As the LA Clippers head into their upcoming series with the Utah Jazz, we take a look at how Chris Paul, Point God, will contribute.
Is there anything Chris Paul can’t do?
Ever since the All-Star guard joined the Clippers in 2011, LA is yet to have a losing season or miss the playoffs. That’s true value. Those last few successes have been filled with numerous heartbreaks however, which has led to many questioning CP3’s legitimacy as a leader. Specifically, it’s the fact that Paul has never been past the second-round of the playoffs. His inability to lead a team to the championship is really his only knock, though.
There’s no denying that Chris Paul is one of the most dominant and efficient point guards of all time. An 8 time All-Star and master distributor, Paul has led the league in assists per game 4 times, and steals per game 6 times. He has also received All-NBA honors 8 times and All-Defensive honors 8 times. There are a few things about Paul’s game that still stand out to us, though.
For one thing, his game hasn’t dropped off – at all. Even as he has worked himself into his 30’s, Paul has managed to stay as efficient and productive as ever. This was especially evident this season. Before the Clippers tipped off in October, the general consensus was that Paul’s game would begin to decline this year, and that LA would be a much worse team.
Wrong.
| 2013-14 | 28 | NBA | PG | 62 | 62 | 35.0 | 6.5 | 14.0 | .467 | 1.3 | 3.4 | .368 | 5.3 | 10.6 | .498 | .511 | 4.8 | 5.6 | .855 | 0.6 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 10.7 | 2.5 | 0.1 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 19.1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-15 | 29 | LAC | NBA | PG | 82 | 82 | 34.8 | 6.9 | 14.3 | .485 | 1.7 | 4.3 | .398 | 5.2 | 10.0 | .523 | .545 | 3.5 | 3.9 | .900 | 0.6 | 4.0 | 4.6 | 10.2 | 1.9 | 0.2 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 19.1 |
| 2015-16 | 30 | LAC | NBA | PG | 74 | 74 | 32.7 | 7.0 | 15.1 | .462 | 1.6 | 4.4 | .371 | 5.3 | 10.6 | .501 | .517 | .0 | 4.4 | .896 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 10.0 | 2.1 | 0.2 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 19.5 | |
| 2016-17 | 31 | LAC | NBA | PG | 61 | 61 | 31.5 | 6.1 | 12.9 | .476 | 2.0 | 5.0 | .411 | 4.1 | 7.9 | .518 | .555 | 3.8 | .892 | 0.7 | 4.3 | 5.0 | 9.2 | 1.9 | 0.1 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 18.1 |
Paul has been his usual self this year, and he’s been an incredible leader. As we all know, the Clippers began the season with a 14-2 record. And while the contributions of DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin were ever important, Paul was the alpha leading the pack. He finished the regular season averaging 18.1 points, 9.2 assists, and 5.0 rebounds per game, and the Clippers finished at 51-31.
Next, we’ll take a deeper look into Paul’s season.