Guard play in the NBA has never been more prominent as it is right now. Yes, forwards like Kevin Durant and LeBron James are still the best fantasy players in the league, but let’s be honest both are guards trapped in 6’8-plus frames. Having productive forwards and centers on your fantasy roster are important; however, without a contributing top-notch guard your fantasy team is sunk.
We all know that guards like Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook are fantasy studs, but I got to wondering what team boasts the best fantasy backcourt combo? Is having a Kobe Bryant in the backcourt enough to make a top-ranked duo or do you need both players contributing to be considered a fantasy force.
What follows is an eDraft exclusive look at the best fantasy backcourt combos in the league. We crown a winner as the best duo and I think you’ll be surprised to learn what duo is best in class.
5- Dallas Mavericks - O.J. Mayo & Darren Collison
The unlikely combo of Mayo and Collison have formed to make the fifth-ranked fantasy backcourt combo. Other teams came close to claiming this spot, notably the Toronto Raptors and New York Knicks but it was this duo in Dallas that snuck it out. Mayo started the season like a man who was reborn in Dallas, he was filling the offensive void left by the injured Dirk Nowitzki and was being aggressive in seeking scoring opportunities. Nowitzki has since returned and Mayo has been relegated to a secondary scoring option at this point and thusly his ppg averages have been trending down. March was not a good month and February was only marginally better. Mayo’s season averages sit at 16.1 ppg, 4.4 apg and 3.6 rpg.
Collison has been producing at a clip that is slightly better than his career averages this season; however, those numbers are unspectacular at best. Collison posts poor assist numbers for a point guard. It’s hard to believe, but he averaged only 3.9 apg for the month of March and a season low 10.6 ppg. At this point in the season Collison has fallen out of favour in Dallas and his grasp on the starting spot is tenuous at best.
4- Golden State Warriors - Stephen Curry & Klay Thompson
I would have pegged this duo higher given the season that Curry is having, but Thompson has been inconsistent all season long and that hurt their ranking. Both of these guys are explosive scorers and can shoot the ball from anywhere on the court. Where they lack as a guard combo are the assist and rebounding stats. While Curry chips is with a respectable 6.8 apg and 4.0 rpg, Thompson is only averaging 2.2 apg and 3.9 rpg. Thompson is 6’7”, there is no reason why he can’t rebound the basketball, maybe if he would stay home on defense instead of leaking out on the wing his all-around fantasy value would increase. Give Thompson some time to develop his game and round it out and this duo will be challenging for top spot come next season.
3- Denver Nuggets - Ty Lawson & Andre Iguodala
The newly formed duo of Lawson and Iguodala has proven to be very effective as each are solid fantasy contributors. Lawson is the more productive of the two as he has emerged as the clear leader for the Nuggets for this season. Lawson’s emergence as the floor leader for the Nuggets this season was a blessing as he has surpassed his career numbers and continues to improve statistically. On the year Lawson is averaging 16.7 ppg, 6.9 apg 2.7 rpg and 1.5 steals per contest and has maintained a solid shooting percentage while seeing a six minute increase in playing time over last season.
Iguodala has integrated himself into the Nuggets lineup very nicely. Despite recent reports that Iguodala plans to opt-out of his contract next season in order to seek a longer-term deal, it remains likely that he will re-sign with Denver. Iguodala’s numbers on the season are down from his career averages, notably his scoring average has seen a three point decline. While he is performing off his career numbers, he is pretty much bang on his production from last season with Philadelphia. I think that this is just the kind of fantasy production that should be expected, the days of 18-plus ppg season are long gone.
2- Houston Rockets - James Harden & Jeremy Lin
The newly formed duo of Harden and Lin certainly got the majority of the off-season buzz as both guys were seen as being big-time acquisitions for the Rockets. The pairing has worked out well, mostly due to Harden’s fantasy explosion once inserted in a starting lineup. On the season Harden is averaging 25.9 ppg, 5.9 apg, 4.8 rpg and 1.3 steals per game. He has 19 games this season where he has scored 30 or more points, he has nine double-doubles on the year and he logged his first career triple-double early on in the season. Harden has been everything the Rockets had hoped for in terms of production and he has exceeded his fantasy expectations as well.
Lin was the Rockets first splashy off-season move as they committed a huge sum of money on a flash-in-the-pan kind of player. To Lin’s credit he has worked hard to prove his doubters wrong and showed that he can be a starting point guard in the league. The season hasn’t been spectacular; however, the production is at a level where many fantasy general managers believed it would be. He is averaging 13.0 ppg, 6.1 apg, 3.0 rpg and 1.7 steals per contest. The always concerning turnovers per game average is down from last season’s 3.6 to 2.9 per game this season.
Together with Harden, the Rockets have their backcourt set for the next three years at least and with some salary-cap flexibility for this off-season the Rockets will be looking to compliment this duo with a power forward or that elusive center that they have craved since Yao Ming’s departure.
1- Milwaukee Bucks - Monta Ellis & Brandon Jennings
We got a brief 21 game glimpse of this dynamic duo last season and the early reviews were favourable. After the trade brought Ellis to Milwaukee many wondered how the pairing would co-exist in the backcourt. During that introductory time together it seemed that Jennings was the more assertive on the the court and Ellis, although still productive, was relenting and allowing Jennings to take the primary scorers role.
This season Jenning’s fantasy value hasn’t dropped off and nor has his on-court production. On the season he is averaging 17.6 ppg, 6.8 apg, 3.1 rpg and 1.6 steals per. His numbers almost mirror those of Ellis yet come at almost a third of the cost to the team’s payroll. Jennings has nine games with 30 or more points this season to go along with 13 double-doubles. Jennings is currently the eleventh-ranked fantasy guard in the league and with a strong finish to the season he could crack the top-ten.
This season the roles have switched as Ellis is clearly the aggressor and has established himself as the primary scorer and ball-handler. The season stats for Ellis back this up as he has averaged 19.4 ppg, 6.0 apg, 3.9 rpg and 2.0 steals per contest. He has eight games with 30 or more points and has registered seven double-doubles on the season. Ellis is currently the sixth-ranked fantasy guard in the league and will finish in the top-ten by season end.
Ellis has a player-option for next season at $11 million and it is extremely likely that he opts out to seek a long-term deal. Whether or not that will be with Milwaukee remains to be seen, but it is very likely that this top-ranked backcourt duo will be no more come next season. The Bucks currently have the luxury of using these two top-notch talents in the backcourt making them a very effective pairing. This duo isn’t necessarily the most conducive to winning basketball games and it remains likely that the Bucks allocate the money from Ellis’ contract on a more serviceable power forward.