Chris Paul isn’t the best athlete I’ve ever seen in person but he’s the one I was most impressed by.
I first saw Paul play live in late January 2012 in Los Angeles against an Oklahoma team that would play in the finals that year.
In a game featuring Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Blake Griffin, Paul was the dominant force, controlling every aspect of the game. Durant and Westbrook would combine for 67 points that night but they were just pawns on Paul’s chessboard.
Paul led the Clippers to a double digit victory with 26 points and 14 assists on an impossibly efficient 12 of 16 shooting. It’s not the stats that were most impressive though, it was the sheer will and control that Paul had over the game.
He controlled every element of the game’s flow, embodying the point guard archetype. He spent the first three quarters dictating pace and tempo, setting up his teammates and getting everyone involved.
Then, when OKC made a run in the fourth quarter, Paul took over the game himself, hitting four consecutive mid-range jump shots on five possessions to end the game. Paul was hagiographic that night, giving a performance so commanding that it felt like he had written the game’s script earlier in the day and everyone was just a character in his play.
I’ve seen Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and an MVP Derrick Rose in person and none of those guys impressed me as much as Paul did that January evening.
***
Chris Paul is no longer the player he was in January 2012. Back then Paul was the closest thing there was to a consensus third best player in the league behind LeBron James and Durant. From my seat in Houston’s Toyota Center on Friday night for Clippers-Rockets, there were two players on the court who have since surpassed Paul in that discussion – James Harden and Blake Griffin.
Add in the improvements from the likes of Stephen Curry, Westbrook and Anthony Davis, and Paul has fallen from a top three player in the league to a borderline top 10 guy.
Paul no longer has the ability to consistently determine the outcomes of games by himself. He’s not the explosive scorer he once was, with age and a history of knee problems seemingly taking their toll. Paul’s best statistical season was in 2008-09 – he averaged an insane 23-11-6 that season with three steals – when he got to the line 6.7 times per game and shot just 2.3 threes a game.
Illustrating his decreased scoring aggression, this season Paul is shooting a career low 3.7 free throws a game and taking 3.4 threes. Approaching 30, Paul is in the next phase of his NBA career.
Although his explosiveness is not what it once was, Paul is still very athletic. On Friday night he still had his quick first step, his filthy handle and he can still change direction with the best of them. But now more than ever he’s getting by on guile and veteran savvy.
Along with LeBron, Paul is the most astute student of basketball in the NBA, understanding time, space and movement as well as anyone. While it’s fun watching merchants of chaos like Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis, there is a classical pleasure in seeing the majestic logic and order of Chris Paul.
Chris Paul is like ‘The Wire’, everything he does has meaning and purpose – there is no fat. This is especially clear when you watch him in person. On every possession Friday night you could see Paul’s mind at work. If I drive at Player X then Player Y will shade over here and then I can leverage his movement against him by faking a pass to Player A which will allow Player B to become open.
Paul’s decision making, economy of movement and his ability to see things before they happen, or force them to happen in advance, is unparalleled. He plays chess while 99 per cent of the league is playing checkers (or in Rajon Rondo’s case, Connect-Four).
Although he is universally revered in basketball circles, Paul’s lack of team success continues to haunt his legacy. CP3 has made approximately zero appearances in the Conference Finals, aka one less than Quincy Pondexter. Sadly, but perhaps not unfairly, the first thing that people think of when talking Chris Paul is what happened in Game 5 last season in Oklahoma City.
There’s no point sugar-coating it, Paul choked that game away by himself and cost his team the season. The beauty and tragedy of sports is that championships and legacies are decided by individual moments, events in time that account for less than 0.01 per cent of a player’s entire career. Paul could average 30 points and 15 assists this regular season and still no-one would forget Game 5. The only way to get past Game 5 is to win it the next time.
If the Clippers do win that game this year it won’t be with Chris Paul as their best player. Blake Griffin has clearly risen above Paul, and has emerged as perhaps the best successor to Paul’s former title of ‘consensus third best player in the league’.
Griffin pressed his case Friday night, putting up 30 and 10 in his sleep and overwhelming a laughably undermanned Rockets frontline. Paul played the role of quiet puppeteer, deferring to Griffin and scoring 10 points on seven shots with seven assists, five steals and no turnovers.
It was an understated performance but an ever-present one. As is always the case with Paul, you never forget that he’s on the court. While this Clippers team will only go as far as Blake Griffin can take them, it’ll be Paul getting him the ball and getting it to him in the perfect place, at the perfect time, in the perfect flow.
mushi
Roar Guru
Not excusing the nut punch (it does seem to have a higher level of acceptability in basketball though - not sure why?) but outside of that just about every decent defender gets some criticism for being dirty as part of it is creating legal but annoying contact. Like when you play against a "dirty" team full of old guys in a local comp, they are just constantly chipping you a little so you can't get to your spots easily.
Mike
Guest
I wrote that Blake Griffin article, as the owner of Hoopstuff, but in 2012? Blake Griffin was rated improperly, but he is a much better player and I agree with this site that says he is one of the best big men in the game. Sorry that you used an ancient piece of mine, but using that as argument isn't valid this season. Thanks for reading it.
OJP
Guest
Thanks for the reply Jay; I never really thought of Zeke as a dirty player.. although I was much younger and didn't / couldn't pay as close attention to the game back then... anyway, he really didn't need to lift a finger in anger too often given he had Rodman, Salley, Mahorn and Laimbeer ready to lay the smack down; but he certainly didn't object to that style of play either so I accept your comparison and your general point about winning trumping everything else. similar argument with Kobe in my view - not that he's dirty; he certainly isn't, but there are those who question how he goes about the game and there are those that just point to the 5 rings and I reckon the latter are the majority. Back to Paul and Zeke one last time - as you say, Paul's lack of team success hurts him... Zeke 2x NBA Champ and NBA Finals MVP against some tough opponents pretty much cements his legacy as a player at least. Ah, I love basketball.... cheers mate
Jay Croucher
Expert
Thanks for the feedback guys. Llewellyn, you are not alone in your Blake hate, he seems to be the most despised player in the league by other players. He is a truly elite basketball player though, obviously a phenomenal athlete but incredibly smart too. He has an amazing post-up game, is one of the best big man passers in the league and might be the best ball-handling big in the NBA. I'm not sure how his stats have 'gotten worse each year' either. In 2012-13 he averaged 18.0-8.3 shooting 66% from the line while last season he put up a 24.1-9.5 while shooting 72% from the line. Fairly big improvement. He's taking too many jumpers this year but it's a small sample size, too quick to judge it as a 'bad evolution of Griffin as an NBA player'. I'm not saying he's definitely the third best player in the league (Curry and Davis have a strong argument for that spot too), but he did finish 3rd in the MVP last year and he's definitely in that discussion, no matter how bad his commercials are. OJP, I don't think Paul's reputation as a dirty player has hurt him. Like Isaiah Thomas before him I think we tend to glorify these 'dirty' players by conflating dirtiness with a 'do whatever it takes to win' winning mentality. Mushi, I agree 100% with your take on Paul and his style. He's a blue-collar, half-court player who grinds out points. 'Lob city' is largely antithetical to Paul's NBA sensibilities. Just because he's good at throwing lob passes doesn't make him a 'flashy' player. In fact, I think there's an argument to be made that the Clippers would be better served if Paul was flashier. This year they're playing at the 18th quickest pace in the league, a number that feels like it should be higher given the athletic talent on the Clippers.
Llewellyn Fits-Rhombus
Guest
Astro, I'm putting up with the traveling, carrying, flopping, crying for fouls, shoving matches, t-shirts where there should be singlets and players aping on the sideline. I need to be a lunatic Blake Griffin hater. Please. It just feels right.
OJP
Guest
I agree re the progress in Blake's game; he clearly developed more varied ways to score... but I assume you read the recent piece from Zac Lowe on Grantland (pretty sure it was Lowe; if not Goldsberry) that showed how Griffen's shot distribution had evolved this season especially in that he was taking a lot more jumpers.... and scoring less efficiently as a result (small sample size alert). Look; no one can be a high flying dunk merchant all their lives (we all get old eventually) and it makes sense to be able to punish the D when they sag off looking for the drive / dunk so I'm not criticising... its good that he's adding variety. Back to Paul for a moment Jay; do you think his reputation as a 'sneaky dirty' player is held against him at all and do you have a comment re the nut punching incident other than 'it was along time ago and he was young' ? I get that we all make mistakes in the heat of battle; most of us don't resort to punching other dudes in the goolies however
mushi
Roar Guru
I loved this bit "You can scream all you want that Griffin doesn't have a post game. You are just wrong, and your argument looks increasingly like the hysterical shouting of a crazy person who points to a sunny sky and tells you it’s raining."
mushi
Roar Guru
Also on the lob city - the clippers were 20th in the league for shots taken inside 3 feet but highly effective because when they did go inside it was often for a high eprcentage assited dunk
mushi
Roar Guru
Also are you sure about those facts? I wasn't so double checked and Basketball reference has the clippers as the 5th best team for defensive FG% (not that that is what you should rate total defence on)? http://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2014.html#all_team_stats
mushi
Roar Guru
The clippers were 9th in defensive efficiency last year. Better than 21 other NBA teams. Also Chris Paul is a 6 time all defence selection and was fourth in defensive real +/- last year amongst PGs (behind Bledsoe, Rubio and Holliday). Add to that he’s the #1 active player in the NBA for steal rate despite not actually gambling for steals. Saying Chris Paul doesn't play defence or compete is wrong. It’s not a grey area that statement is a complete and utter falsehood, saying Michael Jordan was a below average NBA player would be as accurate as saying Chris Paul doens't play defense. They are “lob city” because they are athletic and have an amazing passer, why would you intentionally not capitalise on their athletic advantage and Paul’s passing. But it is a media short hand moniker not an offensive style of play as so few buckets are going to be alley oop jams (eg Reddick and Crawford aren’t going to be throwing those down too regularly)
astro
Guest
In response to Llewellyn, that link is a year old, as is the perception that Blake can only dunk...in fact, that's more than a year old. Griffin averaged 24ppg and 9.5rbs last year, so he's up there with Love, Brow, Aldridge, Dirk etc. But don't take my word for it: http://grantland.com/the-triangle/dispelling-the-blake-griffin-myths/
Mister Football
Roar Guru
I know this is not relevant to this thread, but I had to share this somewhere. Check out this clip of Dante Exum kicking a footy through a hoop from about 20 metres, apparently first time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcaovd2kFr4
mushi
Roar Guru
His defence in Boston featured 3 to 4 above average defenders as starters and the scheme was installed, coached and coordinated by Thibs in 2008. Doc’s coached for 8 other seasons without the boston big three and has an average offensive ranking (13.75th) slightly better than his defensive ranking (14.25th).
John
Guest
Doc is a defensive coach - its how he won the 08 title with Boston..their defense was absolutely incredible. In the 08 season, they were the 2nd best defensive team in respect of opponent shooting %. By contrast, the Clippers were 13th best on defense last season for opponent shooting %
John
Guest
Thanks for your reply mushi. My personal opinion is that Paul and the entire Clippers organisation from its fans, coaching staff etc. have bought into the CP3 factor that they are so offensively driven - they are by all accounts, a bit of a "show-team". The difference with the Spurs is that they have blue collar players - players who will play defense, jump on loose balls, contest everything, play hard, do anything to win e.g. Splitter, Diaw, Cory Joseph, Leonard, Baynes etc. The Clippers don't have these same types of players. They are offensively focussed - "lob city" hype, Griffin, Crawford, Paul, Reddick,
Llewellyn Fits-Rhombus
Guest
Blake Griffin surpassed?? He epitomizes how far the nba has fallen since the 1990s. He can dunk and that's it. His stats have gotten worse each year. http://www.thehoopstuff.com/why-blake-griffin-is-nbas-most-overrated-player/?doing_wp_cron=1414213352.9263529777526855468750 Jay, in what way do you consider Griffin a top player?
mushi
Roar Guru
Can you further explain the unsustainable nature of the style he advocates? I thought he was playing the style the coach advocated (which is much higher tempo than the style he played and excelled in back at the hornets) and the sustainability of giving open shots to team mates and taking only slightly above his fair share would be higher than a lot of other systems going around. Sure it isn’t the same perimeter movement based offence as the Spurs but then the players strengths at the two clubs are vastly different. It’s all well and good to say “be the spurs” but Pop would be the last coach to try change the players core strengths rather than the system’s core focus. Also what is the hall marks of a “blue collar” style versus a “white collar” one? I would have thought low pace, smash mouth basketball on both ends would be blue collar? Whereas high pace, high ball movement would be white collar?
John
Guest
I'm not so sure I agree. If anything, I think CP3 has long been overrated. The style that he advocates just isn't sustainable - not in a 7 game series anyway. The team is too reliant on their offensive output and part of that stems from Chris Paul and the "showtime" stigma that attaches to any team he plays for. The Clippers would be a much better team if they and Chris Paul built themselves on a "blue collar team" like the SA spurs, rather than a white collared show-stars.