Uligan 1

Anjo Uligan
Grade 7

January 17, 2014

IRE

Starting Five
First of all what is basketball? According to the dictionary basketball is a game played between two teams of five players in goals are scored by throwing a ball through a netted hoop fixed at each end of the court.For others basketball is just shooting, doing fancy layups, jimby jamba jump shots, doing all kinds of jump shots and much more. But what they arent realizing is basketball is more than just that. You master the the fundamentals so you can forget them. So you can focus on what really matters, its all about getting buckets. Where did i get that line? i actually got it from a commercial produced by Kyrie Irving the point guard of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Basketball is a fun and extremly competitive sport. It started with James Naismith. While he was playing throw the rock with his friend into the hoop, thats were it all started. He processed it in his mind and wala basketball was invented. Ever since basketball was invented many leagues were built. Since basketball is officially a sport, they wanted to make it bigger meaning they wanted it to be featured big time on televisions, radio and even everywhere around the globe, they wanted to make it one of the famous sport there is besides soccer and football and so they came up with this association named NBA or National Basketball Association. Did you know it was racist before meaning the blacks and the whites are separated? Meaning black people had their own bathrooms, restaurants, and pretty much anything. They

Uligan 2 could even play in the NBA. But look at this, almost everyone who s playing in the NBA are black Its kind of like Adolf Hitler's time where in the Jews were separated against the Germans. But Hitlers time was worse; during that time he killed plenty of Jews. He was that kind of dictator. He destroyed homes, malls, groceries, and much more. And the same thing happened to them. During World War 2 discrimination was one of the problem and that would mean the other problems are fascism, and militarism. But anyways that was resolved lets go back to basketball, if you are asking yourself how basketball feels like well once you try you will want to try to do it over and over again, like me at first I didnt even know what basketball is but then I worked hard for it and it paid off. And my point actually is who exactly are the best starting five rights now. As you read this essay you will know more about who are the best starting five there is in the NBA.

First of all lets start with the positions for the game. There's a point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward, center. Now that we have this lets talk about what jobs does each position have? Point guard, a point guard is the one who facilitates the game. He is the one that controls the whole tempo to lead them to victory. They can call screens; call a play and much more. Shooting guard, a shooting guard is the one that basically shoots, meaning the guy is a shooter. Thats what that position is for to shoot wherever from the court; they should also be able to attack to drive inside and score from the post. Small forward, a small forward is the one that basically shoots inside and defend inside, and its the same job of the power forward to

Uligan 3

be able to defend the perimeter which is the inside of the three point area. And finally the center. The center is the one that handles the post, its they're job to get rebounds and start the fast break sparks by throwing the ball to their teammate whos on the other court. Its also they're job to guard the post. Now that we know what is the job of each position is, now lets check out who are the best starters for the game from the NBA based on stats.

Lets start of with Point guard, when you think about it you know already that there are a lot of nominees for this position, like Derrick Rose, Chris Paul, Stephen Curry, Russel Westbrook, and much more. Lets start with Derrick Rose. One thing that all point guards have in common is they all need to be fast because they are the ones who facilitates the game. Derrick Rose is actually one of the most athletic players there are on the court. He almost never misses a layup; he can make acrobat layups and even impossible layups even if the defense is super tight. He is one of the most explosive players there are. He averages 24.0 ppg 6.0 ast 5.0 reb a game. He actually won the youngest MVP trophy in 2011. Although he is injured now because of another acl tear. If you guys dont know ppg stands for points per game, ast stands for assist per game, and lastly rpg stands for rebounds per game. Now Chris Paul, Chris Paul is actually more on the assists side. He is willing to pass more than to shoot. He is also one of the best stealers there are on the court also. He won most steals thrice in a row now, ad now he is leading the assists leaders. He averages 18.6 ppg 9.9 ast and 4.4 rpg. Although he is also out because of an shoulder injury. Russel Westbrook he is like Derrick Rose who only has 2 options attack or shoot the mid range shot.

Uligan 4

Once Westbrook gets the rebound he attacks immediately. He really runs the fast break single-handed and once he gets in the rim he'll either have an andone bucket or do some stylish passes. He also rarely miss layups and dunks and when you need him to tie the game, hes always there. And lastly my favorite Stephen Curry, Im not saying that he's the best point gaurd now or whatever I just insist on him on being best point guard for his position. When Curry runs the fast break, dribbling up to 10 mph Curry can set up a jumps hot in less 0.3 of a second. He shoots 3 points on fast break like he stops and sets up for a jumps hot. Stephen Curry beat the record for most threes made (272) and still not done. He releases the ball in just 0.4 seconds.

Now lets go with shooting guards, again there are a lot of nominees for this position. You have Kobe Bryant, James Harden, Dwayne Wade, Jamal Crawford and much more. Lets start with Kobe is actually considered a legend because hes about to pass Jordan for most points. Kobe can give you points anytime you need him. He is a 5 time NBA champion, 15x NBA All star, 1 time NBA MVP, and 3 time League Leader in Points. Kobe rises in big moments, when you need a game winner shot you give it to this guy and he will give it to you. He was born to do clutch shots, and he can take you skating anytime he wants because he s good with ball handling. He can shoot it from both inside and out, because he has the drive to do it. Now lets go with James Harden 6th man of the year when he was with the Oklahoma City Thunders. When they needed a go ahead basket the Thunders give it to him. He, Kevin Durant, and Russel Westbrook carried there team to reach the finals. When he moved to the Rockets he was even better he became a starter and a star player. He is

Uligan 5

now leading the Rockets and he is the captain of the team. He averages 25 ppg 5 ast 5 rpg. Now lets go with Dwayne Wade another legend. Whenever the heat needs a clutch man they really go to D Wade for help he delivers as well. Hes a 3 time NBA champion, 1 time Finals MVP, and 3 League Leaders in steals. Hes also great at drawing fouls. He averages 22 ppg 6 ast 5 rpg. And lastly Jamal Crawford, Jamal Crawford is actually the 6 th man of the year when he moved to the Clippers. He can shoot from absolutely anywhere. He is best known for his dribbling skills because he can shake a guy or break his ankles in a matter of seconds and thats the time he shoots. He averages 24 ppg 6 ast 4 rpg.

Now lets go with small forwards in which we also have lots of nominees, we have Kevin Durant, Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Paul George and much more. Lets start with Kevin Durant, Durant has been crazy this season. Hes been averaging 32 ppg 8 rpg 5 ast. He is actually leading the league in scoring, And he is also being thought as the MVP for the way he has been playing. He is the only player to score 40 + points in 10 games this season. He also got his career high points scored which is 54 points. Now lets go with Lebron James now for his position he plays like a point guard. He values assist more than points. He plays an all around game. He actually lead the het to a 2peat or 2 time NBA Champion. He was Finals MVP twice. Now he is averaging 26 ppg 6 ast 6 rpg. People actually think that hes better than Jordan because he achieved more awards than Micheal Jordan did. Now lets go with Carmelo Anthony. Now Carmelo is actually known for his ability to shoot the basketball. Just recently he scored his new career high points per

Uligan 6

game this season. He scored 62 points better than KD, Stephen Curry, or any player who is in the NBA right now. He is also so a slasher meaning he likes attacking inside even if theres defense around him. And lastly Paul George. Paul George is known for attacking skills. He can Dunk the ball in anyones face without getting blocked. He electriifys everyone because he performs acrobatic and fascinating dunks, like just this recently he performed a 360 windmill dunk that fascinated and shocked everyone. He even dunked on Lebron James who is considered one of the greatest defenders there are.

Now lets go with power forwards, we have lots of nominees but I will just name a few. We have Tim Duncan, Chris Bosh, Blake Griffin, and much more. Now lets start with Tim Duncan is one of the greatest because he can give you points in the inside, and he can also give you lots of rebounds and blocks. Each year he improves his post working until he gets better. He averages 18 ppg 10 rpg 2.4 bpg. Now lets go with Chris Bosh, has been a huge factor to the Miami heat even if he doesnt attack that much inside he like shooting from that mid range thats his favorite shot. He only attacks whenever hes open, but he doesnt attack all the time. He averages 16 ppg 7 rpg 1.4 bpg. And lastly Blake Griffin.Blake Griffin is actually similar to Paul George they both play in the inside meaning they like performing electrifying dunks for the crowd I would call it the the highlight film maker

And lastly centers for center our nominees are Dwight Howard. Marc Gasol, Brook Lopez, Joakim Noah, and much more. Lets start with Dwight

Uligan 7

Howard has been good this season. He has been working and averaging more points than last year. Although his problem is that he is having a hard time shooting free throws. The problem with Howard is he can get you points but not free throw points. He averages 17 ppg 12.4 rpg 2.4 bpg. Now Lets go with Marc Gasol. One of the defensive players there are Marc Gasol is a 7 footer and he still manages to shoot from the mid range. He can get you those points like Chris bosh. Last year he was the defensive player of the year. He averages 14 ppg 8 rpg 1.7 bpg. Now lets go with Brook Lopez. Brook has actually been has been a good factor for the nets both offense and defense. He has helped carry the team Even if theyre record sucks. He averages 19 ppg 7 rpg 2.1 bpg. And lastly Joakim Noah. Noah has also been a great factor for the Bulls this season. While Derrick Rose is out recovering himself, he was the captain of the team. But he has thing with trash talking, but that trash talking is what making the team persevere strive so that they can win, and they could reach the finals.

Now that you know what these players can do now its time to answer the question, who is the best point guard in this position? Well the answer is it depends actually because if you are looking for an all around player then its Chris Paul. If your looking for a point guard who can attack the basket then its Derrick Rose or Russell Westbrook. And lastly if youre looking for a point guard who can shoot the basketball from any range then its Stephen Curry. Now lets go with shooting guards. So same with points guards there really isnt a best for each position its depending on where you view it also. If you

Uligan 8

want clutch shots and points that would be Kobe Bryant and James Harden. If you a shake and bake player who can break anyones ankle in a hurry that would be Jamal Crawford. And if your looking for points you go to Dwayne Wade. Now for small forwards, if your looking for shooters who can shoot anywhere that would be Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony. If your looking for an all around player that would be Lebron James. And lastly if your looking for a player who can absolutely bring it inside that would be Paul George. Now lets go with power forwards. If your looking for someone who can give you points inside that would be Kevin Love and Tim Duncan. And lastly if your looking for electrifying dunks that would be Blake Griffin. And lastly Center. If your looking for a leader that would be Joakim Noah. If your looking for someone who has good post moves that would be Dwight Howard and Brook Lopez. And lastly if your looking for defense that would be Marc Gasol.

So to put this essay to an end there isnt really a best player for each position. It all depends on where you view, if you view it on points, rebounds, assists, blocks, steals and much more. There are different players per point. Like Lebron James they all think hes the next "greatest of all time" but he's not, he didnt achieve being great by himself, he did it with his teammates not by him alone. This is where my essay ends thank you for reading and thank you for giving your time with me.

Uligan 9

Sources

bleacher report, ranking NBA player

Draft Express, profile, Kevin Durant

Lebron James, throwback , Lebrons High School, stats

Fox sports NBA, NBA, Player, Chris Paul career stats

Sports illustrated NBA, basketball, NBA, Player 8

Hoop data, name Kobe Bryant