WITH the National Basketball League (NBL) season in full swing after a round of action, there is plenty of attention on the structure that teams have taken into the NBL22 season. The role of all five starting positions in the modern game is so fluid, with the game advancing from the ways of the past. In this series, we take a look at one position per week and see how the each team’s player in this role performed and some of the differences between these performances in each match. First up is the point guard spot, which is one of the most crucial roles in a side and is utilised in many different ways.

The role of the point guard has evolved over time, with much more expected of a team-wide passing effort as opposed to a one-guard that controlled the offense. Many of the league’s best point guards (or highest-profile at least) are known more so for their scoring than their playmaking. The game is trending towards the NBA style of play, with slightly more levels of isolation-play (although not anywhere near as much as the NBA or the NCAA for that matter). The value of a passer with an elite IQ cannot be understated enough, so teams are beginning to train and implement this skill into all five positions on the court.

Round 1 of the 2021/22 NBL season saw the ‘scoring point guards’ excel in their season openers, but this is not to dismiss the passing work we saw. In the first match, JackJumpers point guard Josh Magette was the star of the show, scoring 19 points and dishing out an equal match-high six assists. Magette controlled the team’s offence and pace whenever they were bringing the ball up the court and can be considered a nice blend of the two styles of point guard.

The league’s most talented scorer was back to his best, with Perth Wildcats point guard Bryce Cotton finding his groove in his second game of the round. Despite a quiet season opener by his standards, Cotton bounced back with a massive second match, scoring 31 points in just 32 minutes of action against the Cairns Taipans. The three-time NBL Most Valuable Player is arguably the best in the competition at creating his own shot off the dribble, and this skill was on full display here. The Wildcats do not need to rely on Cotton to make passes in order to generate offence, but he was still able to finish with five dimes in one of the best performances we saw this round.

There were plenty of strong performers at this position around the league, with South East Melbourne Phoenix recruit Xavier Munford delivered one of the strongest debut matches this year, with 27 points in his first outing for the club. Like Cotton, he showed the ability to create space off the dribble, demonstrated by his big third quarter bucket, where he shook the defender with a brutal stepback and three-pointer as he announced himself to the rest of the league.

Perhaps one of the last of the ‘traditional point guards’, Adelaide 36ers’ Mitch McCarron has demonstrated his ability to put his teammates in the best position possible. In his first regular season outing with the 36ers, McCarron recorded seven points, seven rebounds and nine assists. It will be worth keeping an eye on whether or not the former Melbourne United captain can record a triple-double this season, given it seems possible based on his early season form.

The modern point guard often contains a lot of pressure to be able to score off the dribble, and the opening round saw some of the best in the business show the rest of the competition how this is done.