Chris Paul's actually been running the offense a lot better than Harden.

He had 17 assists against the Knicks........

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.usatoday.com/amp/96051662

 

Chris Paul is called point god for a reason

 

Please tell me you aren't serious showing me a stat from over 2 years ago.

I was talking about this season. The past is the past. Different dynamics, different bench, and some different role players. We can't keep comparing even last year's team to this year.

 

I believe things will be better once this 30pt streak is over...with all the time CP has been out seems like Harden went back to his old ways of holding on to the ball n the rest of the guys just watching but with CP back hopefully he can take the PG duties back as well

 

I would sacrifice my left ball for this to happen. The win yesterday really gave me some hope that if the team can stay healthy throughout the playoffs, that we might have a chance to win it all.

 

i'm beginning to wonder if these two can play together at the same time. maybe have cp3 come off the bench. he has struggled playing along side harden, but does well running offense by himself.

 

CP3 is the Point God. He's willing to take the backseat and let Harden run it. Sometime would love to see Harden take the backseat and not just because he's tired.

 

Passes per game

Paul - 52.4
Harden - 51.7

Potential assists per game( pass that leads directly to a shot, foul or turnover)

Paul - 16.1
Harden - 14.7

Points created off assists per game

Paul - 21.0
Harden - 18.7

We have TWO outstanding creators.

 

We have two great players and CP3 needs to be more involved at the point. Last nights warriors game is proof that you can run an effective offense, getting others involved using CP3.

 

It was proven a long time ago.

 

In last nights game led by CP3, 5 players in double digits plus 2 players being 1 basket away from double digits.

 

But we also can’t compare what CP3 played with last night to what Harden has been playing with. This team finally got healthy. Harden has literally been playing with D leaguers.

 

It’s not about passing the ball, it’s about running plays where teammates have a chance to make a play and the passer / imitator (CP3) moves to get it back. Harden rarely does this.

He will rarely get involved once passed and it’s not like a set with CP3. They both might make the same pass, but the trust to make a play is not there.

He will as others said have long periods - usually later in games - where he just goes 1-on-1 and passes only to get it back, when he’s tired or has run out of options.

You definitely see confusion at times with teammates when Harden does his thing. They don’t know what to expect since he goes 1-on-1 often. It’s not necessarily wrong, he’s great at it, but this whole streak and what has been said is that Harden is forced to do this.

CP3 shows there’s actually no need for a one man show. Harden saying he needs to play a hero is not really showing much trust in teammates in my opinion.

 

I'm not comparing who played with who. I am saying they are completely diff style point guards. A middle ground would be perfect.

 

You said never, I showed you that's not true. That was just the first one I thought of. He had 17 on 11/28/18. He also had a couple 15, 14, 13, and 12. He is an amazing passer and his assits went down when the team needed him to score more. He probably would have had more 10+ assist games if Gordon, Tucker, Green, and thankfully gone Ennis would have shot better with the amount of wide open shots they get from Harden's play.

 

I definitely agree he is an amazing passer. He is the best for sure. He amazes me with some of his passes. Clint always scores more with James in because he is better at throwing the alley pop than anyone else.

I just think James will help us more reeling in the ISO now with everyone back. There is no need to force so many shots and for him to throw 16 or 17 3's a game. That might get him high scorer but doesn't mean it will always win us games. We will win more as a team when it isn't James going for 30 or bust, win or lose. He doesn't always have to take 2 or 3 times as many shots as most to win.

 

Thank you for actually bringing evidence into these debates, both in this thread and others like it at CF. It's appreciated.

A question I have though is: are the shot opportunities better overall for Harden's pass recipients, or from Paul's? I'm not sure how you'd evaluate 'better' though. Percentage of opportunities where the recipient was unguarded?

 

I do agree that his fga should go down with eveyone back but he plays the way his team needs him to play. And I think that is exactly why we are in 5th place instead of a lottery team. Paul played amazing last night but the real story is that Gordon and Tucker hit their shots. We are a 60 plus win team when that happens. And we they don't Harden has to shoot as much as he can just so they have a chance.

 

Did last season not happen at all? They may be a bit rusty at playing together but they unequivocally can do it well.

 

Why does it have to be either or? If it wasn't for the 30pt streak we wouldn't even be in the playoff hunt with our injuries. Maybe some of it was ego, but James did mostly what he HAD to do. CP is a different player & brings a different skillset. Unfortunately they haven't been able to find chemistry together this year, but that's more about injuries