Okay, it is a forgone conclusion on who played the best at shooting guard in the 2012 NBA Season and it is also a forgone conclusion on who is ranked as second; however numbers three through thirty remain a mystery. Similar to the small forwards, the pickings got a little slim after the top ten; however, this group of players had a much deeper talent pool than that of the countdown before, So take a moment of your time and check out the thirty best NBA shooting guards of the 2012 NBA Season and for those who still cannot fathom who the best shooting guard in the game is, all I have to say is "seriously? Have you been living in a cave for the past ten or so years? I mean, COME ON!!"
30
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Smith came in very late in the season and was not
the most consistent of shooters with just a .407 field goal percentage;
however, he was one of the key factors that helped the Knicks win 36 games
and reach the postseason for the second straight season. In the last month of the regular season,
Smith’s performance went up a few notches as he averaged a season high 16.0
points per game while shooting a season’s best .422 from beyond the arc.
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29
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His performance and production improved after a
rather subpar rookie season for the second overall pick in the draft as both
his scoring and his shooting improved; however, he still showed how much he
lacked in terms of his shooting range.
Here’s a guy that’s supposed to be your shooting guard of the future
and he cannot even be counted on to shoot a basket further from fifteen feet.
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28
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Hey may have just played nine games this season, but
Eric Gordon showed how much of an impact player he could have been if he had
been available for the entire season as the Hornets went 6-3 with him on the
floor—totaling about 30 percent of the Hornets’ 21 game win total.
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27
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Avery Bradley had his coming out party when starter
Ray Allen went down to injury late in the regular season as he average close
to 16 points per game in the last month of the season. His play was so good that coach Doc Rivers
chose to keep Avery as the starting point guard after Ray returned to the
lineup and with Allen possibly parting ways with the Celtics once the season
ends, Bradley may become the shooting guard of the future in Boston.
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26
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Daniel Green must be one of the best kept secrets in
the league as he quiety has made a name for himself started much of the
regular season instead of the oft-injured Manu Ginobli and posting rather
impressive numbers to boot (9.1ppg, 3.5rpg, 0.9spg, .436 3ptFG%). He certainly remained a key player in the
post-season helping the Spurs in their playoff sweeps in the first and second
rounds as he scored in double figures in five of the eight games.
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25
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Allen is possibly one of the best perimeter
defenders in the NBA as he averaged close to two steals in the game in less
than 30 minutes of playing time per game.
Along with the league leader in steals, Mike Conley, Rudy Gay who
himself averaged close to two steals per game, and OJ Mayo who grabbed a
steal per game off the bench, Allen was a member of one of the most
intimidating perimeter defensive clubs in the league.
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24
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Despite leading the team in scoring and being one of
best players on the team, many in the nation’s capital were not sad to see
Nick Young go when they shipped off to the Clippers for virtually nothing;
however, Young would make his haters in the District of Columbia eat crow as he
reached the post season for the first time with the LA Clippers and help his
new team reach the Western Conference Semi Finals.
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23
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Jordan looked as if he were a lost cause as he
struggled through much of the season with his shooting; however, all that
changed when Nick Young was sent to the Clippers and he got more touches as a
result of that. Crawford finished the
season strong scoring 20 or more points in twelve of the last 23 games of the
season giving the few fans that the Washington Wizards have left some sign of
hope for the future.
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22
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He still remains one of the biggest free agent busts
in NBA History, but Ben Gordon still managed to post rather respectable
numbers despite being on a team that sported the lowest assists numbers in
the league. Despite seeing his numbers
drop in the past three years, Gordon still managed to shoot a rather
impressive .429 from beyond the arc leading the Pistons in that
category. Such numbers prove that
perhaps if he were in a different environment, he would flourish more than he
has in his time in Motor City.
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21
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For the past three years, Gerald Green has bounced
in and out of the league winding up in the minor leagues such as the NBA
D-League and leagues abroad, but he certainly made a strong homecoming as he
returned in the NBA posting career highs in scoring (12.8ppg) and minutes
played. Green was a virtual highlight
reel every night as he gave Nets fans something to cheer for with his
acrobatics plays to the hoop. It would
be wise for the Nets to consider keeping Green long term considering the
impact that he made at the end of the season.
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20
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Brooklyn Nets
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Anthony Morrow gave the Nets one of their few bright
spots in a rather gloomy season as he started it averaging over 15 points per
game and shot close to .450 from beyond the arc; however his production
dropped with each passing month and his effectiveness on the floor slowly
diminished. Yet despite his decline,
he remained one of main factors in the Nets’ offense coming off the bench.
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19
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Brooklyn Nets
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Nothing much was expected from Brooks as he was
picked rather late in last year’s draft and there were questions concerning
his attitude and effort; however, that all changed as Brooks became one of
the best rookie performers in the league starting 47 games for the Nets and
spent most of season as second in scoring amongst rookies behind now rookie
of the year Kyrie Irving.
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18
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Brandon Rush was considered a lost cause when
Indiana shipped him away to the Bay Area as he proved to be nothing but a
disappointment for the Pacers. That is
where he found redemption as he had one of his best seasons as a pro
averaging close to 10 points and four boards per game while shooting over .500
from the field (a career high) and .452 from beyond the arc.
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17
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When Kevin Martin was lost for the rest of the
season due to injury, the Rockets’ playoffs hopes were all but shot until his
backup, Courtney Lee stepped up to give the Rockets another fighting chance
until they subsequently fell two games short to qualify. Lee averaged about 13 points per game in
the seasons last months and shot .424 from beyond the arc in the final month
of April to keep the Rockets in playoff contention until the very end.
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16
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Granted, he played on the worst team ever in NBA
history, but Gerald Henderson managed to do so in style leading his team in
scoring and being the sole consistent and reliable offensive option in that
66 game nightmare that the Charlotte Bobcats called a season.
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15
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Golden State Warriors
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When Klay started, he did not look too good—in fact
he looked as if he would be another highlight in the Warriors’ NBA Draft
Blooper Reel; however as the season progressed, Thompson’s performance got
progressively better with each passing month.
By the end of the season Thompson went from averaging 3.0ppg to start
the season to 18.6ppg by season’s end making Klay Thompson one of the best
turnaround stories of the 2012 NBA season.
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14
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Hill had a solid regular season coming off the bench,
but he really excelled in the playoffs where he started in all 11 games in
the playoffs and averaged a career high in scoring (13.5ppg) and minutes
played (31.5). His played helped in
Indiana’s near sweeping of the Orlando Magic in the first round and kept the
Pacers within six games before getting eliminated by the Miami Heat in the
Conference Semi-Finals.
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13
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Indiana Pacers
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Paul George bounced from what can be considered a
flat rookie to post solid numbers of 12.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game
and showed fans in Cleveland and the NBA on how expendable Danny Granger
really is.
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12
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Houston Rockets
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After averaging close to 24 points per game,
Martin’s scoring took to sharp drop to 17.1 points per game while having the
second worst shooting percentage of his career at .413. To add insult to
injury, he missed the last 21 games of the season and watched as his Rockets
missed the playoff yet again for the third straight year in a row.
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11
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Jason Terry proves again that age is nothing but a
number as he was second on Mavs in scoring coming off the bench at the tender
age of 34; however, this may be his last in Dallas as he will become an
unrestricted free agent in July and with Dallas looking to start rebuilding
sooner than later, terry may not be in dallas’long term plans.
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10
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It seems as Marcus Thornton has not only found his
home, but has also found his groove in California’s Capital as he posted a
career high in points per game leading the team in scoring. His numbers would mean more if his team
were actually winning as sacramento finish with their fifth straight losing
seasdon in a row.
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9
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San Antonio Spurs
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Age may have caught up with Manu Ginobli as he
missed half of the regular season due to injury and posted his worst numbers
in eight years average just 12.9 points per game compared to his 15.2 career
average; however, he has still shown his greatness when it comes to playoff
time as he has been averaging up to 15 per game coming off the bench in the
13 games that he has played in the post season.
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8
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After being considered nothing more than an
after-thought, Aaron Aflalo have finally made NBA observers take notice
posting a career high in points per game (15.2) and helped lead the Nuggets
yet again to the playoffs. One should
also note that his scoring has increased for every single year he has played
in the NBA from 3.7ppg in his rookie year to 15 now.
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7
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Despite being second on the team in scoring with
16.7ppg), Demar Derozan seemed to have taken a step back as he had struggled
with his shot for much of the season.
Although he had an uncanny ability of getting to the rim and a
propensity for attacking the basket, His Achilles Heel was most evidently his
poor shooting stroke where he displayed limited range beyond 18 to 20
feet. Yet raptor fans remain faithful
that he can turn his season around and become the All Star that many have
hoped that he will be.
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6
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He is aging, his abilities are deteriorating and the Hawks are stuck with him for another four years at 80$ million, but Joe
Johnson has still shown that he still remains as one of the elite players in
the game lading the Hawks in scoring for the seventh straight season and to
the playoffs for the fifth straight season.
Certainly the Hawks coaching and management staff are hoping that
Johnson continue with this pace as they have much riding on his continued
success.
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5
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Boston Celtics
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At 36 years old and on his last season of his
contract, it seems that Ray Allen will be bidding a fond farewell to Beantown
where he helped the Celtics reach the playoffs for five straight years, went
to the NBA Finals twice and winning their NBA championship since 1986;
fortunately he will not go down without a fight as he and the Celtics are
locked in an Eastern Conference final war against the Miami Heat with the
searies locked dead even at 2-2.
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4
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When Milwaukee traded for Monta Ellis, they knew
they would get an explosive scorer and excellent back-court mate to Brandon
Jennings. What they probably did not
expect was that he would be the factor that would help Milwaukee reach to the
playoffs once again as the Bucks went 13-11 since his arrival and reached
only an earshot to the post season.
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3
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For a team whose offense is dominated by just two
players, James Harden can be seen as an anomaly as he only has just so many
touches, yet has been able to average close to 18 points per game while
shooting close to .500 from the field and .400 from beyond the arc. Add to the fact that he is leading his team
in the Western Conference Finals with a 3-2 series lead over the San Antonio
Spurs makes his story even more remarkable.
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2
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Wade has seemed to have taken a back seat allowing
for Lebron James to take over the team instead of trying to match the king in
terms of production. As a result of
that his game has gotten better as he has become the recipient of most of
Lebron’s passes in transition and has improved his team’s fortunes as the
Heat entered the playoff with the second best record in the Eastern
Conference and are just two games away from reaching the NBA Finals for the
second straight time.
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1
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He may not have a championship ring, nor will he
have a chance of getting his sixth due to the current climate in the NBA, but
Kobe Bryant still remains as one of the most dominant basketball players in
the league and in his generation.
Forced to take a bigger scoring load due to his team’s lack of depth,
Kobe relished taking that role once again as he finish second overall in
scoring despite him turning 32 and led his team to the best record in his
division. Unfortunately the glory
would not last as he and his team got knocked out in the Western Conference
Finals by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Yet, despite the loss, he still remains as one of the greatest players
to have ever played the game.
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