The Bottom-Tier Of The Top 10 (Dion Waiters, Manu Ginobli, Arron Afflalo, Bradley Beal, Lance Stephenson)
In this grouping, you have two-guards who impact the game in a number of major ways for their respective teams. All five of these players have different roles and varying skill sets in comparison to the other players in this tier. For example, Dion Waiters is a young guard capable of scoring nearly 20 points a night.
The 22-year-old averaged 16 points a game over the duration of the 2013-14 season, but he averaged five points more a game after the All-Star break in comparison to before. Before the acquisition of LeBron, the young guard was one of the Cavs’ top two scoring options along with Kyrie Irving.
When you take a look at a guy like Lance Stephenson, he is far from a scorer—he averaged just 13.8 points per game last season. However, his 7.2 rebounds per game led the next best guard in that category by a full rebound (Trevor Ariza was second with 6.2 boards a game). His all-around contributions to the offensive and defensive ends make him a key role player that any championship-caliber team would love to have. For example, the Indiana Pacers had an offensive rating of 105.8 with Stephenson on the court. Without him, their rating plummeted to 101.3.
Whether you look at young spark plugs such as Waiters and Stephenson, or proven veteran role players on championship teams such as Manu Ginobli, this tier features quality players all capable of being key cogs on championship contenders. However, that’s all they are—cogs. None of these players have been, or will be, the best player on a championship-contending team.
Therefore, a player like Wade automatically surpasses every player in this tier. Remember, ‘Flash’ is a former Finals MVP and as recently as 2011 was the best player on a team in an NBA Finals series.
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