NBA fans, analysts, coaches and GM's alike often differ in their opinions as to which position is the most valuable for their team -- or NBA teams in general. Some prefer star power forwards and centers to be foundations such as nERD of 7.1 or above this season.

For those of you unfamiliar with our in-house metric, nERD, this number measures the total contribution of a player throughout the course of a season, based on his efficiency. So, what that means is the higher the number, the better the player is playing. And that means Duncan, Davis, and Gasol are all really good.

Other teams, however, are building their teams around an elite small forward a la just hasn't been the Kobe of old this season. So it's not the same as if power rankings while the Wizards are eleventh at 24-11. So, while many would agree that Ellis and Beal are both above average shooting guards, maybe they're not playing as well as they could be. Ellis is scoring 20 points per game but doing so on 17.5 shot attempts. Beal is scoring 15 points per game on 13 shots. Both could be more efficient, and both could improve defensively in order to help out their team even more. Ellis has a defensive rating of 108 -- 1.5 points worse than his team's overall rating. Beal has a defensive rating of 105 (not bad), but the Wiz as a whole are seventh in the league with a rating of 103.3.

The Good

The above average tier is full of shooting guards that you would likely expect there. When you look at each of their respective teams and where they fall in our power rankings, it makes perfect sense. The seven teams rank 9, 12, 13, 3, 16, 10, and 25. Most of these teams are in the upper part of the middle of the pack (9-16). They're above average but not great.

As for the third-ranked team, the Clippers, their shooting guards, ridiculously efficient scorer. He's fifth in offensive rating (126.3), second in free throw percentage (94%), second in three point percentage (51%), second in effective field goal percentage (67.8%,) and first in true shooting percentage (71.5%). Wow again. My fellow contributor, Brandon Gdula stopped short of calling Korver the best shooter ever, but he's certainly the best spot up shooter ever, and that's helped the Hawks get out to a 27-8 start. He's no superstar, can-do-it-all player, but Korver is the best of the elite shooters in the game now and maybe ever, so he's a huge asset for a team like the Hawks.

Then there's a move to improve at shooting guard by trading Waiters away for Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith. We'll have to see how that works out for them.

In the meantime, Washington and Dallas should look for their shooting guards, Beal and Ellis, to pick up their game if they want to compete with the likes of the Rockets, Warriors, and Bulls come playoff time. And for teams starving for a shooting guard, Joe Johnson (previously mentioned) is still in Brooklyn looking to compete for a title. Give Jay a call.

And for the teams with a Harden, Thompson, Butler or elite shooting guard duo, it seems they have a leg up on most of the league. Of all the teams with elite shooting guards, the average win total is 25.5, and the average nERD is 67.8. That's why shooting guards are so valuable in this year's NBA.