Golden State’s Stephen Curry and Milwaukee’s George Hill rank first and second, respectively, among guards in plus/minus.

Stephen Curry – the undisputed greatest shooter in NBA history – just posted the lowest field goal percentage (38.5%) and 3-point percentage (32.9%) over a calendar month in his career. There have been 63 calendar months in which Curry has appeared in at least five games, these are the lowest percentages he’s posted in any of those months.

Yet, despite being mired in an extended shooting slump, the Warriors went 11-4 in the games that Curry played in January and outscored their opponents by an average of 6.0 points per game with Curry on the court. Seeing that disconnect between Curry’s low shooting percentages and Golden State’s team success brought me back to this clip of Warriors coach Steve Kerr talking with Curry on the bench back in 2017 while he was mic’d up for the game.

Those words of encouragement from Kerr came during one of Curry’s other rare shooting slumps. Entering that game against the Knicks on March 5, 2017, Curry had shot just 37.1% (26-70) from the field and 12.9% (4-31) from 3-point range over his previous three games, including an 0-11 shooting performance from beyond the arc (one of only two times in his career Curry has attempted double-digit 3s without a make).

The first quarter of that Knicks game was more of the same as Curry missed all four of his 3-pointers, made just two shots and two free throws for six points. However, the Warriors were a plus-11 while he was on the court, thanks in part to the shooting of fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson, who dropped 14 points on 3-5 FG, 2-2 3FG and 6-6 FT during that same quarter. This is where Kerr’s words speak volumes.

Just because Curry’s shots aren’t falling, his presence on the court and how he forces defenses to bend toward him is key to the Warriors’ offensive success. It doesn’t matter if Curry has missed 10 straight 3-pointers, defenders still have to respect his shot and know that the next one is likely to drop. With the attention that Curry constantly commands on the perimeter, it opens up the floor for the rest of his teammates.

Through games played on Sunday, Jan. 30, Curry leads all players in average plus/minus, as the Warriors outscore their opponents by an average of 9.8 points per game with Curry on the court (plus-449 in 1,596 minutes played over 46 games). Here is a closer look at the top 10 guards in plus/minus so far this season, with a minimum of 25 games played.

All stats and rankings thorough games played on Jan. 30.

George Hill: Hill is one of two players on this list to primarily come off the bench. He averages the fewest points (7.0 ppg) and fewest minutes (25.5 mpg) of any player in this top 10, but posts the second-best defensive efficiency of any guard in the league. Opponents score just 98.2 points per 100 possessions while Hill is on the court for the Bucks.

Darius Garland: At 30-20 through Jan. 30, the Cavs have already blown past their win total from last season (22-50) and Garland’s breakout season has played a major role in that turnaround. The Cavs are a team-best plus-7.2 with Garland on the court and a team-worst minus-1.7 when he’s off the court.

Mike Conley: Conley led all players in plus/minus last season (plus-10.7) as he earned his first All-Star selection. He ranks fourth so far this season and joins Curry as the only players on this list to rank in the top 10 among guards in both offensive and defensive efficiency.

Chris Paul: Paul’s plus-6.6 plus/minus is his highest mark in four seasons, since posting a plus-8.6 in his first season with Houston in 2017-18. Paul has not posted a negative plus/minus since his second season in the league (2006-07 with the New Orleans/OKC Hornets). The cities and teammates have changed over Paul’s career, but his impact has not.

Jrue Holiday: Holiday joined the Bucks last season to form a big three with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton that helped the Bucks earn their first NBA title in 50 years. Holiday’s production in his second season in Milwaukee – 17.8 ppg, 6.6 apg, 4.7 rpg, 1.5 spg, 1.8 3pg, 32.6 mpg – is nearly identical to his first: +0.1 ppg, +0.5 apg, +0.2 rpg, -0.1 spg, -0.1 3pg, +0.3 mpg. The same goes for his plus/minus: plus-6.4 in 2020-21 and plus-6.2 this season.

Devin Booker: Booker is averaging a career-best plus-5.6 in his 42 games played for the league-leading Suns (40-9). Booker ranks eighth among guards in offensive efficiency (114.5) and 23^rd in defensive efficiency with a career-best mark of 106.6. Booker climbed 24 spots in defensive efficiency from last season (47^th, 111.4) to this season, while maintaining a top 10 ranking on the offensive side of the ball.

Donovan Mitchell: Mitchell leads all guards in offensive efficiency as the Jazz score 118.3 points per 100 possessions while he is on the court. With Mitchell healthy, the Jazz posted a league-leading 116.1 offensive rating through Jan. 17 and were 29-15 on the season. Since Mitchell has been out due to a concussion, the Jazz have gone just 1-6 and their offensive rating has dropped to 20^th at 109.9. Utah has also been without Rudy Gobert for the last four of those games.

Ricky Rubio: Rubio’s first season with the Cavs came to a sudden end on Dec. 28 when he suffered a torn ACL on a night when he finished with 27 points, 13 rebounds, nine assists, two steals and two blocks in 37 minutes.  Rubio not only led the Cavs, he ranked second among all guards in defensive efficiency (99.5), helping the Cavs become a top-five defense (second at 103.4 through Dec. 28).

Monte Morris: Morris ranks fourth on the Nuggets in both minutes (30 per game) and points (12.6 per game), but second to only Nikola Jokic (plus-7.6) in plus/minus at plus-5.2 per game. An argument against plus/minus is that it is simultaneously a team and individual stat. The success (or lack thereof) of the players around you can affect a player’s plus/minus even if they are playing well (or playing poorly). But a key aspect of the game is finding players that work well together and maximize the lineups that are out on the floor. When looking at all two-man lineups this season, the pairing of Jokic and Morris has the best plus-minus in the league as the Nuggets have outscored their opponents by 312 points in the 1139 minutes those two have shared the court.