The Chris Paul Effect

 

Image courtesy of Sky Sports

Most NBA fans are well aware of and in agreement that Chris Paul has always been a phenomenal point guard. You really just could not ask for much more out of a floor general: he has always shot the rock well, he has been an elite passer with excellent floor vision, he has been a very good perimeter defender, he is tough, scrappy, and has proven to be a heck of a leader. He is a lock to make the Hall of Fame when he decides to call it quits and will surely go down as one of the best point guards to play the game. However, one of his biggest knocks is his so called "lack" of success in the playoffs. He has never won an NBA championship, let alone make it to the Finals. And NBA fans judge players so harshly off of their ability to win a ring, so of course CP3 has not been an exception for anybody.

This post is certainly not going to be one where Paul is getting ripped on. Instead, it will be to talk about how spectacular of a player that he is and how much he means to whatever team he is playing on. After what CP3 did with last years' Thunder team and what he has been doing with this years' Suns team, I have gained even more respect for Paul than I already had. I have realized that he turns every team that he goes to into a competitor and a winner. In fact, if he did not get hurt in the Western Conference Semifinals a few years ago against the Warriors when he was still a Rocket, there is a pretty good chance that he would have at least played in an NBA Finals series, and possibly have a ring of his own right now. Anyways, what he was able to do with the OKC team from last year and the Suns right now is pretty outstanding.

Image courtesy of Basketball Society

Last season, Paul was traded to the Thunder in a blockbuster deal involving Russell Westbrook. Pretty much everyone (especially the experts), thought the Thunder were almost guaranteed to be a lottery team. Instead, Paul guided a young team all the way to the five seed in a very tough Western Conference. Without him this year the Thunder are below .500 and towards the bottom of the league. The Suns have had a really hard time being successful at all with Devin Booker and have not made the playoffs with him yet. Obviously, they acquired Paul before the season started and what do you know, they are currently sitting at the two seed in the west. It just seems that everywhere the guy goes he turns the team into a winner and a real competitor. Not to mention, he is now 34 years old. He is doing this stuff outside of his prime years.

To sum things up, I think that CP3 is, at this point in his career, and underappreciated player who is a very valuable asset to any team he plays on. (To be honest, he is the type of guy the Timberwolves could really use in my opinion.) He is also one of those players that I really want to see win a ring. If anyone deserves it, its him. He has this Suns team looking really good right now, and who knows, maybe they will make a run this year.