The Jury Is Out, originally uploaded by DennisShim.
The jury isn't quite in yet on whether Harris should be ahead of guys like Josh Smith and Danny Granger, but he gets the nod as we’re in the age of point guards, and he’s the guy who replaced Jason Kidd and then had a break out season. Furthermore, with Mihkail Prokhorov looking to take over the Nets, the for now New Jersey team has all the right kind of momentum going into this season. If Prokhorov does take over, they want to be major players for years to come, and Harris looks to be a big part of that.
By now, the story should be familiar. Five years in, Harris has shown steady ascension to the ranks of the elite. Last season, he posted 21.3 points, 6.9 assists, and 3.3 rebounds per game. Put quite simply, those are young Gary Payton numbers. While Harris is not the physical or defensive presence that the Glove was, he is the harbinger of the new wave. A few seasons ago, David Stern changed the rules and made perimeter players practically untouchable. He then, of course, allowed zone defenses, but that's another quibble. The point is, we are firmly ensconced the age of point guards. Five used to be more important than one in this league, and I'm not speaking metaphorically so don't think about that one too long. But how many centers matter these days? Dwight Howard. Shaq? Not really as much anymore. Yao? When not injured. Andrew Bynum, Al Jefferson, Emeka Okafor, Tyson Chandler, Eddie Curry?
301/365 infinity, originally uploaded by spring_peeper.
