The debate for the best shooting guard in the NBA is an interesting one, I thought I’d lay out some of my thoughts on it.
Let’s start off offensively where I think it’s a clean sweep. We can start by noting the differences in their scoring games. PG is often criticized for his reliance on jump shots and lack of pressure put on the rim, we can clearly see how Kyrie is less dependent on his jumpers and a better player at the rim.
Kyrie: 40.2% FGA from 0-10 Feet
PG: 33.8% FGA from 0-10 Feet
Kyrie: 88.4th Percentile Rim Gravity
PG: 74.9th Percentile Rim Gravity
Kyrie: 97th Finishing at the Rim Percentile
PG: 69th Finishing at the Rim Percentile.
Kyrie also has a more dependable in between game, the percentages are similar but PG’s are clearly juiced by no fans.
PG has ZERO seasons in the last 3 years shooting 45% from 16-3P, he’s shooting 52.5% this season.
PG has ZERO seasons in the last 3 years shooting 41% from 16-3P, he’s shooting 45.9% this season.
Kyrie is also a much better self creator, he arguably has the best handle in league history and can get his shot from anywhere on the floor.
His self creation is much better than PG’s which helps him be the more consistent scorer.
Overall Kyrie is averaging 27.7 Points/75 on +3.6 rTS
PG is averaging 26.3 Points/75 on +3.6 rTS
Note that PG has streaky shooting stretches and much better spacing.
Kyrie is also an excellent PnR ball handler, he’s in the 85.3rd percentile for PnR scoring and is an excellent passer out of the PnR too. He’s very good at manipulating the defense and attracts a lot of defensive attention. Kyrie is also much better at dealing with doubles compared to PG.
PG’s playmaking is good but it’s very inflated by the shooters that the Clippers have. He can’t create as many shots at the rim as Kyrie. PG only has 1.9 rim assists a game (36% of his total assists) vs Kyrie who has 2.8 rim assists a game (44% of his total assists).
Kyrie also attracts more defensive attention, by far the better playmaker.
Offensively Kyrie is less jump shot dependent, has a better floater game, has a better in between game, is less streaky, has a more dependable mid range shot, is a better shot creator and isolation scorer, is a better PnR ball handler, is a far better passer, is better at creating high value shots for teammates, deals with double teams better, and just by far the better playmaker. The offensive gap is HUGE but PG makes up some ground defensively.
Paul George is regarded as an elite defender but that just isn’t the case anymore. He’s still good but due to a sad series of injuries he’s clearly lost a step.
PG often gets blown by, he can’t stay in front of his man as well as he used to. PG’s off ball rotations are also a lot worse, he’s less engaged when off ball than before and is a worse help defender due to his motor and positioning. PG also doesn’t give much defensive effort when his shot isn’t falling making him very inconsistent on both sides of the court. His rim protection has also faded due to the loss of athleticism that came with the gruesome injuries he faced in his career. The fading of Paul George’s defense is a sad thing but we have to acknowledge it when making comparisons.
Kyrie on the other hand is around a neutral defensively. Due to his height and other physical limitations he doesn’t have that much of an effect on the ball. While his on ball defense isn’t good, I have been impressed by his off ball D. He’s making good rotations and communicating well with his defense, especially since the Wizards game when he said he had to start playing better defense. He’s also pretty decent in passing lanes, clearly the best defensive season of his career.
The defensive gap between Kyrie and PG is still big even with George’s fall off and Irving’s improvements but I think that the difference in offense is actually larger than the defensive difference at this point which is why I think Kyrie Irving is the best shooting guard in the NBA.
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