Great first post. Even though I've hated on Paul for being a flopping whiner, you are absolutely right about him being underrated as a player. He is potentially the greatest point guard of all time (I'll say yes, others will say no) and on top of that he is an absolute stud defender and a great shooter.
Thanks for the great welcome. Glad you asked. I want to start with the good with Paul so it doesn't come off bad. What I have seen from Paul is that he's great at controlling the ball. You won't see any out of control plays with him. He guards the ball well, which means he doesn't turn it over. He also has some great moments where he can take on the burden for a team and be a lights out scorer. This year's playoffs were a great testament to just how easily he can compensate when one of your other key players goes down. However, the concerns about Paul also stem from the good. Because he controls the ball well, he doesn't take unnecessary risks. That means he doesn't run many fast-break plays. He will take a long time to take the ball down court and carefully survey his options. This factors in to the careful decision making and small turn-over numbers for Paul. While on the surface this may seem great, which results in some really great statistical numbers for Paul. He is by far one of the most efficient players in the league. However, my take on Paul is that his cautious decision making can come at a price. When you take the ball down court so slowly you are doing something not taken into account...you're killing the clock. To boot, When Paul comes down court he doesn't always make a quick decision on whether to pass the ball either. He hesitates, so that causes him to continue to dribble the ball and hold onto it for what he may feel is a better and safer opportunity. He spends most of the first three quarters playing this way and looks to set up his team mates, and then as the game comes close to the end he will try to become more of a scorer. This may pose a problem because opposing teams know this pattern and may choose to simply allow Paul some room early, while choosing to cover the other players that Paul chooses to set up. Now by the fourth quarter the team may benefit from his more aggressive play, but you may be playing catch-up by this time. Teams were quick to plan for the Clippers this way because they knew the true scorer early on was J.J.Redick, not Paul. Now these deficiencies may not hinder the team as a whole. Harden is a great scorer, and this type of play may end up meshing well with Harden. However, keep in mind that if you are looking for a point guard who will attack the basket, that's just not Chris. He's smart, calculated, and careful, which isn't a group of bad traits, but careful isn't always the best thing to be during a game. That being said, Chris was an excellent part of our success with the Clippers, but he was also a reason why we never advanced past a certain point as well. The roster around Chris had its shortcomings for sure, but Chris had his role to play as well. People will write narratives abut the Clippers failure to go beyond a point, and the easy scapegoat is to say that cast around him was the problem...although that will be a partial truth. The truth is that the Clippers squad was composed of a group of players whose skills and short comings basically combined to make the current team we all knew: an exciting, but flawed team. Now this doesn't necessarily mean that the same outcome will happen in Houston. In fact, with the Rockets being no where near done dealing and trading, you guys may build the right team to complement and play with Chris. However, just keep in mind he does have his shortcomings. The best way to build a team around him is to acknowledge these shortcomings and bring in players that will compensate for what he doesn't bring. I for one will be very interested in what will happen next.
Good defender for sure, he has the ability to strip the ball from other guards pretty well. As for shooting, he is an efficient shooter, but he just needs to do it more and stretch the defense. I hope he can make that adjustment, and if he does Paul will be a scary player and may be the guy to push you guys past GSW.
I like it, but am wary. It is a little bit like Dwight Howard, I hated that guy, still do, and said I understood why we did the trade, and hoped it worked out....it didn't....and it is a bit like how I feel on this. DD
That's just the case with any acquisition. Chris Paul is a star in this league, but that doesn't mean that his addition to this roster will result in the level of success you may want. The biggest factor is whether Chris Paul's style of play will mesh well with what you currently have. To make it even more of an enigma, the Rocket had to deal away seven players to make room for Paul. This gives another level of uncertainty because some of those players had an established role on the team, like Beverly whom was a pest and could disrupt other players. Your team will most likely be making some major moves as well, so many of you guys may not be familiar with the new acquisitions. Only time will tell, so by mid-season you guys may have an idea of what this new team is capable of. However, one thing you can know for certain is that Chris has some ties with many players, so he may have a positive effect on recruiting.
The differences here between CP3 and Dwight is that: 1) What Paul does on offense is efficient. Great mid range jumper, shoot from outside, and he's not bad around the rim. Howard was incredibly inefficient in the post, which is all he wanted to do, and 2) You can actually have the ball in Chris Paul's hands at the end of the game because he is an excellent free throw shooter. Dwight was a pathetic free throw shooter so you could never give him the ball. Heck, you couldnt even let him set a pick because all they had to do was foul him. There's no doubt it will take an adjustment to play together, but it's not like Harden has never been in this situation before... He played with Westbrook and Durant for goodness sakes.
MDmA's early offense may really alter Paul's risk factor for passing by the sounds of it. Also, Paul has great numbers, but I wonder what the increased pace will do for him alongside Harden. If Paul trusts MDmA, there's no telling what his output will be, but it could be greater than it's ever been.
Basically you compared a non shooting Center to an elite playmaker and sound shooter. Both are equally injury prone.
Increased pace may no doubt alter Paul's numbers. I've never fully bought into the concept of efficiency because it doesn't contextualize things. Still, we need to see how he plays along side of Harden. Part of the thing about Paul's time on the Clippers is that he was given much more say in the offense, he dictated the pace. MDA's offense does seem to be more up-tempo (you guys would know better than I would), so I'm very, very curious to how Paul will adapt to it, or whether MDA will just change the system somewhat to allow CP3 to play his way.
Yes but Dwight didn't work out because his game didn't fit Harden's (and the team's) style, not because he was injury prone. Cp3 fits with Harden a lot better.
I think it will work but what I am having one iota of doubt is how much time CPaul will play. 30 or 35 minutes per game? Or will Paul be with the 2nd unit more.
I won't say Dwight did not work out. He and the role players took us to the 3rd round....... It was ok but not great. Part of that was Dwight and part of that is Harden wasn't the best mate on court..... they did not click entirely just in flashes.
So many folks around here have spoken at length about how Harden and Paul will mesh, but my real concern is about MDmA and Paul. I really hope those two can come to agreements on how things should go. I have no doubt about D'antoni's ability, but CP3's ability to understand that offense and apply himself worries me a little. Three brilliant men (Paul, Harden, D'Antoni) doesn't mean they'll see eye to eye all year. How they work through differences is everything to Houston.
It depends how MDA plays his roster. If we were talking about Popovich, Paul would be playing 20 minutes a game, every other three days lol, and then in the playoffs we would have a Chris Paul sighting. However, Doc began to emulate what Pop was doing and lowered Paul's minutes this year to a career low 31 minutes per game. If MDA wants to conserve him and ensure health, then look for this pattern to continue, but if MDA is also looking to make sure the top seed is secure in the west that means Paul will have to play closer to 35 minutes. What's your take on MDA? Does he do the Popovich thing with his older players too?
MDA said after the Spurs series that they would look into restricting Harden's minutes and/or resting him on certain nights. He'll most likely do the same with CP3.
