By Michalis Gioulenoglou/ info@eurohoops.net
Combining duties at the point and from the two position, the combo guard is a strange position. Much freedom for those players. To shoot from beyond the arc. But also from closer to the basket.
Several prolific scorers fit the description, as confirmed by the selections of Eurohoops on the Top 3 combo guards at the end of the first half of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season.
The leading scorer is on this list and one more player managing to propel his team with solid showings.
Carlik Jones misses out
Outside the Top 3, Carlik Jones deserves an honorable mention. In his good games, Partizan Mozzart Bet shifts gears. Besides being effective in moving the ball to set up the best possible option, he really loves to share on the court.
He averaged 13.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 0.9 steals per game. He made 48.9% of his two-pointers, 68/139, 31.1% of his three-pointers, 14/45, and 93% of his free throws, 53/57.
Kendrick Nunn
It is impossible to describe Kendrick Nunn and his contributions to Panathinaikos Aktor. Unlike other scorers, his points improve the Greens immensely and deliver wins.
This was apparent with him serving a suspension and the defending EuroLeague champions collapsing against Anadolu Efes.
It has been a while since we witnessed a player steadily over 20 points in almost each game.
Nunn is up to 20.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.0 steals per game with a PIR of 18.9 per contest. He made 57.4% of his two-pointers, 66/115, 42.1% of his three-pointers, 48/114, and 87% of his free throws, 47/54.
He ranks second in total points and points per game. Carsen Edwards leads both categories.
Carsen Edwards
A tremendous season. At least through the first half. Edwards with FC Bayern Munich is the player Dimitris Itoudis would love to have at Fenerbahce Beko in 2022-23, his first season in Europe.
In Turkiye, Edwards failed to meet the expectations of the Greek tactician. In his second year in Germany, with a different head coach, he is brilliant.
He leads the EuroLeague with 352 points and 20.7 points per game, lifting Bayern to fourth in the standings behind an 11-6 record.
Besides 20.7 points, he also produced 2.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 0.9 assists per game with a PIR of 16.8 per contest. He made 52.8% of his two-pointers, 76/144, 37.2% of his three-pointers, 48/129, and 94.9% of his free throws, 56/59.
His free-throw rate ranks fifth among all players.
Kevin Punter
Kevin Punter switched teams during the offseason. From Belgrade and Partizan to FC Barcelona. His intentions were clear, to help the Catalonia giant bounce back to success.
At the individual level, he has been solid. At least through the first half of the Regular Season. The issue is Barca struggling and being limited to a 9-8 W-L tally.
Striving in every showing, Punter is eighth on the scoring list with 16.9 points per game. He also averaged 2.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.3 steals per contest.
He made 54.1% of his two-pointers, 60/111, 43.7% of his three-pointers, 38/87, and 94/7% of his free throws, 54/57.
Furthermore, he was named October MVP.