As kids, athletes are taught to take care of the basketball through various drills. The best way is to simply have a quick handle, but the off-hand can also be crucial, as it can pose as a barrier for defenders who are effective at reaching in and making slight contact with the rock. This defensive technique, most often, leads to turnovers, and the mistake becomes more prominent as the level of play rises.
In the NBA, the highest level, point guards have a strict duty to avoid careless turnovers. Even if they are not scoring, they will still have a job in the league just to secure the basketball and play defense.
Then there are exceptions, in which these guys have a bit of extra leeway on committing turnovers. James Harden did not face any repercussions from head coach Tyronn Lue last season for committing 4.3 per game, and he will not move forward.
The Clippers know they need Harden, so to help with the team's subpar turnover rates, they brought in a true point guard.
Chris Paul's specialty in taking care of the ball will help the Clippers tremendously
Excuses for being on a contract worth tens of millions are invalid, but James Harden's was in terms of turnovers, and it was directed toward fatigue. Thus, fingers were not pointed at him in blame, despite the LA Clippers averaging 13.8 on a nightly basis.
Bringing in Chris Paul is like a two-for-one special, as his reunion will be for the memories of Clipper Nation, and he will help Harden and the Clippers protect the basketball.
Paul is quite literally an all-time great in general, but especially with assist-to-turnover ratios. His career, 20 seasons, assist-turnover ratio is 4.0. To fathom this number, John Stockton, the greatest passer in league history, had a career assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.75.
Additionally, at 39 years of age, Paul only averaged 1.6 turnovers per game on the San Antonio Spurs.
Paul could transform an LA team that was bottom 15 in the league with these types of errors to the top ten best, considering he kept the Spurs in the top 15 in his 82 games played.
That said, Paul providing the Clippers with this massive overlooked improvement ultimately boosts their title odds in the Western Conference next season, and helps Harden in the necessary ways for him to make All-NBA in consecutive seasons.