Who’s Better: Eric Bledsoe Or Ty Lawson?

As we noted in the past, it’s possible Eric Bledsoe has already locked up the league’s Most Improved Player award. He’s been that good, that surprisingly good. We all knew he’d put up numbers in Phoenix for a team that was blatantly tanking (and yet now is somehow 7-7 after 14 games). But 20.4 points and 6.8 assists per game good? That’s big time.

Then there’s Ty Lawson, who quietly — seriously, is he the most nationally underrated player in the NBA? — has the Nuggets streaking at 7-6 while averaging 20.7 points and 8.7 assists per game. Just in his last fives games as Denver has picked up steam, Lawson exploded, dropping a ridiculous line of 21 and 10 at 53 percent shooting.

With Bledsoe expected to return to action tonight from a leg injury, we’re asking who’s better: Bledsoe or Lawson? We argue. You decide.

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ERIC BLEDSOE
Eric Bledsoe has a reason to be upset. During his lone college year at Kentucky, he was relegated to shooting guard while poster child John Wall played his position (Wall is 6-4; Bledsoe is 6-1, if that). After getting drafted 18th by the Oklahoma City Thunder, he was traded to Los Angeles and spent two years teetering between the D-League and the cellar of the Clippers bench. Meanwhile, his college contemporaries Wall and center DeMarcus Cousins were thriving as starters for their respective NBA teams.

However, Bledsoe never moped, working hard for his chance to become a potential starter and it’s come to fruition. In his nine games in Phoenix this season, he’s looked every bit the playmaking scorer we expected him to be and possesses the crucial intangibles to be an elite point guard. Yet fans and pundits alike still believe it’s an anomaly. Clearly, we’re dealing with a smaller sample size statistically with Bledsoe compared to Lawson. However, it’s impossible to ignore the immediate progressions he’s made in his game from last year. This rapid development is why I’m leaning towards Bledsoe as the better player.

Bledsoe doesn’t have the protypical size of an NBA guard. But he’s bigger physically than Lawson and standing at 6-1 and 195 pounds, he’s as strong and explosive as anyone in the league. His freakish athleticism and vertical leaping ability has made him a terror in the open court and a supreme finisher at (read: above) the rim. However, Bledsoe’s growth as a viable scorer in the half-court is the key to his breakout season thus far.

As a backup to Chris Paul last season, he played over 1,550 minutes but was never the primary option as high-volume shooting guru Jamal Crawford hoisted up the rock every chance he was given. And only 12 percent of the time were Paul and Bledsoe on the floor at once so it was Bledsoe’s duty to run the offense effectively. In Phoenix, he’s not only the co-captain but the main offensive weapon. Coach Jeff Hornacek is giving the guard free rein on the offensive end and his confidence has skyrocketed. Among point guards, Bledsoe is currently second in the NBA in PER with 23.66 (per Hollinger) and fourth in scoring.

To the naked eye, it seems as if Bledsoe took a few crafty secrets out of Paul’s notebook. First, Bledsoe is far more assertive this season, especially on pick and roll plays. In 2012, he would come off screens lazily and defer to Crawford and Willie Green – yeah, I know – on the perimeter instead of using his quickness to attack the trees in the paint. And when he did penetrate, it was far too premature leaving himself in no man’s land with nowhere to pass the rock. Now, instead of going full speed or not at all, Bledsoe’s using Paul’s trademark start and stop hesitation dribble in the paint to halt the defense and create enough separation to get a good look at the rim. Then Bledsoe will create the contact by jumping into contesting defenders, drawing the foul while still leaving the door open for a three-point play, which he often converts with the help of his 6-7 wingspan.

He’s also playing with more balance and a lower center of gravity that’s translating well into the rhythm of his jumper, which is far smoother than Lawson’s. Lawson has the subtle edge in three-point shooting but Bledsoe is the more efficient scorer, converting half of his buckets compared to Lawson’s 46 percent, and also makes 83 percent of his free throws. Both players are instinctual — their teams don’t necessarily need to run a play for them — but Bledsoe’s playmaking draws more eyes from defenders, opening up the floor for his teammates to succeed. His nearly seven assists per contest show that he’s doing more than just putting the orange in the tin and the Morris twins early success — as well as the Suns’ four-game losing streak after Bledsoe got hurt — is indicative of Bledsoe’s importance to his team.

For the record, Bledsoe’s success as a floor general isn’t much of a surprise nor is his scoring efficiency. Around this time last season – November 2012 – Bledsoe’s per/36 minute averages were 20 points, 5.5 assists and 5.0 rebounds on 50 percent shooting. These are All-Star caliber numbers similar to his 20-5-7 on 50 percent from the field this year. Putting those statistics in perspective, there are only two other players in the league right now with that stat line thus far: Lawson and LeBron James. So the signs for potential brilliance were there but the trust wasn’t, which explained why he played 20 minutes per game for the Clippers last season.

But what really makes Bledsoe superior is his intangibles and defense. He has a knack for anticipating passing lanes and running down blocks on the fast break that shouldn’t even be possible. There are only a handful of legitimate defensive pesters in the NBA and Bledsoe is one of them. In his short career, he’s blocked the likes of Dwyane Wade, J.R. Smith, Tony Allen, Anthony Davis and LeBron James – denials all provided on help defense and/or transition. His timing is impeccable and he’s undaunted by the posterization. And thanks to that wingspan, players can’t overdribble or he’ll pick their pocket with relative ease. He has great pace in transition, has a tendency of winning all the loose balls, deflections and steals, and his moxie is impenetrable. Even when his offense isn’t clicking, he can have an immense impact on the game’s outcome – something I can’t say about Lawson.

I’m sure many believe that Bledsoe’s early season success is an aberration and that’s okay. But what’s there to believe he won’t keep this torrid pace up? Sans his mediocre three-point shooting, there isn’t anything that he doesn’t do well. Blur on the fast break? Check. Pick and roll magician? Check. Elite finisher? Check. Defensive nuisance? Check. Despite his high turnover averages, he’s an underrated ballhandler and one who’s still trying to find stability to his game as a leader of an offense. Remember that in both his college and professional years, Bledsoe has never had the chance to showcase his talents because he played alongside other point guards who limited his full on-court capabilities. Now, the show is his and the Suns are flourishing. Lawson is great but what Bledsoe brings on both sides of the floor is far more dynamic. There’s just more possibilities for success when he’s on the court.

If Bledsoe continues at this pace, Phoenix will inevitably have to pay him a max contract at year’s end or he’s out the door – a frustrating conclusion considering they could’ve resolved the negotiations in a simpler, less expensive fashion in October. But they shouldn’t be upset: they have one of the brightest young guards in the NBA right now, and one I’d take over Lawson any day of the week.
-QUENTON NARCISSE

Hit page 2 to hear the argument for Lawson…

TY LAWSON
Ty Lawson and Eric Bledsoe have become comparisons to each other, especially since the start of the 2013-14 season due to the young point guards catching fire right off the bat. While there exists similarities between the two, they are the antithesis of each other in the major aspects of their styles of play. For example, Lawson is a pass-first type of point guard, who continually looks to improve his shooting accuracy. Meanwhile, Bledsoe is a ball-dominant type of point guard who is a natural scorer. Despite these major differences, both Lawson and Bledsoe are exactly what their respective teams – Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns – need right now. However, at the end of the day, Lawson ranks higher than Bledsoe as a point guard in the NBA. Let’s take a look at why.

Lawson has started the season blazing hot, averaging 20.7 points and 8.7 assists (fourth in the NBA) in his 13-game stretch to open the season. While the Nuggets are in a transition period – adapting to new faces and a different system under Brian Shaw – Lawson has proved thus far that he can be the leader the young Nuggets desperately need even if he is only 25 years old. While Lawson’s hot stats will more than likely cool off a bit as winter approaches in the Mile High City, Lawson’s full embrace of stepping up as a leader is surely optimistic for the Nuggets. Embracing the leader role signifies maturity, accountability, and a readiness that a team wants to see from their point guard. Lawson is a step ahead of Bledsoe regarding leadership and will only develop more as his career progresses.

While Bledsoe is a better natural shooter than Lawson, the former Tar Heel excels in playmaking and finding the open man. Lawson’s assists ratio of 29.1 compared to Bledsoe’s 24.8, according to ESPN, only supports this theory. Lawson is simply more of a traditional point guard as Bledsoe plays more like a shooting guard in a point guard’s body. Additionally, Lawson’s biggest weakness – outside shooting – is gradually improving. It is unfair to look at his shooting percentage only 13 games into the season (.562 TS percentage) to determine how much of an improvement he has made. However, his shot selection has improved over time as he is quicker to judge what shots to take and when taking them will yield the best results. An increased amount of screen/roll situations this season deserves a big credit to his improved shot selection from midrange.

Speaking of shooting, you can’t even compare Lawson and Bledsoe at the three-point line. Bledsoe is shooting a dismal 29.4 percent from downtown compared to Lawson’s 36.7. This percentage will more than likely increase (career 38 percent from deep) as the Nuggets get back their players from the sidelines and are able to spread the floor better.

Lawson edges out Bledsoe on defense. Even though both use their speed and quickness in defensive situations, Lawson is the better all-around defender, who excels at picking his opponent’s pocket. Per Synergy Sports, Lawson allows 43 percent of his defender’s shots to score compared to Bledsoe’s 43.9 percent. Lawson is additionally a better post-up defender than Bledsoe, only allowing 20 percent of post-up shots to score.

The biggest reason why Lawson is better than Bledsoe is because he operates on the hardwood with control. While Bledsoe is adept at compiling points on the scoreboard in a rapid pace, Lawson can command and dictate the overall pace of the game, and do so while exhibiting control of the ball and his playmaking. This is what is desired from a point guard: to be an effective and efficient general and director on the floor. Per ESPN, Lawson has a 9.3 TO ratio 13 games into the season (14th among qualified PGs) while Bledsoe has a 14.2 TO ratio in nine games this season (59th among qualified PGs).

Yet, Lawson’s superior efficiency with the ball does not only apply to playmaking, as Lawson is one of the quickest players with the ball in the league today. The Nuggets will be running more and more as the season dredges on and Brian Shaw sinks more comfortably with his position as head coach. What does that mean for Lawson? It means more opportunities to be even more aggressive and show off his impeccable ability to surgically drive the ball with precision and push the ball in transition.

Both Lawson and Bledsoe are currently holding a career-high in PER – 23.02 for Lawson (fifth among qualified PGs) and 23.66 for Bledsoe (second among qualified PGs). Yet, put the comparison this way: Lawson is putting up these numbers in a time when the Nuggets are struggling to find their identity as a team. Additionally, injuries to the team’s major components – JaVale McGee and Danilo Gallinari – are causing Denver to sit idle as far as potential. Imagine what kind of damage Lawson can do once the team finds an identity and he gets his biggest assets back on the floor? The potential is tremendous.

At the end of the day, Bledsoe may be able to light up a scoreboard, but I’ll take the controlled spark plug that Lawson is any day of the week.
-ELIZABETH BENSON

Who would you take right now?

Follow Quenton on Twitter at @QGNarcisse.

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