Wake Up With An NBA Countdown: Chris Paul

Good morning everybody, happy Wednesday! We’re so goddamn close to the long weekend you can almost taste it, so when I thought about what I wanted to have for this morning’s blog I figured we needed someone that could help assist us to get over that 9-5 hump. Well why not go with one of the best point guard of my entire life? Remember this time last year when everyone was doubting that CP3 to HOU would work because both he and Harden are extremely ball dominant players? That was fun and I feel like all of us on the internet feel pretty silly about that one. I feel like the Rockets were something crazy like 45-2 when Harden/Capela/CP3 all played in the same game together, I know it’s around that record which is pretty goddamn insane.

I’d say probably since the 2007-8 season Chris Paul has been considered one of, if not the best pure point guard in the NBA, and it’s for good reason. Even at 32 he’s still up there in the first tier in my opinion, and considering he’s a 9x All Star, 4x All NBA First Team member, 3x All NBA Second Team member, 7x All NBA Defensive First team member, 2x All NBA Defensive Second team member, 4x assist leader, 6x steals leader, as well as a former ROY, it’s safe to say we are watching a HOF player. That’s not really too hot of a take I just wanted to make sure people realized how fucking accomplished that dude is. He’s already 13th all time in steals, 3rd all time in assists per game, 6th all time in steals per game, 6th all time in PER, 2nd all time in assist percentage, 9th all time in total assists, and 1st all time in Ortg. Given all that, did you know outside of that 2007-08 season he’s never finished higher than 3rd in the MVP conversation. I find that really interesting.

And now he’s on his best chance to win a title, and that’s why the injury Gods are fucking assholes. If Paul doesn’t get hurt against the Warriors I feel like they win that series and the Rockets are beating the Cavs, winning their first championship since the mid 90s. You may think Paul is a dirty player and a bit of a dick at times, but I think we can all agree the dude deserves a title. Any time you’re an all time great like he is, I want you to win at least one ring.

Now back to his first year in HOU. Safe to say this was for the most part a success, and we should feel silly for doubting it. Paul was 6th in assists last season and for the most part looked very similar to the player he was towards the end of his Clippers run. The percentages were a little lower, mostly because of the different system D’Antoni runs, as Paul shot 1.5 more 3PA a night. His usage rate was only 24.5%, which may be a little low for him but is also exactly the same as it was during his last year in LAC, so any worry that Paul would suffer from Harden being ball dominant really didn’t happen. As with anything involving CP3, it all comes down to his health, we know this. He played just 58 games last year and 61 games the year before. I’m sure Rockets fans don’t want to talk about this as it’s one of their deepest fears, especially since he just got that new extension that will pay him until his age 36 season. Paul is a guy who in his entire career has played at least 75 games just 4 times in his career, and three of those came between the ages of 20-25. That’s something I don’t think we can ignore considering THIS is the Rockets championship window. They aren’t loaded with elite young talent like some other contenders, they are built to contend and win now, which is why there is so much pressure on them in my opinion.

But let’s not worry about that right now. Let’s take some time to celebrate what was an awesome first year in a very exciting offense for one of the most exciting players in the league. Paul has been a monster everywhere he’s been, and we’re lucky to have been alive in the Chris Paul Era. If you’re a sucker for awesome point guard play, I’m not sure it gets much better.

I hope you enjoy today’s video, as always I’m open for suggestions for this blog so just leave it in the comments below. Otherwise, have yourself a great Wednesday!