NBA Season Preview: 5 best off-the-dribble creators

These five NBA players are a cut above the rest in creating scoring opportunities off the dribble for others and themselves. Good luck guarding these guys.

Playing great team defense is only going to take an NBA franchise so far. At the end of the day, wins and losses often come down to star power. Those dynamic off-the-dribble creator who can single-handedly break a defense can be the different between being very good and being the best. These engines for their team’s offense can move the defense, find seams, and often conjuring scoring opportunities out of thing air.

These five dynamic playmakers have an elite ability to create shots for themselves, as well as others.

Oct 10, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) drives the ball defended by Utah Jazz guard Rodney Hood (5) during the first quarter at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

5. Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers PG

There is not a better pure point guard in the NBA today than the Los Angeles Clippers’ Chris Paul — a nine-time NBA All-Star, an eight-time all-defensive player, a seven-time All-NBA selection, and a four-time NBA assists leader.

In his 11-year NBA career, Paul has nearly averaged a double-double with 18.5 points and 9.9 assists per game. He’s so gifted at distributing the basketball to his Clippers’ teammates that we tend to forget that he’s an adept shooter as well. Paul has shot 47.3 percent from the field, 36.5 percent from beyond the arc, and 86.4 percent at the charity stripe.

Paul’s handle and quickness make him incredibly difficult to defend. He can score in the paint and from three off the dribble with the best point guards in the league. Where he separates himself from most of his contemporaries is his ability to get his teammates, with varying offensive skill sets, involved in the game.

Shooting guard J.J. Redick is lethal from three coming off ball-screens. Power forward Blake Griffin is an alley-oop dynamo with an improved mid-range game. Sixth man Jamal Crawford does his best work in isolation, but still needs Paul to feed him the rock. Even defensive-minded center DeAndre Jordan can get involved in the offense as a low-post garbage man.

The Clippers are a championship-contending team under head coach Doc Rivers because they have the best all-around point guard in the game in Paul. Paul makes all of his teammates look and play better as one of the best offensive threats in the game.

Oct 4, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) during a game against the New York Knicks at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

4. James Harden, Houston Rockets SG

Love him or hate him, the Houston Rockets have the most versatile offensive shooting guard — the game in the enigmatic James Harden. Harden is an aloof genius out and the 2016-17 Rockets are going to run Mike D’Antoni’s Seven Seconds or Less offense. If Harden returns anywhere near his 2014-15 form, look out Western Conference!

Harden is so good with the ball in his hands for the Rockets, we forget that he’s not actually Houston’s starting point guard. That would be the underrated Patrick Beverley. The Harden/Beverley tandem is eerily reminiscent to what the early 2000s Philadelphia 76ers had with Allen Iverson and Eric Snow. The Houston backcourt pairing ideally complements each other.

Harden has been labeled as a ball hog at varying times of his NBA career. The criticism is understandable, but a lot of times it has been out of necessity in an otherwise stagnant Rockets offense. Harden has averaged 27.0 points per game, 6.6 assists per game, and 5.4 rebounds per game in his four seasons with the Rockets. He also plays an absurd number of minutes per game in Houston at 37.8 per contest.

He is a 44.3 percent shooter from the field, a 36.8 percent shooter from distance, and an 85.5 percent shooter from the line in his seven-year NBA career. What separates Harden from almost everybody in the NBA is his innate ability to draw contact and get to the free throw line. Harden has averaged 9.9 free throws per game in his four years with the Rockets.

Now that he has solid jump shooters from the outside in free agent acquisitions Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon, Harden’s assists numbers should go up and he’ll be a more dynamic off-the-dribble creator in 2016-17. Though he is non-committal on the defensive end of the floor, Harden is an absolute delight to watch do work on offense with the ball in his hands.

Sep 23, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) poses for portraits during Oklahoma City Thunder media day at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

3. Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder PG

One of the most likely candidates to win 2016-17 NBA MVP has to be Oklahoma City Thunder star point guard Russell Westbrook. This guy might seriously average a triple-double this season. Westbrook is one of the most athletically gifted point guards the NBA has ever seen.

He has made five All-NBA teams and five trips to the NBA All-Star game as the league’s best Robin the last eight seasons. Westbrook had to take a back seat to Kevin Durant as the franchise’s best player from 2008 to 2015. Now that Durant has skipped town to play for the Golden State Warriors, it’s full throttle for Westbrook.

Westbrook averaged 23.5 points per game, 10.4 assists per game, and 7.8 rebounds per game in 2015-16. Those were career highs in assists and rebounds. His points per game only dipped because he had to feed Durant the rock out on the perimeter. In 2014-15, Durant missed roughly three-quarters of the season with three different foot injuries. Westbrook would lead the NBA in scoring, but his Thunder only finished in ninth place in the Western Conference.

He has a good supporting cast that will allow him to be the lone star of the Thunder. This is great rebounding team that will let the offense run entirely through Westbrook. He’ll have to improve drastically from three-point land, but an angry Westbrook is the toughest point guard to defend in the NBA.

Take the best parts of his last two seasons, combine them, and that’s what to expect from him in 2016-17. Whether he’s frustrated or unencumbered, Westbrook will be a wizard with the basketball this season for the Thunder.

October 4, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) dribbles the basketball against Los Angeles Clippers forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (12) during the third quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Clippers 120-75. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

2. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors PG

Of course Golden State Warriors superstar point guard Stephen Curry was going to make the cut. He is the point guard on the best team in the Western Conference and the two-time reigning league MVP.

Though he tends to get cute with the basketball and turn it over from time to time, there isn’t a player better equipped to run a fast-break, up-tempo offense than Curry. Defending Curry, Durant, and shooting guard Klay Thompson in transition is utterly impossible. Somebody will get a wide-open look from three and more likely than not it’s going in.

Curry’s quickness and ability to hit a three-point from anywhere beyond the arc with relative ease makes him the most difficult point guard to defend from the elbow extended. Let’s not forget that he can thread the needle on countless no-look passes on drive-and-kicks. He may be slight of built, but Curry is adept at attacking the rim in addition to his otherworldly jump-shooting game.

In Durant and Curry, Golden State has two of the three best players in the NBA on its roster. Curry is more willing to let his teammates take shots than Westbrook was with Durant in Oklahoma City. Thompson is going to take a shot every time he gets the ball. That’s fine because he’s one of the best pure shooters the NBA has ever seen.

If Curry is willing to take a page out of the Andre Iguodala playbook and make personal sacrifices for the betterment of the team, Golden State will cakewalk to its third straight NBA Finals. Curry isn’t a perfect basketball player. He has issues with ball security, defense, and durability, but he’s a better version of Phoenix Suns Steve Nash for the behemoth Warriors.

Oct 8, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) passes the ball against the Philadelphia 76ers in the first half at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavaliers won 108-105. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

1. LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers SF

LeBron James is the only forward to make this list. There isn’t a comparable player to James in the current NBA. He’s essentially a better version of Magic Johnson for his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers. James’ game will continue evolve as he ages, but he is the best point forward in basketball.

James is 6-9 and 250 pounds of pure muscle for Cleveland. His basketball IQ is off the charts. James can get buckets at will, but clearly prefers to be the facilitator for the Cavaliers with point guard Kyrie Irving being their primary scoring threat.

James has never been an elite shooter, but is a world-class distributor, and is at his best attacking the rim from the point forward position. Traditional power forwards don’t have the lateral quickness to keep pace with a driving James. Even the best wing defenders can’t match up with his goliath frame out on the perimeter.

Until we see his game regress ever so slightly, James will remain the best player in basketball. He’s selfless, highly intelligent, and more physically dominant than any ball handler in the game. There’s maybe one player that can guard James one-on-one in the NBA Playoffs: Golden State’s Andre Iguodala.

Should those two teams meet for a third straight NBA Finals, it will be the most watched NBA Playoffs series in league history. When James has the basketball in his hands, the other team just has to hope that he’s having an off day. Nobody is going to stop King James when he’s playing his A game.