In the Golden Age of Point Guards, Not All Are Created Equal

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The Pass-First Prodigies
Qualifications: Must love to dish—the more ways, the better. Prone to turnovers as a result, particularly in the pick-and-roll.

Injury issues have considerably diminished the current crop of pass-first point guards this season. Steve Nash missed 24 games between November and mid-December and has since been plagued by a host of issues with his lower body, while Rajon Rondo had some quasi-MVP moments in 2012-13 before succumbing to a season-ending ACL tear in late January.

Those two represent the dichotomy inherent in pass-first point guards. Nash is an otherworldly passer and ball-handler who, in another life, could've been a top-notch scorer had he opted to employ his historically great shooting stroke more frequently. Rondo, on the other hand, is a poor shooter who compensates for his inability to space the floor with his ability to distribute and attack.

Not to mention the athleticism and massive mitts with which he wreaks havoc defensively.

A similar split plays out between Jose Calderon and Ricky Rubio, albeit on a lower tier than that occupied by Nash and Rondo. Calderon is a superb shooter with career splits of .483/.399/.877 who doesn't penetrate much, but whose sharp stroke makes him a dangerous spot-up player. As for Rubio, he's young, but the 40-percent field-goal shooting mark has thus far proven elusive for the Minnesota Timberwolves talisman.

Still, unlike his Spanish countryman and international teammate, Rubio trends more toward driving and kicking rather than serving up dishes from the outside, though he's been known to alley more than a few oops in his time:

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Greivis Vasquez represents something of a happy medium among passing point guards. He's a productive facilitator—ranks third in the NBA with 9.2 assists per game—who's capable of hitting shots and certainly isn't afraid to let it fly. His field-goal (.434) and three-point (.351) percentages are both slightly below average, though he still has free rein to get up 13.1 shots per game.

Not that he doesn't usually stick to passing. He handles the ball in the pick-and-roll 43.1 percent of the time, as opposed to 12.7 percent in isolation and 12.2 percent as a spot-up shooter, per Synergy Sports.

Those are approximately on par with Rubio (43.1 percent pick-and-rolls, 18.4 percent spot-ups), though they still pale in comparison to those of Nash, who picks-and-rolls more than 53 percent of the time and spots up just 18 percent of the time.

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What truly binds these five guys together, though, is what's always brought primary passers together: their penchant for turnovers. Anyone who handles and distributes the ball as frequently as these guys do is bound to give it away from time to time.

In fact, according to Synergy Sports, Calderon is the only one of these five who doesn't turn the ball over during at least one in five pick-and-roll possessions, and he sits at a shade over 19 percent. Rubio knows how to razzle and dazzle on the fast break, though his flair for the fantastic leads to a miscue nearly 29 percent of the time.

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