Two half court skills I consider essential for a point guard beyond passing are finishing drives at the rim and a midrange jump shot. Ideally this jump shot would come after a dribble or two or maybe a jabstep. It’s possible to play pg without these skills, but effective passing will be greatly reduced.
For example, flashing through the lane can force perimeter defenders to help post defenders, thereby leaving a perimeter shooter open. But this only works if opposing teams consider you a threat to score, or at least to launch a credible shot. If they don’t, this becomes a fruitless exercise.
Another value of occasionally attempting to score off a drive is the much greater likelihood of getting fouled and going to the line. An effective pg should ideally be a good free throw shooter, and should be adept at creating foul so as to get opposing bigs in foul trouble.
These are all skills that Paige and Azzi display in abundance. Even Ines showed these skills in high school. A guard who lacks these skills could be a useful 2, if they can shoot effectively from the perimeter. They might also be able to contribute at the 3 if they are strong enough to box out in the paint and fight for rebounds.
These are all good points. I think in terms of passing ability and instincts, Nika is on a par with Paige. The huge difference is in the abilities Paige has that Nika does not, as you mention. A great point guard that gets a ton of assists has to do it largely by penetrating and making the defense react. Hanging around the perimeter and making a sound passes when someone gets open might result in decent assist numbers and lower turnovers, but to be among the leaders in assists you have to make things happen.
So far Nika has not taken that step, but Geno has pointed out she can get into the lane pretty easily. It is not clear how much of her reluctance is self-imposed and how much is per Geno's instructions. What I suspect is that if Geno gave her the green light, and even encouraged her to penetrate, several things would happen.
IMO she would have plenty of great passes to interior players for easy point-blank shots and quite a few open looks from outside from our talented 3pt shooters. What would probably come with it, however, could be more turnovers than Geno could live with, and a relatively poor ability to finish herself.
As Bone dog has pointed out Paige has a great ability to finish at the rim, and a pull-up jumper. She has to be stopped from getting to the rim, opening up great passing opportunities. Nika who has similar passing abilities will not see as many open passing opportunities because she can be played for the pass, don't help off your man, make her show she can finish etc.
I have no idea how much progress she can make in those areas, but feel it is a shame that her passing talents go largely to waste because of the other downsides to her driving. If her % finishing on her own could reach a passable level, and the turnovers just a little higher than Geno is used to, I would like to see Geno turn her loose a little because the other players would benefit. If it turns out the downside is too great, then she resumes her role as a defensive specialist who pretty much just shoots open threes.
It would also help Nika's game if there was a concerted effort to pick up the pace and fast break more. For several years we have been an average team on pace, only really pushing it off turnovers. As the presumably starting point guard as opposed to part of the mix, there might be an effort to tilt the style more towards her strengths a little, perhaps potentially aided by a deeper bench allowing more regular rest and more breaking and pressing.
