One of the biggest myths in NBA history is that Chris Paul "doesn't have enough help" to make a WCF or NBA Finals. This is in spite of the fact that none of the teams that beat Chris Paul in the playoffs have even gone on to make the Finals, let alone win it all. In other words, Chris Paul only loses to losers. Paul has never even faced the best team in his own conference in any playoff run, yet a supposed Top 5 PG of all-time still can't lead his great supporting casts to even one WCF appearance while not having faced any Finals/Title teams (easier competition).
Chris Paul apologists also attempt to absolve CP3 of most (sometimes all) blame, and try to put it on his teammates. The truth is that Chris Paul had more than enough help to make several WCF runs and even 1 or 2 Finals runs. A few truly great PGs would have even won in his shoes. There are plenty of times CP3 individually failed his team, not the other way around.
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| Tyson Chandler had an all-time great level series on defense, forcing Duncan into the 3rd-worst shooting playoff series of his career at 42.1% FG |
2008 WCSF
1. Tyson Chandler was mainly responsible for Duncan shooting 42.1% FG in the 2008 WCSF
Tim Duncan 2008 Playoffs
10 games vs PHX/LAL
23.6 ppg 15.6 rpg 46.1% FG (95/206)
7 games vs NOH
15.3 ppg 13.0 rpg 42.1% FG (40/95)
This is the 3rd-worst shooting series of Duncan's career after the 2016 WCSF (Age 40 and last series of his career) and 2005 Finals. Stacked defensive help by Chandler.
2. Paul had a huge statistical series, but choked in the most critical stretch of Game 7 with the season on the line.
In the last 6:50 of Game 7, CP3 had 0 points on 0/2 FG with 1 assist to 1 turnover
3. He allowed Tony Parker to have 8 points in the 4th quarter including the sealing shot in CP3's overrated face, and expose his defense for the series.
4. Jannero Pargo had 16 pts in 4th quarter of Game 7.
5. Chandler held Duncan to 2 pts in 4th quarter of Game 7
- Both points came on a foul by David West
6. David West had 20 ppg 9 rpg on 45% in the series. Some of this was due to Paul's passing, but West also had 15-16 ppg during the Pacers 2012 ECSF, 2013 ECF, and 2014 ECF playoff runs. West was playing less minutes than in New Orleans, in longer playoff runs, and without any good playmakers to set him up.
No excuses about not enough help.
CP3 individually failed his team in the season-deciding stretch of Game 7, not the other way around. If any true all-time great had 0 points in the last near-7 minutes of a Game 7, and got the dagger nailed in their face, everybody would be all over them regardless of their statistical performance.
But because everyone unconsciously knows that CP3 isn't a true great, nobody remembers this choke job because he isn't held to an all-time great standard (even though most don't realize it), yet he gets undeserved praise an all-time great without being held to that standard.
2009 1st Round
Paul was dominated, exposed, outplayed, and destroyed individually by Chauncey Billups, after Paul had his best statistical year. Paul individually failed his team, not the other way around, by getting destroyed by Billups.
The Nuggets were the better team, because Billups was on the team and thoroughly destroyed Paul individually - proving he was vastly superior than Paul on both the team and individual levels
Chauncey Billups
23-4-7 on 48%, 1.2 TOpg and 66% 3PT
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| Billups completely dominated Chris Paul individually during the 2009 Playoffs, yet Chris Paul rarely receives criticism for his individually horrendous performance |
Chris Paul
17-4-10 on 41%, 4.8 TOpg
Billups badly exposed Chris Paul's defense. He scored way more efficiently and was the way better playmaker, Paul had quadruple the turnovers as Billups. Billups had a 6:1 ast:to ratio to Paul's 2:1
This was after CP3 had his best statistical year, joining Magic and KJ as the only players to average 20-10 on 50% in a season (Magic and KJ did it twice each).
2010 - injured
2011 and 2013
He put up big numbers in 1st round exits with sub-par help. Rod Strickland did the same thing against better teams from 1994-1997, with less help. No big deal, nothing all-time great worthy.
2012 WCSF
Paul = 13-4-9-3 on 37% in 38 mpg and 4.5 TOpg
Bledsoe = 12-3-2-2-1 on 70% in 22 mpg (16 less mpg)
Blake Griffin - 21-8-2-1-2 on 47%
So much for Paul not having help. He wasn't even the 2nd best player on his team or the 2nd best PG in the series.
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| Chris Paul played horribly individually against the only 60+ win team (adjusted for 82 games) he has faced in the playoffs, the 2012 Spurs. |
Parker averaged 21-4-7 on 40% for the last 3 games
C. Paul averaged 15-4-9 on 41% in the last 3 games.
Parker clearly outplayed Chris Paul for the series after accounting for the Game 1 anomaly in which both played poorly. CP3 individually failed his team, not the other way around.
2014 1st Round
Steph Curry
23-4-8 on 44%
Chris Paul
17-5-9 on 42%
Paul won only because he had the better supporting cast. Curry clearly outplayed him, despite having less help. Curry had to play more minutes obviously, because his 2nd option Klay Thompson was outscored by Jamal Crawford off the bench in 12 less mpg, and because Griffin was the best Clipper in the series putting up 23-6-4 on 53%, taking the pressure off CP3.
CP3 also averaged 3.8 fouls per game in the series, up from his 2014 season average 2.5. With 5+ fouls in 3 of 7 games and 4+ fouls in 4 of 7 games. His inability to defend without foul trouble contributed to Curry's individually superior performance and Paul's lesser minutes compared to Curry.
For all the excuses we hear about how CP3 "never has any help" and has to "carry the team" the only reason the Clippers made it to the 2nd round is because Paul got bailed out by his teammates, such as Griffin being the best Clipper in that series, after Curry outplayed him individually. Not the other way around. Further undermining the "no-help" excuses and doctrines of CP3 apologists.
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| Had Paul, in Game 5, not turned the ball over to Russell, fouled him on the three, and turned it over on the game-winning attempt, the Clippers would have been in great position to advance to the 2014 WCF. |
CP3 was individually outplayed by Russell Westbrook.
Russell Westbrook
28-6-9 on 49% and 50/57 FTs (89%)
Chris Paul
23-4-12 on 51% and 18/24 FTs (75%)
Westbrook scored way more and way more efficiently as he went to the line more than twice as much, shooting almost 90%. Paul also choked away the eventually deciding Game 5 with his 2 turnovers in the clutch, including on the game winning attempt. He fouled Westbrook on his 3pter, so Russell made 3 FTs to take the lead.
Westbrook outplayed him in the clutch of the eventually deciding game, further cementing that Westbrook outplayed him for the series. Had Paul not done that epic choke job, the Clippers would have been up 3-2 with Game 6 in LA.
Chris Paul apologists have fabricated a myth claiming that he played great defense on Durant, but the truth is that Durant repeatedly had success in the few brief instances Paul matched up with him.
It's worth noting that despite Paul's good statistics, he allowed Westbrook to perform even better due to Paul's bad defense, negating the value of Paul's good statistical performance. Paul individually failed his team, not the other way around, by getting outplayed by OKC's 2nd best player and by choking away the swing Game 5 that went on to decide the series.
2015 WCSF
Griffin led the Clippers to a 1-1 split to steal homecourt without Chris Paul, putting up 30-15-9 on 52% without him in the first 2 games. They did exactly what they were supposed to without Paul. Blake had 27-12-5 on 56% and Deandre had 14-13 with 2 spg 2 bpg in the series. No excuses about help
Game 5
- CP3 had 12 points and 4 assists after losing by 15+
- roughly half of his 22-10 stat line were in blowout situations
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| Despite great help from Griffin and Deandre, Paul choked away a 3-1 lead, the worst of which was shooting 1-6 in the 4th quarter of Game 6 before a garbage time three, blowing a 13-point 4th quarter lead |
Game 6
- CP3 had 1-6 FG in the 4th quarter before a garbage time 3 to make it 2-7 FG
- His failure to step up led to the Clippers blowing a 13-point 4th quarter lead
Game 7
- CP3 had 17 points 3 assists for 3 quarters, losing by 17 at the end of 3
- had 9 points and 7 assists in the 4th when it was already too late, losing by 13
- finished with a deceptive 26-10 stat line
Games 5-6-7
Blake 28-12-3 on 55%
Deandre 12-12 wth 2.3 spg 2.7 bpg
Keep in mind the Rockets best perimeter defender Patrick Beverly did not play in this series, but Paul still couldn't beat an undermanned team - more proof of his severe incompetence as a leader. As if failing to make it to the WCF despite never playing a Finals/Title caliber team despite plenty of help isn't proof enough.
CP3 wasn't even the best player when they won in the 1st round against the Spurs, so we can't hear any excuses about help when he wasn't even the main reason they made it to the 2nd round
2015 1st Rd
Griffin 24-13-7 on 47% FG - 76% FT
Paul 23-5-8 on 51% FG - 97% FT
Griffin only had only 0.5 less APG than CP3 but had +8.5 RPG and +1.4 PPG than CP3. In each of the last 2 playoff series that Chris Paul won, Blake led both teams in scoring and Deandre led both teams in rebounding and blocks, against the 2014 Warriors and 2015 Spurs. Chris Paul was not even the best player in half the playoff series he won.
2016 - injured
But Lillard shot 60% when guarded by Paul's overrated defense
2017 1st Round
In the 2017 1st Round, Chris Paul dealt with the absence of Blake Griffin due to injury after Game 3. Paul deserves some credit for a good statistical series, but at the same time he also deserves criticism for having 0 points in the 4th quarter of Game 7 and shooting 32% for Game 7 as a whole. Chris Paul also played terrible defense, getting lit up by George Hill and Gordon Hayward.
Chris Paul, Game 7 vs Jazz
- 2 points on 1/9 FG, 4 ast to 2 TOs in the 2nd half of Game 7
- 0 points on 0/8 FG, 4 ast to 2 TOs after 11:00 mark of 3rd quarter
The Jazz were not that great when at full health, and weren't at full health for more than half the series. Gobert missed the first 3 games due to injury and Hayward missed the last 3 quarters of Game 4 due to illness. So for the first 4 games out of 7 the Jazz were missing one of their two best players. Not that surprising that CP3 had a big statistical series against a team that was undermanned in most of the games, and won't pass the 2nd round even if fully healthy.
The most important thing we learned from this series is that the Clippers are
- 1-3 in the playoffs when CP3 plays but Griffin does not
- 1-1 in the playoffs when Griffin plays and CP3 does not, while playing against a better team in the Rockets.
And CP3 and Griffin were in their primes during all of those games, so it is not an unfair sample size. So the great help that Blake Griffin has given to the Clippers and his vital role in their success has been grossly undervalued all this time by the Chris Paul apologists who, rather than appreciate how much Paul benefits from great help like Griffin, prefer to use use him as a scapegoat for Paul's individual shortcomings as a Clipper instead.
In summary, Chris Paul had
- a 20+ ppg teammate in all four of his 2nd-round series exits (2008, 2012, 2014, 2015)
- a 22-24 ppg and 11-15 rpg teammate in 3 of his 4 series wins
- had Blake Griffin and Deandre Jordan lead all players in both teams in PPG, RPG, BPG in 2 of his 4 series wins (2014 and 2015 1st Rounds)
- while never facing the best teams - no team that beat him made the Finals.
Irrefutable fact - Chris Paul has had plenty of good help from his supporting casts throughout his playoff career. Basketball is a team sport, and CP3 has had very good teams around him.
SECTION 1 - The Myth That Chris Paul Doesn't Have Good Help
SECTION 2 - The Myth That Chris Paul is an Elite Defender
SECTION 3 - Why Chris Paul's Playoff Statistics Are Not as Impressive
SECTION 4 - Chris Paul is Not a Top 10 Point Guard of All-Time
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