A year ago in this space, I approached the question of what kind of player O.J. Mayo would become by comparing his rookie season to the rookie seasons (or, in some cases, just the first full seasons) of players who embodied on of the three types: The Big, Scoring Point Guard, The Shooting Specialist, and The Ball-Dominating Two Guard.
- Larry Kuzniewski
- So far, O.J. Mayo hasn’t shown quite the handle or passing ability to warrant a move to the point.
The evidence after year one pointed fairly strongly toward the second path. Mayo’s rookie assist ratio paled to that of Big, Scoring Point Guard prototypes such as Chauncey Billups and Gilbert Arenas (neither of whom played the point full-time to start their careers) and he ranked near the bottom among scoring guards in both assist and turnover categories. And he lacked both the dynamic, versatile production and size/athleticism of Ball-Dominating Two Guards such as Joe Johnson or Brandon Roy.
Mayo compared favorably to the shooters however, his rookie-year shooting percentages and three-point prolificacy in line with players such as Kevin Martin, Ben Gordon, and what may be the gold standard of reasonable Mayo comparisons: Ray Allen.
A year later, not a whole lot has changed. Mayo’s second season was only modestly different from his rookie year. His turnover ratio improved from 56th to 44th among shooting guards, but his assist ratio was stagnant. There’s still an issue of opportunity here. But both on the stat page and on the court, Mayo hasn’t demonstrated the kind of handle, passing, and decision-making ability to make him a great creator from the two-guard position, much less someone ready to play the point full-time.
