Misnomer: BALLHANDLING ABILITY

 Technically a good ball handler is a good dribbler but I think what you’re saying is a good crossover does not make at good ball handler 

But then again it does 😮 it’s ball handlception 

So who are your other guys who have HANDLES and guys who are FACILITATORS.

Yeah, Tyreke has good handles.  He ran point at U of Memphis and for the Kings a lot.  But he really likes to call his own number and rarely gets his teammates involved.  Wonder if he will refine his point guard skills, because that is where he is most devastating potential wise (a 6-5 point guard with length and the ability to drive and finish). 

Kendall Marshall is a great FACILITATOR.  Does he have first rate NBA speed and ball handling skills?  Speed, probably not.  I am sure he can work on his ball handling skills and make a good niche for himself.

Ironically, not all FACILITATOR guys have low turnover numbers.  Actually, most have higher TO numbers.  Guys like Nash, and Jason Kidd usually had a ton of turnovers.  Closer to or higher than Michael Jordan who had very good HANDLES but wasn’t known as a facilitator (that was Pippen’s job).  

Wade, Westbrook, and D Rose have great HANDLES but they aren’t pass first players.  Maybe that has more to do with their explosiveness and their first step.

Point guards with both HANDLES and the ability to FACILITATE have the most upside, and are the most dangerous.  I am thinking about Chris Paul.  Ricky Rubio is a new guy who can really do both.  But RR lacks an elite first step. 

The young guy now with the best combination of Handles and Facilitation is Rajon Rondo.  He can get to wherever he wants to go and he can set guys up and make them better which is why he was a sleeper MVP candidate this year, and should be for the majority of his career.

Reke and Lance are power guys. They can handle, but they do not have the speed of the above mentioned PG’s, nor the instincts. Kendall Marshall just is who he is, going to look for team mates and find them in the best places possible. You look for openings and floor spacing than try to get the ball there. He is great at that. Meanwhile, other "PG’s" at the very least do the same thing with their penetrating ability as ball handlers.

Reke and Lance never were much on doing that. They both could dribble incredibly well, but they usually were more adept at creating for themselves off of the dribble as opposed to those around them. Both were strong enough to be able to be productive at going at people rather than around them. In the NBA, that tends to be a less effective way of drawing multiple defenders or openings for ones team mates.

It seems to be an attitude or a mind set to an extent. I think that both Tyreke and Lance may have a better handle than most players in the league, but they do not have the speed or court vision of some of the leagues top floor generals. Tony Wroten is in this category as well. SG’s that can pass are great to have, definitely brings another dimension to ones game. But, I feel that getting the idea that these guys are running a team when the best quality they all have seems to be creating for themselves is a misuse of a player.

I do not think it is as much about dribbling ability as ability to see spaces and the floor, that is what separates a Kendall Marshall as a PG as opposed to having Tony Wroten. Tyreke and Lance are not point guards. Both can dribble, but to have them run a team in the NBA takes away from what they have always been best at doing, which is putting the ball in the hoop. They need the ball to do this, but having someone else control it as a facillitator would be to the benefit of teams that tend to use these players to the best of their ability (Tyreke, Lance, Tony).

It is that willingness to pass. That ability to create or see a scoring option for someone else just as much as for yourself. I am in the school of thought that Jason Terry is more of a 2 than a 1, and Lamb is as well. Either COULD play 1 in a pinch I suppose, but ultimately that is not what they are best at doing. They are better at scoring than passing.

Skill set is not the only thing behind it, like you said Harden is a very good passer and can set people up. Like Brandon Roy, though, that was not what he was best at. I think Harden is a good passing SG, not a PG in a SG’s body. It is not always necessary to have a total facilitator to win a title, but it can help your team greatly.

The thing is, when players without the penetrating speed or ability tend to play PG, it may not work. Even Magic had that, plus he was just as likely to pass as put up a shot. Some players just do not have that ability or vision, which is why they should be used in a role that focuses on what they are best at. Jason Terry had that role, worked incredibly well. These guys may have the skill set to handle the rock, but they do not have the mentality and are best focusing on getting offense for themselves without having to also play the role of the main facilitator as well.

A lot of this has to do with basketball IQ, maturity, and what your team needs you to do. Often a guy is so good it doesn’t matter that he’s more scorer than facilitator.

Take Derrick Rose. He’s more of a scorer than a facilitator, but that works because the Bulls are more of a defensive team overall, he’s superstar scorer who can get his points at will while the rest of his team keeps the other team from returning fire. The Bulls wouldn’t want to have a pass-first PG instead of Rose. Although maybe they could start Rose at SG if they had a really good floor general, like maybe they should pick up Chauncey Billups in the offseason. Then again, Rose is ball-dominant, it might negate his usefulness rather than amplify it. Bit it might still make the team better. Whatever. The point is a guy like Rose is such a talented player, it doesn’t matter that he doesn’t fit some position specific ideal.

Tyreke Evans is a similar situation. Tyreke I think could definitely stand to improve his basketball IQ and maturity, but it seems pretty damn unlikely he’ll ever be a true PG. Maybe it would be better to build a tough, defense-oriented team around him, get a coach who coaches that way, play Tyreke at PG because he’s so ball dominant, despite the damage to team offense. I mean if he’s the best talent you can get ahold of, maybe you need to try to build a team that can win because of Tyreke’s scoring ability, not in spite of his facilitating instincts. Over time, you hope he becomes more mature and try to drill into his head that the team will do better if he more frequently tries to set up plays for the other scorers on the roster.

Kyle Anderson is kind of like Kendall Marshall. Not very athletic or naturally a dominant scorer, but makes up for it with how much better he makes his teammates, how much better the offense flows, with how his intelligence and unselfishness and skill level keep him several steps ahead of more athletic opponents.

Shoot, Kobe is ball-dominant too, Derek Fisher was never an elite facilitator, he was just smart and reliable, played good defense, hit clutch threes. The Lakers won five championships with that pairing, with Kobe dominating the ball a lot because he was easily the most talented player. Maybe he didn’t bring the ball up the court like Rose and Reke, but still the focus of the offense in much the same way as Rose or Reke..

The Bulls three-peats were before my time, but I’m guessing Jordan was pretty ball dominant?

 Jordan was a little more ball dominate during his first three years but at that point he was much better than the current old Kobe and he also wasn’t winning any championships. He eventually got better at finding teammates and started winning championships. Though he always used a lot of plays until his last few years. Kobe just shot way too much this season for a guy who can’t manufacture easy shots like he used to. 

 I think most people consider ball handling ability a player’s dribbling ability, and not the player’s point guard or facilitator ability.  Maybe I am wrong, but I think when most people mention "ballhandling ability," they are talking about something different than you are.  Maybe I’m wrong, but I think that is the context in which it is most often used. 

For example, Kendall Marshall has good ability as a facilitator, but he doesn’t handle the ball as well as Tyreke Evans or Lance Stephenson.  

On another note, I think the reason Anderson is unlikely to make it as a pg is that he is too tall.  He may have the raw handle of a pg, but he has too high a center of gravity and not enough quickness, so he would struggle to handle the ball against the ball-pressure of NBA pgs.  I don’t mean he isn’t quick for his height, but a 6’9" player won’t be as quick as the 6’1" NBA pgs who he would be matched up against.  For the same reason, many tall stretch 4s, like Perry Jones, would do best at the 4, as, even if they can handle as well as a wing, their high center of gravity and/or lack of quickness/speed would prevent them from being elite ball handlers on the wing.  

Of course, then their are players like Tracy McGrady and LeBron James who are ridiculous in their abilities and just can do things other players can’t.