Ask any NBA Scout, General Manager or Coach who their prototypical point guard would be and you will get varied answers -- the 2002 Jason Kidd Speedster, the 1986 Magic Johnson All-Wheel Drive, the fuel-efficient 1997 John Stockton model, the 1983 Maurice Cheeks Sedan, the 2005 Steve Nash Luxury Edition, and maybe even the 2010 Chris Paul Hybrid. One model that you would not hear roll of the lips of any member of a pro basketball brain trust would be the 2006 Anthony Johnson; a trade-in many times over that few dealerships even held interest in. Yet, somehow Johnson has found a proud owner. That owner is the Indiana Pacers, who have reluctantly chosen Johnson to be the team's pace car and starting point guard.

Johnson is somewhat short and a bit pudgy. He doesn't have the street cred of Stephon Marbury. He isn't anywhere near as athletic as Steve Francis. He doesn't have Chauncey Billups' defensive ability, Kidd's flair, Nash's vision or Gilbert Arenas' scoring capability, either.

He may be lacking in some areas, but he does possess as much of one thing as any player in the league, and that thing is guts. Intestinal fortitude. Brass balls. Cojones.

The guy who's teammates affectionately call A.J., might not be the fanciest player in the league, but this isn't a dog show or American Idol. Johnson plays in the Eastern Conference, where it's production over pizzazz. I could sit here and give you a laundry list of why Johnson shouldn't be the Pacers point guard, but I won't. Instead, I'll give you one reason why he should be - he's leading the Pacers to playoff victories.

The Latest Journey

The unheralded player from the College of Charleston has played basketball all over the World and all over the league on the way to his current stop. Given his resume, I would use the term pit stop, but he seems to be an Indiana fixture at this point. He has always been a backup in the NBA, like he was to Kidd as a member of the New Jersey Nets just a short while back. Even the Pacers have tried to keep him reduced to that role. Two season's ago Johnson led an injury and suspension-riddled Pacers team to an improbable playoff birth. After the regular starter Jamaal Tinsley returned and played well in the playoffs, the team signed European star point guard Sarunas Jasikevicius this summer to spell Jamaal Tinsley. Even the Pacers were sleeping on Johnson. He appeared to be the odd man out.

Johnson didn't whine, though. He still came to work everyday and played his guts (there is that word again) out. Eventually his dedication paid off. As a surprise to no one, Tinsley flaked out with injuries again and Jasikevicius was way too slow to guard other team's starting point guards. Johnson capitalized and eventually seized the starting position. Along the way, A.J. was the stabilizing force of a Pacers group so unstable it could be featured on the NBA's version of The Real World. He, not Jermaine O'Neal or Peja Stojakovic, was the Pacers Team MVP this season. Without Johnson's steadying hand the Pacers would have been banished to watching ping-pong balls in NBA Lotto Land.

The previous statement was more evident than ever during Thursday night's Game Three playoff contest against the Nets. The apprentice (Johnson) once again dominated his former master (Kidd). Johnson finished with 25 points, 8 assists and 0 turnovers while leading the Pacers to a 107-95 route. At times A.J. stood for "Annihilating Jersey," like when he scored 9 consecutive Pacer points in the second half and 13 points in the fourth quarter.

Johnson's arrival is amazing, really. Just a few months ago he was thought of as a stopgap. It was commonly believed that Pacers President Larry Bird and CEO Donnie Walsh would pursue a more highly regarded point guard this off-season (free agent Mike James comes to mind). Now, he is being mentioned as a possible long-term solution.

All I know is that anyone that can make Kidd look like child's play is good enough in my book. Johnson's series numbers of 18 points per game and 6 assists per game dwarf Kidd's. Kidd, a former MVP runner-up, has averaged only 8.3 points per game and 9 assists per game. Right now it looks like Johnson's underdog Pacers might even the team's opening round playoff series. If he can accomplish that, the Pacers might want to consider hitching up to A.J.'s engine for a couple more seasons. Especially considering that the injury-plagued Tinsley is a lemon and that the Chris Paul Hybrid seems to be a limited edition one of one.