(SportsNetwork. Serge Ibaka Jersey .com) - The point guard and quarterback share interesting similarities in an otherwise opposite world of sports. A point guard in basketball is often referred to as the quarterback or floor general of the hardwood. They take instructions and facilitate them among teammates with the end result a productive combination. Point guards and quarterbacks are responsible for orchestrating a winning formula in their respective sports, and the most common job requirement for each position is getting the ball into a playmakers hands. The NFL is going through another golden age of quarterbacks with Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Andrew Luck and a solid tier No. 2 of signal callers right behind. Its up for debate if this generation of QBs exceeds the days of Dan Marino, Joe Montana, John Elway and Warren Moon. Point guards are prosperous in the NBA and the Rajon Rondo trade piques the interest of those who deliberate over the best in basketball. Below is an unofficial, and opinionated, list of the top 10 point guards: 10. Darren Collison (Sacramento Kings) - Collison is in his first season with the Kings and is hoping to find a permanent home after stints with the Los Angeles Clippers and Dallas Mavericks the previous two seasons. He leads the Kings with 6.1 assists per game and is dealing with a team under new supervision with the recent firing of Mike Malone. DeMarcus Cousins is back from an illness, so Collisons job will be easier. Rudy Gay is at his disposal under Tyrone Corbins philosophy. 9. Rajon Rondo (Dallas Mavericks) - Rumored to be on the trading block for a few years, Rondo was finally shipped out of Beantown to the successful surroundings of Dallas. Not known anymore as a high-powered scorer, Rondo does possess the knack for distributing the ball. An ACL tear with Rondo may have hampered Bostons bargaining power, but the deal was done and now he has four scorers to work with in Nowitzki, Ellis, Chandler and Parsons. Rondos a solid defender and rebounder with an NBA-high 10.8 assists per game, and is joining the highest-scoring team in the league. 8. Mike Conley (Memphis Grizzlies) - Conley is loving the opportunity he has playing with the Grizzlies. Hes got Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol down low and is also a scorer himself with a career-high 17.6 points per game, which is second on the team. Conley doesnt slouch on defense either for Memphis, one of the top defensive units in the association. 7. Kyrie Irving (Cleveland Cavaliers) - Irving no longer has to carry the Cleveland torch through futility because LeBron James and Kevin Love are here to make it all better. Irving does like to get his share of shots, however, and is arguably the top scoring PG in the game. Irving has scored 20 or more points on 14 occasions this season and has dished out five or more assists in each of the past seven games. He has the dream job for now with LBJ and Love. 6. Kyle Lowry (Toronto Raptors) - He may resemble Bad Boy label rapper Mase, but Lowry can mix it up with anyone on the floor. Lowry was looked upon to carry the Raptors and keep them even-keeled when star guard DeMar DeRozan went down with a severe groin injury. Lowry knows how to get everyone involved and learned that at a young age. The former Villanova standout has handed out 10 or more assists five times in December and leads the team with 36 steals. Toronto is already the best in the East and Lowry deserves the credit. 5. Ty Lawson (Denver Nuggets) - A scrappy, compact ball of fire, Lawson lets the Nuggets breathe where the air doesnt come easy. Lawson, who has posted a double-double in 10 of his last 13 games, is averaging 15.4 points, a career- high 10.6 assists and 1.50 steals in almost 38 minutes a night. Lawson and Washington Wizards guard John Wall are tied for second in assists with 10.6. Lawson is Denvers MVP so far and if Kenneth Faried can pick up his game, maybe the Nuggets can make a run for the playoffs. Lawson leads the NBA in drives to the basket, posting 15.0 ppg in that scenario, and has handed out nine or more assists over the past 18 games. He has 16 games with 10-plus assists this season. 4. Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers) - One of the smoothest point guards in the better of the two conferences, Lillard is young and still has room to grow. For how difficult that may be to realize, Lillard is second on the team with 20.8 points and first in assists (6.2) and steals (1.5). Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge are making sweet music in Rip City and the dangerous tandem is about to begin a difficult stretch of games. Portlands mettle will be tested during the stretch and Lillard will be up for the challenge. Lillard is known for his 3-point prowess, another weapon the Blazers have utilized. Only four players in NBA history have more points and assists in their first two seasons (Robertson, Archibald, Iverson, James). 3a Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors) - Curry was the impetus for Golden States franchise-record 16-game winning streak and some credit should deservedly be directed toward Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Marreese Speights. Curry leads all starting point guards with 23.9 points and has handed out 7.6 assists. The sharpshooting Curry has the Warriors off to a 21-3 start, the best in franchise history. Golden State has no issues playing on the road as evidenced by a 13-2 record. Thompson said about a week ago the Warriors are good without Curry, but great with him. 3b Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder) - Westbrook is a dynamic scorer and facilitator, and suffered a scare early this season with a hand injury. Hes back and doing what he does best: run the floor, speed past defenders and stuff the stat sheet. Westbrook and the Thunder are beginning to click, but the quick guard may have to deal without Kevin Durant again after the reigning NBA MVP sustained an ankle injury in the most recent game. OKC is 8-4 with Westbrook in the lineup and he has scored at least 20 points 11 times. KD, Westbrook, Reggie Jackson and Serge Ibaka should capture a fifth or sixth seed in the playoffs unless health becomes an issue again. 2. John Wall (Washington Wizards) - This is supposed to be the year the Wizards overthrow the Miami Heat in both the Southeast Division and Eastern Conference. Toronto, Atlanta and Cleveland may have something to say about that in the East. Wall leads the Wizards in points (17.8), assists (10.6) and steals (2.2), and just matched a career-high with 17 assists in a win over Minnesota. Wall has handed out 10-plus assists eight times in the past nine games and has stepped it up in home defense, posting 18.7 points, 11.5 assists and 5.1 rebounds at the Verizon Center. Wall, Bradley Beal and Marcin Gortat are primed to make a big run if all goes well. 1. Chris Paul (Los Angeles Clippers) - Whats not to like about CP3? Nothing. The guy can do it all: pass the rock, score the rock and land clients an affordable State Farm Insurance rate. Of course the latter was a reference to the companys popular insurance ads, but Paul is ensuring the success rate of the Los Angeles Clippers for years to come. Its quite elementary for Paul, who has it easy with Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan to loft the ball to. Jamal Crawford providing a lift off the bench helps, too. Paul is a strong defender with 1.9 steals per game to go along with 9.7 assists, and is the cream of the NBA crop of point guards. Honorable mention - Tony Parker, Derrick Rose, Jeff Teague, Deron Williams, Kemba Walker, Ricky Rubio, Brandon Jennings, Trey Burke, Mario Chalmers, Eric Bledsoe. Note: Injuries to Rose and Rubio have altered this list significantly. Delon Wright Jersey . There, I saw a teenaged boy with tears in his eyes, being consoled by strength and conditioning coach Randy Lee. Custom Toronto Raptors Jerseys . Second-seeded Sloane Stephens of the United States made lighter work of her day as she beat 2009 champion and Swiss wild card Timea Bacsinszky 6-3, 6-3. Two seeds fell: No. 4 Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium lost to Katarzyna Piter of Poland 6-4, 6-2, and No. http://www.nbaraptorsonline.com/Authentic-Kyle-Lowry-Raptors-Jersey/ . The club says Fridays surgery was successful. Holiday, a former Eastern Conference All-Star acquired from Philadelphia last summer, has not played because of the shin injury since Jan.Nash continues to hold the hot hand, a hat trick for Tyler Johnson, van Riemsdyk leads Leafs to a road win, lineup news and more in Scott Cullens Statistically Speaking. HEROES Rick Nash - The Rangers winger scored two goals and added an assist in a 4-2 win against Washington. He has 22 points (11 G, 11 A) in the past 18 games, and is riding a career-best 19.1% shooting percentage on his way to a career-high 0.69 goals per game and 1.13 points per game. The percentages have led Nash to an incredibly efficent scoring rate this season. Among players with at least 300 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time: POINTS PER 60 MINUTES PLAYER TEAM POS PTS/60 Rick Nash N.Y. Rangers LW 3.70 Tyler Johnson Tampa Bay C 3.51 Tyler Seguin Dallas RW 3.40 Jakub Voracek Philadelphia RW 3.27 Nikita Kucherov Tampa Bay RW 3.22 Tyler Johnson - Tampa Bays second-year pivot tallied a hat trick in a 4-3 win over Pittsburgh; he has eight points (5 G, 3 A) during a five-game point streak. Johnsons linemates, Ondrej Palat (3 A) and Nikita Kucherov (1 G, 2 A) both had three points in Lightning win. James van Riemsyk - The Maple Leafs left winger, who played with Nazem Kadri and Mike Santorelli, had a goal and two assists in a 4-0 win at Dallas, and has 15 points (6 G, 9 A) in the past 13 games. Maple Leafs RW Phil Kessel also recorded a pair of assists giving him 15 points (6 G, 9 A) in the past 13 games. As Travis Yost pointed out, though, not everything was sunshine-and-lollipops with Torontos top line, so shuffling the personnel is an understandable approach. ZEROES Sven Andrighetto - The Habs rookie didnt play much against the Islanders, 4:55 at even strength, but despite starting all of his shifts in the offensive zone, Andrighetto was on the ice for zero shot attempts for and 10 against. Rasmus Ristolainen - Fed to the proverbial wolves against Detroits top line, the second-year Sabres defenceman was on for three shot attempts for and 30 against (9.1%) in a 6-3 loss at Detroit. Goalies: Oilers - Same old story. Ben Scrivens allowed two goals on three shots, then Viktor Fasth surrendered three goals on 19 shots. Oilers still have the leagues worst save percentage. Darcy Kuemper - Minnesotas goaltender allowed four goals on 29 shots in a 5-2 loss to Philadelphia. In his past seven games, he has an .861 save percentage, which is going to start putting pressure on the Wild to find a workable solution between the pipes. Jake Allen - The Blues goalie hasnt been able to take hold of the number one job with Brian Elliott hurt, and gave up five goals on 31 shots in two periods against Colorado. Thats a lot of shots for the Blues to give up, but Allen has an .879 save percentage in seven games this month and thats going to present more opportunities for Martin Brodeur. Corey Crawford - In his second game since returning from injury, the Blackhawks goalie was pulled after allowing three goals on 13 shots, in 15:30, against Winnipeg. LINEUP NEED TO KNOW Semyon Varlamov - Returned to the Colorado net for the first time in 19 days and recorded a 26-save shutout against St. Louis. Patrik Elias, Martin Havlat - The New Jersey wingers remain out while awaiting results from mumps testing; the Devils activated Mike Cammalleri and promoted Tim Sestito from the AHL to fill the lineup void. Tom Wilson - The Capitals made their second-year winger a healthy scratch in a 4-2 loss at the Rangers. Wilson had no goals, four assists and four shots on goal in the past eight games. Brandon Gorrmley - Playing his first game in more than a month, the Coyotes defenceman contributed a goal and an assist in Arizonas 5-1 win at Edmonton. Vince Carter Jersey. Jeff Zatkoff - With Thomas Greiss out and Marc-Andre Fleury yanked after allowing three goals on 10 shots against Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh turned to last years backup goaltender who has been very good (.926 SV%) in 16 AHL games this season. SHORT SHIFTS Bruins C Patrice Bergeron had three assists in a 5-3 win against Nashville; he has 10 points (1 G, 9 A) in the past nine games…Bruins RW Loui Eriksson scored a pair of goals in the win over Nashville, and now has eight points (6 G, 2 A) in the past eight games…Bruins LW Brad Marchand also buried a couple of goals against Nashville and has nine points (4 G, 5 A) in the past nine games…Capitals D John Carlson had a pair of assists in a 4-2 loss at the Rangers, and has 14 points (2 G, 12 A) in the past 13 games…Rangers C Derick Brassard had two assists in a 4-2 win vs. Washington, giving him nine points (2 G, 7 A) in his past eight games…Rangers RW Mats Zuccarello recorded two assists against Washington and has eight points (2 G, 6 A) in the past seven games. Penguins C Evgeni Malkin had a pair of assists in a 4-3 loss to Tampa Bay, and has 23 points (9 G, 14 A) in the past 19 games…Coyotes C Sam Gagner delivered four points (2 G, 2 A) in Arizonas 5-1 win over Edmonton; Gagner had three points in his previous 11 games…Since starting his time in Winnipeg with three assists in 19 games, C Mathieu Perrault has 14 points (8 G, 6 A) in 15 games after scoring a pair of goals in a 5-1 win at Chicago… Sabres C Brian Flynn had a couple of assists in a 6-3 loss at Detroit; he has five points (1 G, 4 A) in his past five games, after five points in his first 21 games of the season. Detroits top line - Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Justin Abdelkader - all had possession better than 90% against Buffalo, with Datsyuk (23 shot attempts for, 2 against, 92.0%) leading the way…Capitals rookies Evgeni Kuznetsov (9 shot attempts for, 1 against, 90.0%) and Andre Burakovsky (14 for, 2 against, 87.5%) had strong possession numbers in a 4-2 loss at the Rangers. Canadiens G Carey Price stopped 37 of 38 Islanders shots in a 3-1 win. Since the start of last season, Prices .926 save percentage ranks as best among goaltenders that have played at least 50 games… Maple Leafs G Jonathan Bernier stopped all 43 shots he faced in a 4-0 win at Dallas, a nice bounce-back performance after allowing seven goals against Philadelphia Saturday…Sabres G Michal Neuvirth surrendered six goals on 39 shots in a 6-3 loss at Detroit. FIRSTS Joel Armia - The 16th overall pick by the Sabres in 2011 made his NHL debut - playing with Tyler Ennis and Zemgus Girgensons, which is effectively Buffalos top line - at Detroit. Armia had 16 points (7 G, 9 A) and was plus-4 in 21 games at Rochester of the AHL. Brendan Woods - A fifth-round pick of the Carolina Hurricanes in 2012, the 6-foot-3 winger made his NHL debut in a 2-1 shootout win at New Jersey. Woods had 13 points (6 G, 7 A) and was plus-1 in 29 AHL games. Dominik Uher - As the Penguins deal with a growing list of injuries, they summoned their 2011 fifth-round pick to make his NHL debut and he played 7:17 at Tampa Bay. Uher had nine points (4 G, 5 A) with a plus-6 rating in 29 AHL games before getting promoted. With that, the NHL takes a break for Christmas, and Statistically Speaking will too. All the best to you and yours as you celebrate the holidays. Much of the data included comes from www.war-on-ice.com, www.puckalytics.com, www.hockeystats.ca and www.naturalstattrick.com Scott Cullen can be reached at scott.cullen@bellmedia.ca Cheap Canadiens Jerseys Cheap Predators Jerseys Cheap Devils Jerseys Cheap Islanders Jerseys Cheap Rangers Jerseys Cheap Senators Jerseys Cheap Flyers Jerseys Cheap Penguins Jerseys Cheap Sharks Jerseys Cheap Blues Jerseys Cheap Lightning Jerseys Cheap Maple Leafs Jerseys Cheap Canucks Jerseys Cheap Golden Knights Jerseys Cheap Capitals Jerseys Cheap Winnipeg Jets Jerseys ' ' '