OK folks we have finally made it, after giving the top 10 fantasy options through the forward and center positions we have arrived at the coveted guard position. No other position can offer more to your fantasy roster than the guards. The way of the NBA is definitely leaning towards increased guard play as these ball handlers aren’t just playmakers any more as many of them lead their teams in scoring and contribute hugely in rebounding and steals.
Drafting wisely here is an absolute must. Getting a top tier guard is akin to drafting a true RB1 in fantasy football; without a number one option here your fantasy team will be doomed for mediocrity. Let’s get right into it. Here are eDraft’s top 10 fantasy guards for the 2014-15 season.
1. Stephen Curry - Golden State Warriors
This is the year that Curry really comes out and shows the world that he is one of the top five talents in the association. It would not surprise me one bit to see Curry be the first overall fantasy pick ahead of LeBron James and others. Curry provides the most well-rounded fantasy production and he ranked second in terms of fantasy value last season behind only Kevin Durant. Curry continues to shoot lights out and now with the addition of Shaun Livingston he will probably have less ball handling responsibilities which will allow him to focus more on just scoring the rock.
2. Chris Paul - Los Angeles Clippers
Paul continues to be the model of fantasy consistency as he provides nightly double-doubles in terms of points and assists. No reason to think a drop off of any kind is in the making this season as Paul and the rest of the Clippers will be looking to get an early start on the Western Conference playoff positioning.
3. Russell Westbrook - Oklahoma City Thunder
Westbrook needs to have a huge start to this season; for the sake of the franchise he absolutely must be the man in Kevin Durant’s absence. This shouldn’t be too much of a stretch for Westbrook as he is a ball-dominating point guard anyway who predominantly looks to score first and pass second. A nice bonus for drafting Westbrook is that if your pool awards extra points for triple-doubles; Westbrook is a threat on any given night to record one.
4. James Harden - Houston Rockets
When it comes to Harden he definitely seems to have more critics and detractors than fans. Seems like everyone loves to get their hate on when it comes to Harden. Despite the haters out there, Harden continues to prove himself as a top statistical talent in the association. There just aren’t many players out there who are going to give you 26 ppg, 6 apg and 5 rpg. Hate all you want, but you will love what Harden brings to your fantasy lineup.
5. John Wall - Washington Wizards
I’m expecting huge things from Wall this season. Not only does he have a chip on his shoulder from being snubbed on the FIBA USA Basketball Team in favour of Kyrie Irving he is also without his backcourt mate Bradley Beal for at least six weeks of action. Wall will be assertive this season and the Wizards have kept their talent and brought in more to help Wall be the very best player that he can be. A huge season is right around the corner for Wall and he could easily be the steal among this group of players.
6. Damian Lillard - Portland Trailblazers
Lillard is scary good, the kind of good that can absolutely make a fantasy team. In only two seasons in the association he has already shown his consistency by averaging nearly the same numbers. What is impressive is that he is only now beginning to shoot the three-ball with good efficiency and he is getting to the free throw line more frequently where he is shooting a stellar .871. The assist numbers will always be there as the Trailblazers squad is well-balanced. The points per game numbers could be higher and i’d look for Lillard to assert himself a bit more offensively this season upping his 15 shots per game to around 18.
7. Derrick Rose - Chicago Bulls
A huge risk/reward pick here as Rose has looked phenomenal thus far; however, the NBA season is a grind and it remains to be seen how his body will hold up over a full schedule. Personally i think Rose will be just fine and that the only thing holding him back from absolute fantasy stardom at this point is the Bulls coaching staff and the fact that the roster is much deeper than in previous years. Rose won’t have to carry such a load offensively and one can bet that the trainers and coaches will be awfully careful when it comes to monitoring Rose’s minutes.
8. Kyle Lowry - Toronto Raptors
Lowry should be poised to have a terrific year. He has a new contract, absolute confidence of the coaching staff and another year under his belt of cohesiveness with this Raptors squad. Although DeMar DeRozan was the Raps leading scorer it was Lowry who was the catalyst of the team. For a guard he brings great rebounding numbers to compliment terrific assist averages. He should have no problem replicated his scoring average of 17.9 ppg last season as well.
9. Ty Lawson - Denver Nuggets
Lawson had his best statistical season last year as he posted a slash line of 17.6 ppg, 8.8 apg, 3.5 rpg and 1.6 steals per game. The Nuggets will need every bit of the same effort out of Lawson again this season if they hope to make any kind of noise come playoff time. Many will have Lawson ranked higher, but I just don’t see him exceeding his numbers from last year. I find it hard to bet on a guy to get better when he is already coming off a career year. Expect a solid fantasy season for Lawson, but don’t count on it be any better than last year.
10. Kemba Walker - Charlotte Hornets
Wow, what a difficult list to narrow down to just ten players. I’m taking a bit of a flier on Walker here but I do think that he has tremendous upside for the Hornets and that he is just coming into his own as a true star in the league. This is a bit of a gutsy call as it means leaving the likes of Kyrie Irving, Goran Dragic and Mike Conley off the list, but honestly each of those three have some roster drawbacks whereas Walker is running the show in Charlotte with the ball in his hands on every possession.