Is DJ the Best Guard in the NBA?

December 2, 1984

Is DJ the Best Guard in the NBA?

You can make a case for Magic Johnson, Sidney Moncrief, Isiah Thomas or Michael Jordan, but this typist believes that Dennis Johnson has been the best guard in the league for the first month of the season.



Think about it. Acknowledged as the league's premier defensive guard, DJ has been giving the Celtics 20 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds and 38 minutes per game, while shooting an astounding (for him) 50 percent from the floor.

He plays with pain and without fear, bringing experience and accomplishment to the Celtic backcourt. His defense is legend, and his newfound outside shot has forced opponents to re-structure their defensive strategy. DJ will be back on the All-Star team this year, and if the players had a vote, he'd probably be starting.

How do they sleep at night in Phoenix? The trade looked lopsided the day it was made, but as the months pass, DJ-for-Rick Robey looks more and more ridiculous. We're talking Frank Robinson for Milt Pappas, Sparky Lyle for Danny Cater, Manhattan Island for trinkets, beads and 20 bucks. Maybe Red Auerbach should ask Jerry Colangelo if the Celtics can get Walter Davis for Greg Kite. It wouldn't be any sillier than the deal they made on June 27, 1983.

The Nuggets, who'll be in Boston Wednesday night, are rolling: they had won nine straight before losing in Utah Friday night. The Nuggets are ecstatic with the deal that sent Kiki Vandeweghe to Portland. Ex-Trail Blazers Calvin Natt, Wayne Cooper and Fat Lever are all starting. Natt is scoring almost as much as Vandeweghe, and Lever has already set Denver assist records. Denver's scoring is up slightly from last year, but the Nuggets are allowing nine fewer points per game. Denver recently had two consecutive home sellouts for the first time since 1978.

Nobody's laughing at Denver coach Doug Moe anymore. "My record's better than guys like (Portland's Jack) Ramsay, who people think is a genius," Moe said last week. "And they think I'm a shmuck. It's just what people perceive, and I can't help it if they're dumber than I am and they don't know how good I am."