Clippers concerned with Chris Paul’s high minutes

While Austin Rivers is out with a broken hand, Chris Paul is facing even more pressure carrying the Los Angeles Clippers, which is starting to concern the team.

As players around the NBA either get involved in the festivities of All-Star weekend or enjoy the week off, Chris Paul will be thankful to have some time to rest. He’s already been stepping up to take total control of the Los Angeles Clippers’ offense after they lost Blake Griffin in December, yet it’s the injury of Austin Rivers (who also has a broken hand, but not by punching someone) that is starting to be detrimental to Paul.

My fellow editor Trisity Miller has discussed this problem here, and why such a heavy load on Paul, with a lack of others to dictate the offense effectively, could hurt the Clippers in the lead up to the playoffs.

Over Paul’s last nine games he’s averaged 36.1 minutes a night. That’s only a fraction more than the 34.8 he averaged last season and the 35 he averaged in 2013-14, but his last two outings have gone one step further. Thanks to the Clippers’ last two games going to overtime, Paul played 39 minutes against the Philadelphia 76ers and 47 against the Boston Celtics. And despite his great effort with 35 points on 61 percent shooting, 13 assists and three steals against the latter, L.A. still came up short.

This is starting to concern the team, and Paul says the Clippers are really just trying to hold on till everyone is healthy (per Dan Woike of the Orange County Register):

"People inside the organization, however, including Coach Doc Rivers, are worried about the star guard’s workload…“We’re just basically trying to hold the fort down until everybody gets healthy,” Paul told reporters in Toronto. “We’re waiting on Austin to get back, we’re waiting on Blake to get back, and when that happens, we’ll really get a chance to see what our team looks like.”Using usage rate, a metric that measures the percentage of possessions a player is responsible for (accounting for shots, free throws, turnovers and assists), it’s clear to see how much Paul is actually responsible for.Of all the players in the league with a higher usage rate than Paul this season, only Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony are older."

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Those in the organization have a right to be worried. Even though he’s one of the best players in the NBA and is still only 30 years old, Paul is on the backend of his physical prime. Yes, he’s not in decline, but heavy minutes every night and such a high role on offense without Griffin is going to put a noticeable strain on his body as the next few weeks go on. Especially as the absence of Rivers gives the team one less valuable perimeter defender.

To make matters worse, the Clippers’ upcoming schedule is gruelling. Fresh off the All-Star break, the Clips are hurled in at the deep end against the San Antonio Spurs before facing the Golden State Warriors just two days later.

After that, they have a few easier opponents before taking on the Oklahoma City Thunder less than two weeks after playing the Warriors. Then, over the first two weeks of March, the Clippers face OKC again, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Spurs.

Essentially, their upcoming slate is far harder than the majority of their schedule without Griffin.

Next: Clippers' NBA Trade Deadline Targets

With no Rivers and especially no Griffin, the Clippers need everything Paul has to offer. The only problem is that he can’t be run into the ground if they don’t want another lacklustre second round exit.