the ball way too much? As an individual he's great but he's a ball stopper who disrupts the flow of the Hornets. Nash, Kidd and Billups were never hesitant to give up the ball when it didn't lead to an assist. He'll always be an MVP candidate who makes things easier for his teammates, but I don't think his play correlates into winning on a bigger stage. It gets to a point where you're almost hesitant to put real talent around him because you know the player will be underutilized unless he's offensively inept. In that way he's similar to Allen Iverson, despite having a higher basketball IQ. I'll go out on a limb and say as long as Chris Paul is the best player on a team, they'll never be close to serious contenders unless he dramatically changes his game. He's a passionate stat padder.
Well, unless he plays on the same team as lebron, kobe, or d-wade, he IS going to be the best player on the team. I never watched isiah thomas play, but i have heard that their styles are pretty similar. they both average about 19 pts, 9 assists, and 2 steals per game. Isiah won 2 titles with detroit, so i would tend to say cp3 can do it too. Only time will tell.
I disagree, I think he is the epitome of what an MVP is. The Hornets would probably struggle to win 20 games if he wasnt there. He just needs to be on a team that is better at surrounding him with talent.
Are you kidding me?? Chris Paul took David West from a decent role player to an all-star. He made people think Tyson Chandler had talent and he kept Sean Marks from getting booted out of the league by spoon feeding them under the rim. That team is AWFUL without him. He has to create everything to get them going. I think it's asinine that you suggest the best PG in the league is being a ball stopper. Was MJ a ball-stopper?
He'll always be an MVP candidate. He'll always be the best individual PG in the league. But his mentality results in him craving possession to an extent that isn't good for the 1 spot. Guys like MJ were 2 guards, you can get away with a very direct approach at that position. But as a PG you have to be willing to give up the ball in situations where it doesn't directly result in an assist, or where point A can lead to point B to point C. Chris Paul is a rich man's Stevie Francis... and that just doesn't work coming from the 1 spot in this era. Isiah Thomas didn't face zone defenses in the late 80's and worked with HOF'ers like Dantley and Dumars.
i disagree. when chris paul is surrounded by players who can create their own shot, he'll give it to them. the problem is that the only player who meets this requirement is david west. and when watching the hornets, you'll see that west is given abundant opportunities to work in the post 1-on-1.
i disagree with the op. all this ball stopper stuff is nonsense. when a player is that good and efficient at creating offense with the ball in his hands you want him to have the ball in his hands all the time. players like this are elite playmakers. there are only a handful of them in the nba. guys like paul, lebron, roy, wade, a healthy t-mac, etc. they are elite scorers but they're not selfish players and they are efficient. of course there are other players and situations. guys like iverson, marbury or maybe ron artest for example. those players are selfish and they're not efficient which indeed correlates to losing basketball. but you are a fool if you want to take the ball out of the hands of a guy that gives you 20 points and 10 assists a night while only committing 2.5 turnovers per game.
That's definitely a valid point, but wouldn't you expect to see guys like Peja and Posey thrive alongside Chris Paul? Not average career lows? He's an MVP PG after all. My argument is that his style of play only benefits players who are offensively inept, since they are expected to stand around and do nothing but wait for him to spoon feed them. Even with New Orleans averaging relatively few possessions, you'd think free agents who sign with the Hornets would see their numbers or FG% improve. Peja, Mo Pete, Posey have regressed. I'm very interested to see how Okafor does this season after being healthy for 2 straight seasons.
No, he's a playmaker, that's all he does. Plus he's a PG that averages almost 10 assists a season so he should dominate the ball, ITS HIS JOB!!!
The Hornets need a leader other than CP and I'm not talking about taking the ball out of his hands. I'm talking about someone who is mentally tougher than CP and will lead the other players to not whine all the time when things go wrong. CP whines too much and it rubs off on the other players. As a talent, CP is incredible. But the Hornets need a tough-minded veteran who won't allow them to get distracted by the refs so much.
The thing is, the offense starts with him, that's what point guards do. Chris Paul may overdo it a bit, but he still contribute his fair share overall to the team. In my opinion, Chris needs a number 2 guy, not a Tyson Chandler, but someone who can actually create his own shot.
I don't think it's fair to pin Posey, Peja and Mo Pete's struggles on Paul. Posey was asked to be a post up player at times in the Hornet's rotation this past year in response to their injuries and lack of depth. Anyone who has watched Posey(except Byron Scott evidently) knows that's not his game. Peja's decline is more due to injuries than anything(back). Peterson missed weeks a time last year due to various injuries as well and when he did play, it appears as though he spent several games with limited minutes(less than ten a game) that probably reflect the nagging injuries. He didn't really play enough minutes with Paul for you to blame him for his regression but if you want to use his limited minutes as an example, how do you explain his .13% decline in free throw percentage? Wouldn't that indicate something was wrong with Mo Pete's shot in general if he can't hit them from the free throw line too? ...having watched Paul quite a bit, I think he is one of the best basketball players I have seen in a loooonnnggg time. He will be better than Isiah when all is said and done. He makes a pretty awful Hornets team respectable by himself. I wouldn't say he dominates the ball any less than any great PG would on that team though. It's David West and Paul who carry the load on that team. If they initiated the offense through anyone else on a consistent basis, they would lose miserably. Everyone else on that team last year was below average by NBA standards for their position. Billups, Kidd, and Nash never had to play with that type of a handicap at every position in their glory years. I just don't see your point about him being a ball stopper. He's an efficient scorer, a good passer, and a low turnover guy(relative to how much he has the ball). Those are the guys you WANT to hold the ball and make good decisions with it. How can they possibly be a better team with Mo Pete having the ball in his hands more to initiate the offense or James Posey or Peja? All those guys have such a limited game. I do agree with A_3PO's post that the Hornets need some character guy/leaders on the team besides Paul although I would think Paul will mature into that guy eventually.
uh... huh If anything the argument can be made that Chris Paul isn't dominating the ball enough. Hell, he should be having the ball in his hands 100% of the time unless West is on the floor. The guy plays better then prime Magic when pace is adjusted. o_o
The guy is playing on a level that we haven't seen in generations, and you're saying he's dominating TOO much?? I think you're just threatened by Chris Paul's massively evolved immune system.
Chris Paul hater? He is supposed to dominate the ball. He is at his best when he has the ball and NO is at their best when he has the ball. Do you want Kobe to shoot less too, the thing he does best?
Have you seen the Hornets roster? That team isn't built for ball movement lol. Chris Paul is the king of setting guys up and causing confusion to the defense. Excellent decision maker when deep inside of chaos. Normally its the ball handler that gets in trouble, Paul somehow manages to get 2-3 defenders making the mistakes while maintaining his cool.
Even Pat Riley didnt totally like Magic Johnson dominating the ball so much in the Showtime Lakers days. So I think something could be said about Chris Paul dominating the ball. We just dont value the totalitarian approach in our society. My thinking is... when playing at the local court you ever get that 1 guy on your team thats an ultra sleek ball handler and dribbler? He goes up and down the court getting to the hole at will. Spoon feeding guys on his team for easy bucket after bucket, even if he can get them all himself? AND he's quick enough on the other end to get steals and even more fast break points? And you win like 8 games in a row until he goes home cuz no one can stop it, and you figure he's probably playing at college somewhere? Chris Paul is that guy, but on the PRO level. Whats worse, Chris Paul working in the half court setting up for the easy dish? Or Aaron Brooks taking 6 dribbles up court and launching a 3?