting had Chris Bosh signed with Houston and had that happened they would have kept Chandler Parsons. Now that would be a scary roster but Bosh like Mello cashed in to maximise his money.
--

LeBron James this season has looked terrible by his standard and is performing to arguably his worst level since his rookie season. He has just lost that explosion and leap completely and seems really hindered by his knee which he sat out today v OKC with. It will be interesting to see whether that improves over the season, because if it doesn't the Cavs are not making the NBA finals let alone winning a championship.

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Detroit, New York and to a lesser extent Brooklyn are all terrible this season and seem to or if not yet likely soon will have their rosters up for trade. Brooklyn are reported already to have B.Lopez, D.Williams and J.Johnson up for trade and have already moved Kirilenko, and Detroit and New York with their respective dysfunctional and teams with a lack of chemistry should do the same or at least similar.

Sacramento remain interesting and I wouldn't be surprised if they made a move for both Rondo and J.Smith to make their own big 4 (to go with Cousins and Gay) with Sacramento thought to be aggressively looking to get better.

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For those looking for a most improved.

Anyone been watching Jimmy Butler? The guy looks not only like an All League first defence guy but he is also leading the East in scoring among guards remarkably. Who would have thought?

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While Anthony Davis statistically is looking like he should be a shue in Defensive Player of the year I'm liking Andrew Bogut. His stats don't jump off the page but in the Tyson Chandler/Joakim Noah/Marc Gasol kind of way he just ancors that GSW defence and would be my pick for that award.

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For MVP Stephen Curry looks like the guy. Not only is he shooting the 3s and passing well but his defence is also improved and his steals per game are much improved. He is going for the 50, 40, 90 shooting season and is doing a Steve Nash though with even greater scoring numbers at that similar efficiency which makes his performance this season all the more remarkable.

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As for ROY while he isn't going to win the award unless he plays more minutes at the 3, Nikola Mirotic this season is the best rookie regarding immediate impact. He has had no trouble adjusting. He is a power forward from Spain and shoots the three exceptionally well which he does as advertised but he does so much more. He puts in the pump-fakes and drives past defenders easily. His rebounding is terrific. He plays gritty defence and his block and steal numbers are surprising.
The only real criticisms I have are he looks too often to move the ball when he has an open 3, and also often pump fakes to often. Additionally he can be foul prone. But otherwise I'm loving his game.
For a comparison while an unorthodox one I liken Mirotic to a better Andres Nocioni as another International ball player who can shoot threes, but then also has some more tricks but then that really hard, competitive edge.

I also give props to K.J. McDaniels from the Sixers. His defence and more specifically his blocks per game and rebounds per game are unreal for a perimeter player and he looks for a second rounder like an unconventional

Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins are the other obvious two in the conversation but neither have blown me away as guys who still require further improvement to live up to those pick 1/2 overall tags.
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For the 6th man of the year Jamal Crawford if he keeps going at his present rate looks the guy. He per 36min has the highest points total of his career along with his highest fg% of his year. I don't expect him to maintain his current efficiency or scoring pace but kudos to him if he does at 34 years of age.

 

[BEEG]

Disagree on the Spurs. Memphis, Clips, Thunder, Raptors have a better chance.
Time is starting to catch up with Pop and his team unfortunately.

At the moment it looks like GSW are miles ahead of everyone though. Lee to come back in and Ray Ray being courted... They could get seriously, seriously dangerous very soon!!

Hard to see where Lee fits in to be honest the team is just working way to well Green has been great

He might need to be a bench player

 

[wicksy]

GSW look the best in the league now. Best 3pt shooting team in league history and also balanced offensively/defensively with incredible defence with Bogut who is not Bogus and all guys chipping in and even some real depth with guys like Speights, Green and Livingston some examples of that.

In making that statement and understanding what GSW are doing I don't even think GSW will make the Western Finals. They're a fast break team. Playoffs is all about half court as AFL finals is about contested footy. I expect they'll really struggle as a result of that dynamic with the likes of San Antonio and Dallas in my view better suited to playoff ball. Memphis could be another.

--
Houston is another team that has really caught my attention. They've got an impressive record and they've been doing it for a stretch now without Dwight. And that is after losing Parsons to Dallas as a free agent and gaining Trevor Ariza who is better defensively but not as dominant or consistent offensively. They're just seemingly finding guys from nowhere, plugging them in and continuing to win. It will be interesting when they hit full health what they'll be able to do.

Even more interesting had Chris Bosh signed with Houston and had that happened they would have kept Chandler Parsons. Now that would be a scary roster but Bosh like Mello cashed in to maximise his money.
--

LeBron James this season has looked terrible by his standard and is performing to arguably his worst level since his rookie season. He has just lost that explosion and leap completely and seems really hindered by his knee which he sat out today v OKC with. It will be interesting to see whether that improves over the season, because if it doesn't the Cavs are not making the NBA finals let alone winning a championship.

--
Detroit, New York and to a lesser extent Brooklyn are all terrible this season and seem to or if not yet likely soon will have their rosters up for trade. Brooklyn are reported already to have B.Lopez, D.Williams and J.Johnson up for trade and have already moved Kirilenko, and Detroit and New York with their respective dysfunctional and teams with a lack of chemistry should do the same or at least similar.

Sacramento remain interesting and I wouldn't be surprised if they made a move for both Rondo and J.Smith to make their own big 4 (to go with Cousins and Gay) with Sacramento thought to be aggressively looking to get better.

--
For those looking for a most improved.

Anyone been watching Jimmy Butler? The guy looks not only like an All League first defence guy but he is also leading the East in scoring among guards remarkably. Who would have thought?

--
While Anthony Davis statistically is looking like he should be a shue in Defensive Player of the year I'm liking Andrew Bogut. His stats don't jump off the page but in the Tyson Chandler/Joakim Noah/Marc Gasol kind of way he just ancors that GSW defence and would be my pick for that award.

--
For MVP Stephen Curry looks like the guy. Not only is he shooting the 3s and passing well but his defence is also improved and his steals per game are much improved. He is going for the 50, 40, 90 shooting season and is doing a Steve Nash though with even greater scoring numbers at that similar efficiency which makes his performance this season all the more remarkable.

--
As for ROY while he isn't going to win the award unless he plays more minutes at the 3, Nikola Mirotic this season is the best rookie regarding immediate impact. He has had no trouble adjusting. He is a power forward from Spain and shoots the three exceptionally well which he does as advertised but he does so much more. He puts in the pump-fakes and drives past defenders easily. His rebounding is terrific. He plays gritty defence and his block and steal numbers are surprising.
The only real criticisms I have are he looks too often to move the ball when he has an open 3, and also often pump fakes to often. Additionally he can be foul prone. But otherwise I'm loving his game.
For a comparison while an unorthodox one I liken Mirotic to a better Andres Nocioni as another International ball player who can shoot threes, but then also has some more tricks but then that really hard, competitive edge.

I also give props to K.J. McDaniels from the Sixers. His defence and more specifically his blocks per game and rebounds per game are unreal for a perimeter player and he looks for a second rounder like an unconventional

Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins are the other obvious two in the conversation but neither have blown me away as guys who still require further improvement to live up to those pick 1/2 overall tags.
--

For the 6th man of the year Jamal Crawford if he keeps going at his present rate looks the guy. He per 36min has the highest points total of his career along with his highest fg% of his year. I don't expect him to maintain his current efficiency or scoring pace but kudos to him if he does at 34 years of age.

Nice round up mate.... Just out of interest, how many games do you watch a week?
Do you see the Clips in the mix with Mavs/Rockets etc or one or two pieces short still?

 

[wicksy]

Hard to see where Lee fits in to be honest the team is just working way to well Green has been great

He might need to be a bench player

Lee at his best could crack a starting spot in most teams. Can't see him sitting on the bench for long, though it's a handy problem to have.

 

[Knightmare]

Nice round up mate.... Just out of interest, how many games do you watch a week?
Do you see the Clips in the mix with Mavs/Rockets etc or one or two pieces short still?

Now that it's AFL offseason 5-10 games a week. I can't get enough of it.

That and reading lots of Sam Smith on Bulls.com and some Skip Bayless and Stephen A Smith for some entertainment/debate which while very agenda drive I still enjoy.

The West is so open, any team 1-8 could pretty much could win it and probably any team 1-8 would just about win the East, such is the strength and depth out West, though that can be said most seasons. The Clips may finish with a top 4 seed out West if things go right but I don't see the Clips winning a championship with their current roster this season. My primary issue is the Clips struggle in the half court and as a result will likely continue to struggle during the playoffs with the team as presently constructed with the current primary pieces as the primary pieces. Additionally on the wings while the 3pt shooting is good more talent is still needed and probably someone to play the small forward - an Andre Iguodala as an example would be useful.

For the championship out West I most like the Mavericks,Spurs and a healthy Thunder.
With the Grizzlies, Rockets, Warriors, Clippers and the Blazers among those other teams I don't necessarily see winning the championship but are still teams I wouldn't be shocked to see come out of the West either, with any of these really 8 teams able to beat any team on any given night.

Hard to see where Lee fits in to be honest the team is just working way to well Green has been great

He might need to be a bench player

It's an interesting but a really good call and as a frequent GSW watcher I agree.

Things are just clicking with that team. Draymond Green while undersized at power forward and not a particularly great rebounder. He defends and he also spaces the floor as a genuine perimeter threat in his own right which gives everyone else further space to operate and gives the offense the right balance. Lee is a liability on the defensive end. He would help with rebounding as a very good rebounder but he just doesn't fit as well as Green does with that starting group and whenever Lee is re-introduces I expect that win-loss ratio to go South with both the offense and defence to be adversely affected.

Lee is the better player but just sometimes and as in this case here for me I just don't like him as much as a fit for this group. With Speights off the bench also really performing to a high level (anyone seen his PER?) I almost wouldn't want Lee to take his minutes either, again as strange as that sounds with Lee obviously the better player, but again they just seem to have the right pieces and the right chemistry to consistently win games as they've been up to this point operating with.

 

[BEEG]

Now that it's AFL offseason 5-10 games a week. I can't get enough of it.

That and reading lots of Sam Smith on Bulls.com and some Skip Bayless and Stephen A Smith for some entertainment/debate which while very agenda drive I still enjoy.

The West is so open, any team 1-8 could pretty much could win it and probably any team 1-8 would just about win the East, such is the strength and depth out West, though that can be said most seasons. The Clips may finish with a top 4 seed out West if things go right but I don't see the Clips winning a championship with their current roster this season. My primary issue is the Clips struggle in the half court and as a result will likely continue to struggle during the playoffs with the team as presently constructed with the current primary pieces as the primary pieces. Additionally on the wings while the 3pt shooting is good more talent is still needed and probably someone to play the small forward - an Andre Iguodala as an example would be useful.

For the championship out West I most like the Mavericks,Spurs and a healthy Thunder.
With the Grizzlies, Rockets, Warriors, Clippers and the Blazers among those other teams I don't necessarily see winning the championship but are still teams I wouldn't be shocked to see come out of the West either, with any of these really 8 teams able to beat any team on any given night.



It's an interesting but a really good call and as a frequent GSW watcher I agree.

Things are just clicking with that team. Draymond Green while undersized at power forward and not a particularly great rebounder. He defends and he also spaces the floor as a genuine perimeter threat in his own right which gives everyone else further space to operate and gives the offense the right balance. Lee is a liability on the defensive end. He would help with rebounding as a very good rebounder but he just doesn't fit as well as Green does with that starting group and whenever Lee is re-introduces I expect that win-loss ratio to go South with both the offense and defence to be adversely affected.

Lee is the better player but just sometimes and as in this case here for me I just don't like him as much as a fit for this group. With Speights off the bench also really performing to a high level (anyone seen his PER?) I almost wouldn't want Lee to take his minutes either, again as strange as that sounds with Lee obviously the better player, but again they just seem to have the right pieces and the right chemistry to consistently win games as they've been up to this point operating with.

Yeah some good points at times GSW bench can struggle to score and give up leads I guess having Lee in the 2nd rotation would be pretty handy

Houston just keep rolling without Howard very good team

 

[BEEG]

Lillard vs Rose has been great

 

[Knightmare]

Lillard vs Rose has been great

That was a fun contest.

Lillard's points felt quiet, but his fg% was through the roof.

D.Rose looked the best he has all season and continued on his attack from his last game so he is getting back to who he was and more his natural game which as a basketball fan is just terrific.

 

[nahnah]

I think the contenders in the West are Spurs, Warriors, OKC and Memphis. I had GSW 2nd in my playoff prediction (OKC first before the injuries).
OKC v Warriors first round of playoffs would be very unfair on one of those teams.
I like the Mavs but don't think they're quite good enough, same goes with Blazers and Clippers. Houston have a terrible bench and even with Howard back I think they'll do exactly what they did last season.
Would love for the Pelicans or Kings to make playoffs, doubt it will happen.

The East has 5 good teams. The rest don't warrant a mention. My bias favoured to make finals is Cleveland. Sound like a broken record but if Rose can stay healthy he is a major problem for the cavs. Atlanta is a damn good team, but and knows how to win playoff games. Wizards and Raps will likely make some noise but can't see them getting to the finals as I do Cavs, Bulls and Atlanta.

This is the best NBA season in years for me. Cavs are good (patience, they'll be great next season) and Boston, New York, Miami and Lakers all suck. Fantastic.

I love the NBA, but God I wish I could go every week to a game. It's hard missing large amounts of cavs games live every year. This year I'm really enjoying watching other teams too, but mainly weekend games. During week is hard. I think last season I just had a down season.. Couldn't watch other teams play for some reason and cavs were only on TV twice and lost twice and I had no motivation to pay for ballstreams.

 

[Good_Old]

OKC have a lot of work to do to make it into the playoffs, nahnah. I think they have to win something like 70% of their remaining games. I haven't looked at their fixture but it's a big ask for any team if you ask me.

 

[nahnah]

OKC have a lot of work to do to make it into the playoffs, nahnah. I think they have to win something like 70% of their remaining games. I haven't looked at their fixture but it's a big ask for any team if you ask me.

Their record is 10-13, 8th spot in west currently is held by the Pelicans whose record is 11-11. Unless Durant and westbrook get injured again I can't see them missing

 

[nahnah]

Also while I'm in this mood to discuss NBA can I just say I love point guards.
I love Kyrie, I love Rose, I love rondo, I loved Lillard, I love westbrook, I love Paul, I love Parker, I love Conley.

Stephen Curry atm is the best of them all and I have no idea why. I love him too but I have no Idea why or how he is now the best player in the NBA. He is pretty slow and has low athletiscim compared to the other ones I mentioned. He's shooting is great, but I think it's sometimes a bit overrated.. He scores a lot by attacking the rim. I actually believe he is the best player because his handles are so good and he can get anywhere he wants even tho he is subpar in most physical areas compared to other top point guards. i love watching Curry because he reminds me of Dane Swan in a way.. He's a hell of a lot better than he 'should' be.

Edit: I forgot to say I love Teague, Holiday and Lowry. Man, I just love point guards.

Kyrie is my fave by team bias but Westbrook and Rose are my favourite to watch. I love seeing a point guard especially these 2 dunk over bigger guys.

 

[wicksy]

Also while I'm in this mood to discuss NBA can I just say I love point guards.
I love Kyrie, I love Rose, I love rondo, I loved Lillard, I love westbrook, I love Paul, I love Parker, I love Conley.

Stephen Curry atm is the best of them all and I have no idea why. I love him too but I have no Idea why or how he is now the best player in the NBA. He is pretty slow and has low athletiscim compared to the other ones I mentioned. He's shooting is great, but I think it's sometimes a bit overrated.. He scores a lot by attacking the rim. I actually believe he is the best player because his handles are so good and he can get anywhere he wants even tho he is subpar in most physical areas compared to other top point guards. i love watching Curry because he reminds me of Dane Swan in a way.. He's a hell of a lot better than he 'should' be.

Edit: I forgot to say I love Teague, Holiday and Lowry. Man, I just love point guards.

Kyrie is my fave by team bias but Westbrook and Rose are my favourite to watch. I love seeing a point guard especially these 2 dunk over bigger guys.

Disagree with everything above in bold. Completely the opposite in my opinion.
Super quick, great agility and will most likely go down in history as the best shooter the game has ever seen. That quick release is something to be marvelled at.

 

[nahnah]

Disagree with everything above in bold. Completely the opposite in my opinion.
Super quick, great agility and will most likely go down in history as the best shooter the game has ever seen. That quick release is something to be marvelled at.

Maybe Im a terrible judge of pace but I would have thought if he was in a race against Rose, Westbrook, Teague etc he'd come last.
He's not a Korver, I know he takes a lot more 3's than Korevr but have you seen Korver shoot the ball ? He's nuts and I understand Curry takes more contested 3's but Korver is the better shooter.

 

[wicksy]

Maybe Im a terrible judge of pace but I would have thought if he was in a race against Rose, Westbrook, Teague etc he'd come last.
He's not a Korver, I know he takes a lot more 3's than Korevr but have you seen Korver shoot the ball ? He's nuts and I understand Curry takes more contested 3's but Korver is the better shooter.

Haven't seen much of Korver. Obviously he is (was?) on a huge run of games scoring at least one 3 ball or more but does he only fire from the corner? You put Curry anywhere on the court and he will hit. Can also hit the boosters when he needs to.... Not in the same league as Rose/Westbrook/Collison etc but he's certainly not slow.

 

[Knightmare]

Love the comment about the Knicks/Lakers and Celtics all being down nahnah, it's great to see those big market teams down and not attracting the star free agents for a change - lets hope that continues!

I also like the Nets and the Heat not near the top with KG unlikeable as one of the few guys I'd categorise as dirty in the association and the Heat after those years of winning with LeBron (he should taken his talents to Chicago!), that and the Heat fans lack interest turning up to games late.

The points guards go deep. Curry, Westbrook, Rose, Conley, Lowry, Parker, Paul, Wall, Irving, Lillard, Lawson, Teague, Bledsoe, Dragic, Rondo, Holiday. Even Brandon Knight is going well and looks like a really good point guard this year and Ricky Rubio before injury also looked a better player with his assists per 36 minutes at 12.5 which is terrific.
With so many really good point guards it seems nightly that these guys are matching up which just makes for good viewing.

I wouldn't necessarily say at the point there is the same out and out star power we've seen and I'm not sure there is a top 5 all time point guard in the league at this present time, and certainly not a top 4 all time point guard (Oscar, Magic, Isiah and Stockton are clearly better than the current group and I'd also say the same of Jerry West and AI depending on if you class them as point guards) but certainly for depth of quality it's as good as probably any era if talking the number of All Star quality point guards in the league.

--
An interesting train of though and for a different discussion point but today I feel the quality of players has greatly reduced.

The greatest ever individual talents I feel are actually from the 60s - with Wilt, Russell, Oscar, Baylor and West just an incredible number of dominant stars like the game has never before and probably will never again see. I also feel it would be the hardest era to win in with less teams then.. eg. in 1961/1962 there were only the 9 teams. And those teams all had at least one and often two or three genuine franchise quality players. As such I regard those Bill Russell Celtics teams as the greatest teams ever, even as a Bulls fan.
Then the 70s if you put the NBA and ABA today I'd describe the deepest period in American Basketball/NBA history with also the most great bigs in NBA history, though I would be inclined to say the absolute most elite of star power was less with Kareem that only guy you'd say is top 10 from that era with Dr.J that other guy you may/may not put in there, though I have him more top 15.
The 80s felt like overall the best era of basketball with the best of both worlds with the top end star power - Kareem and Dr.J still around with Magic and Bird prominent, Michael and Olajuwon coming into the picture. But then also still further really high level star power around.
The 90s was strong but not as strong as the 80s with less of those established out and out stars in the game. It was also particularly late 90s the end of true big man play.
Then the 00s was really a poor time in the game. Still some good players - Shaq, Kobe, Tim Duncan, KG, LeBron rising to prominence but post-MJ the game just wasn't in that same place with no top 5 all time quality guys and more top 7-15 all time types leading the league. It was a really dull period in basketball in the sense that post play just left us and 3pt shooting had not yet come along. It also was a terrible era and really this has continued with the game completely losing it's physicality and really becoming soft with no hand-checking and the frequency of technicals through the roof and continuing that way with the league hoping almost too hard to find another MJ on the perimeter.
In the 10s we've seen a further reduction in the quality of post play with it now a completely lost art (Al Jefferson is probably the closest thing now) but the 3pt shooting and the reliance of that shot really come to prominence like ever before with guards shooting like we've never seen from the outside and bigs stepping out and hitting long range shots with the focus now on floor spacing which makes for an interesting dynamic.