Chris Paul

During the next week or so, we’ll be going through the projected top 10 fantasy players at each position for the 2010-11 NBA season. We’ll start off with point guards. While this position is typically viewed as one of the thinner ones in fantasy leagues, this rundown shows that there’s plenty of depth at this position this season. There is much room for debate here, of course, so let us know what you agree or disagree with. (These rankings are based on a nine-category scoring system.)

1. Chris Paul: He’s got his health back, his talented backup is out of town and he has a versatile new wingman in his arsenal of weapons to pass to this season. CP3 is projected to be a top three pick this season, and getting this caliber of a point guard that early on in a draft is gold.

2. Deron Williams: The new-look Jazz’s starting lineup will feature a prominent low-post player in Al Jefferson, an energetic power forward in Paul Millsap, a versatile threat in Andrei Kirilenko and a long-range sniper in Raja Bell. D-Will has a talented new crew to guide, but that won’t stop him from being a guaranteed double-double each night.

3. Stephen Curry: The kid roared out of the gates of his NBA career last season and finished with top 12 value. The Warriors have shed many of its offensive weapons during the offseason, all but ensuring that Curry will continue to have the keys to his team’s offense. He does it all, and if a sophomore surge takes place, watch out – Curry could finish 2010-11 as one of the five best fantasy players in the land.

4. Steve Nash: The bad news is that he’s another year older, his team has another skilled ballhandler in Hedo Turkoglu and Nash’s minutes have declined in each of the past four seasons. The good news is that he’ll still shoot sick percentages and will run a team that will play plenty of small ball, which should lead to plenty of stats to go around.

5. Jason Kidd: The man just won’t act his age. True, Kidd doesn’t shoot very well from the field, but he nailed a career-best 2.2 threes per game last season and managed to improve his scoring and assists. Somehow, someway, Kidd will surprise us all again.

6. Chauncey Billups: Though he also struggles from the field, Billups has an otherwise efficient all-around game. It’ll be interesting to see if he continues to score more and dish less, as his points have increased and his assists have decreased since 2007-08.

7. Rajon Rondo: He boosted his points, assists and steals last season. The glaring weaknesses are his lack of threes and dreadful free-throw shooting. But as the young floor general of a creaky team, Rondo should have plenty of room for continued improvement across the board this season in Boston. Oh, and don’t think he’ll kindly forget about being left off of Team USA’s final roster this past summer.

8. Mo Williams: Coach Byron Scott said that every starting position is up for grabs in Cleveland, but do you really think Ramon Sessions will start over Williams? Williams will likely be the biggest winner of the forgettable summer for the Cavs organization. While his field-goal percentage could take a dip without LeBron James around, Williams will benefit from more shots and a more important role as a ball distributor.

9. Raymond Felton: He’s always been a mildly appealing point guard for fantasy purposes, but Felton could really blossom in coach Mike D’Antoni’s offensive schemes. With a finisher like Amar’e Stoudemire, three-point gunners like Danilo Gallinari and Roger Mason, and a promising talent in Anthony Randolph, Felton should have an easy time boosting his assists, and could hit 1+ threes per game for the first time since 2006-07.

10. Darren Collison: The dude feasted on opponents as a fill-in for an injured CP3 last season in New Orleans, and now that he’s got a starting gig in Indiana, the sky’s the limit for Collison. Many will jump on him earlier than this, but given the new system and players he has to learn about, it might be wise to tamp down expectations a bit. What puts him above the names not in the top 10 here are his combination of strong shooting percentages, threes, assists and steals.

On the cusp: Baron Davis, Aaron Brooks, Devin Harris, Russell Westbrook, Derrick Rose, John Wall

Throughout the season, be sure to leave your questions, comments, concerns, trade offers, roster problems and more in the comments below.

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