Chris Paul, someone who most people consider one of, if not the best, point guards of all time, has finally made it to the Conference Finals. Ultimately he is over that hump, after being the team leader/point god/ best player on every team he has been on, he finally gets that elusive Conference Finals appearance.
Paul has been on some great teams, including the old Charlotte Hornets, Lob City, and now finally the best team he has ever had, the Run and Gun Rockets. Mark D’Antoni, the innovator of the modern NBA offense, is the coach that got the most out of Paul, in his 12th season none the less. Paul averaged 18 points per game, right around his average, 7.9 assists, which is down, and shot 46 percent overall and 38 from three, which aren’t his best but still contributes a lot. Paul has always been that go-to scorer, but with the Rockets he doesn’t have to be.
Paul has all the teammates and role players he has ever asked for, and then some. A real low post defender? Clint Cappella has that job, while also being able to stretch the floor on the other end, something that DeAndre Jordan never did. A veteran big man off the bench that is all energy? Enter Nene, who is still being a beast at age 400 (read 35). He has some other solid pieces like 3-and-D monster Eric Gordon, big man Ryan Anderson, who is a poor man’s Capela, Joe Johnson, like ISO JOE JOHNSON, and other solid players who contribute. But one thing that Paul has lacked forever until this year? A scoring guard.
Paul has always had good defending guards who couldn’t score, or good scoring guards who couldn’t defend (more the former than the latter). Paul has never had a scoring guard like James Harden, who has, begrudgingly, won the MVP award this year. Harden was in the same boat, he has never been able to play with a guard of his skill set while also being a true superstar, yes he had that in OKC, but he wasn’t a superstar yet. I don’t need to mention how good Harden is, but he has been able to help on offense, and somehow Paul convinced him to play defense as well.
The most important take away is that Paul finally has another all-around guard that he pairs with, and also can eliminate some pressure on him as a ball handler. The Clippers tried it, but Blake Griffin is 6’10 and can’t bring a ball up to save his life, even with how hard he worked. Harden is comfortable being not only the one but also the two, regarding position and scoring option. Paul will gladly give up control and be a decoy on offense if it means his team is more efficient, which it has been.
This Rockets team is the team that Chris Paul deserves, and has deserved his whole career. As the point god, and one of the best point guards of all time, he deserves a shot at the Finals, after petering out in the second round for countless years. Finally, with the best team, he has ever had, and possibly one of the best to ever play. Paul will likely square off against the Warriors, the team built for this exact situation, but with Paul and Harden being as dominant as they currently are there is a chance that the Warriors run comes to an end.
And if that happens, come back to see how much I make fun of the Warriors, even though I have no rooting interest in the NBA Finals currently, outside of LeBron, and can’t shoot a basketball to save my life.
Ryno Sports Talk 