Enjoy the best Defensive player to wear a Rockets jersey since Hakeem...

We will be watching the best defensive player to play as a Rocket since Hakeem:

Chris Paul.

I had always hated this punk before we got him in a trade. He is a sneaky and dirty b*stard in the mold of John Stockton. The flops, below the belt shots, the grabbing, holding, stopping in front of a running big man to draw the foul and putting them at a risk etc. etc.. Hated every bit of this since his Hornets days.

But at the same time, I was also impressed with what he could do on the court on the defensive side, given his size.

Watch his hands. They are always tracking the ball which lets him steal the ball from the dribblers. His anticipation when the opponent is dribbling is incredible. It also lets him get into the passing lanes. The ball is never safe around Chris Paul. A slight mis-dribble or a slightly off target pass, and he is the most likely person to grab it. Even when the dribbler makes no mistake, Chris Paul has a good chance as any player in the league to pick his pocket.

Watch how he moves his legs. Knees bent, constant lateral motion following the ball, and use of arms to keep his player on bay. Text book positioning.

He has a strong base but he has tremendous upper body strength given his size. That's the only reason I can think of how he can guard players much bigger than him off the dribble and especially in the post. And I am not talking about just holding ground. He makes life miserable for them. I have seen him give Kobe tough time in the post. I ask everyone to watch him guard the post this year when they get a chance.

I love Beverley. His tenacity on the defensive end was the difference in us winning or losing a number of games. And I know people are saying that we will miss Pat's tenacity but I think Chris Paul is just as tenacious. In fact, I would wager that Chris is less of gambler than Pat but just as fierce. Chris may not yell and scream as much Pat but that does not diminish his effectiveness. However, one advantage that Pat holds is that he could afford to use more energy on the defensive end because he didn't have as huge of a offensive load to bear. Chris cannot be as gung ho as Pat through out the game.

Also, like Olajuwon, his defensive IQ and instincts are off the chart. Somehow he always seems to be around the ball. I dont think you can train to be good at this. You either have it or you dont and Chris is one of the best at it.

Pound for pound, Chris Paul is one of the best defenders in the history of the game. Yes, history! And he is such a dirty little b*stard and plays for our team!



PS1. He is pretty good on offense as well.

PS2. If you think Scottie Pippen was a better defender than Chris Paul is, delete your account, go to your kitchen, find a frying pan, fill it halfway with oil, heat the oil to medium high, deactivate all smoke alarms, and then submerge your face into the hot oil.

PS3. Spoilered for some depressing bit

Spoiler

Chris Paul being such a great defensive player is also the reason us not being able to get Paul George hurts so bad. With Chris Paul and Paul George guarding the perimeter and passing lane, we would have been a defensive juggernaut, especially with our other versatile defensive role players on this team. *sigh* Hurts so bad. We were so close to legitimately threatening the Warriors..

PS4. Uncharted 4: A thief's end.

 

Good shout out but nah....

Loved Hayes but I don't think he was better than Chris Paul. I would have considered him if, as a big man, he could block shots as well, in addition to his position defense.

Taking charges is fine but I also expect big men to offer blocks, which Hayes couldn't because of his size. Thus, he gets a couple of points taken off.

 

He has.

Multiple times.

In the very first post in this thread lol...