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For the Clippers to get to where we need them to go, Chris Paul is going to have to put together an MVP-type season. I hope he continues to follow through on Doc's directive of being more assertive early on in games, especially with the continued developments of Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. This type of play from him allows his teammates to feed off the attention he demands with open looks and lanes from opposing defenses having to focus in on him, which is how his New Orleans Hornets teams of the past used to thrive.

I admire and understand Paul's intention of deferring to teammates early on in order to build their confidence and rhythm, but the early assertive approach serves the same purpose and has so far proven to be the more effective strategy.

While it's early in the season, CP3 is off to a great start: 2nd in Points | 1st in Assists | 3rd in Steals. He's also shooting 38.5% on 3-pointers with 4.3 attempts/game; 51.1% FG and 96.8% FT along with exactly 4.0 rebounds/game through the 1st of November. Note: images below are linked to the corresponding reference pages.

Those numbers of course are not sustainable(they are ridiculous). I expect something around the ballpark of a 20/10 season from Paul along with 2.5-3 steals and 4 rpg. He has a very good chance at MVP provided the Clips take 1st or 2nd seed in the West.

It will be his best season as a Clipper and arguably the best season he ever had.

Also, check out the Cliff-Chris Paul "conversation" on his NBA profile page where he mentions Stockton, Isiah, and Magic as his all-time favorite passers:

Chris Paul NBA.com Profile Page

I think the key to our season is being able to command double teams. We need both CP3 and BG to be aggressive every game. I would like them both to be 20-10 players. I know we have a deep team where 'on any night any player can score 20' kind of thinking but our two stars need to be in our top 3 scorers every night.

First of all, that banner looks nice. It would be great to see that become a reality


I think that CP has as good a chance as any to be in the MVP hunt this season. He's only 28 years old, but some people are acting like he's 32. Some of the other usual suspects may have different factors hurt their chances this year with lower records or voter fatigue. Paul is certainly no shoe in and will have to have a remarkable season in order to supplant the players that have been voted higher in the past.

If the team is in the top 2 in the West and he's able to put up 21 points, 10.5-11 assists, 2.5+ steals on improved percentages, then I think he'll have a great shot. I felt that he was robbed when he put up Isiah-like numbers in 2008 (~21ppg, 11apg, 2.7spg). I think he's capable of doing those type of numbers this year, but he has to stay healthy and give us at least 75 games. The last MVP to play less than that was Iverson in 2001 with 71 games.

mkwest wrote:First of all, that banner looks nice. It would be great to see that become a reality

Yeah, that image struck a chord within me, especially with the Laker banners in the background in light of the Staples Center "controversy". I just came across it in this NBA TNT promo video I found today. The sequence starts at the 1:37 time stamp.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00EiKvqIcTI[/youtube]

Yea, 28/4/12, ~4 steals steals and 50/39/90 in 36 MPG isn't realistic to keep up for a season. Those aren't just MVP numbers, those are historical numbers. I think with him being more assertive, he will settle at 20-21 pts, 4 rebs, 10-11 assists and about 2.5 steals with ~50% FG / 37-40% 3PT / and close to 90% FT.

Obviously if you've watched the progress of Paul's career, his lack of scoring has never been because of inability, it's always been because he's overly attempting to give his teammates opportunities. He knows from his New Orleans playoff losses that part of the issue was that if he wasn't performing, it was difficult for his teammates to get much going, so he's attempted to give them their own early and get his later.

I think even if he isn't scoring, he just needs to play aggressive always because he draws as much attention as anyone in the league. There's an upper echelon of players in the league who all draw a high level of attention, and Paul is up there with them.

who gives a hoot about sustainable?

the point is...he's a superstar and can tap into a 30-15 night when we need it.
as Charles Barkley says...when you're a superstar, your averages go up in the playoffs.

i don't need 42-15 to be sustainable.
i just need some awesome performances like we've seen...some clutch shots...and a top 2 seed in the west...if that's not enough for an MVP...he never was gonna get it to begin with.

Yeah obviously this kind of production is not sustainable, but I hope he keeps up the volume. If he could keep his usage % in the high twenties all year, or even take it up to the low thirties, I think the team would benefit a lot.

The rest of the superstars, Lebron, Durant, Harden, Westbrook, Love, Nowitzki, Wade, etc. all use up to ~30% of their teams offensive possesions, while Paul usually takes barely above 20%. He's the best and most impactful player on our team and he needs to make that impact on a higher number of possesions.

MVP is a whole another thing though, it depends too much on team record, and specially on how the media can sell the narrative around your story. I'd be happy for him if he could get it, but that's the last of our worries.

Why are you comparing primary options(25-30 ppg scorers) to CP3? He is never going to have 30% usage. He didn't even do that when he was averaging 23/11 on a mediocre Hornets team. The correct stat to use for a PG is number of touches per game anyway not usage AND CP3 gets LOTS of touches. He is fine.

Woodsanity wrote:Why are you comparing primary options(25-30 ppg scorers) to CP3? He is never going to have 30% usage. He didn't even do that when he was averaging 23/11 on a mediocre Hornets team. The correct stat to use for a PG is number of touches per game anyway not usage AND CP3 gets LOTS of touches. He is fine.

lol ok I wasn't necessarily talking about him shooting more or anything. Usage rate is not only about scoring.

It's very simple really, you have a high impact player in your team, whenever he is making plays your team scores at a higher rate than when it's the rest of his teammates doing it, so increasing his usage to the highest point where he can still sustain that level of impact is a no brainer. That's why every 'superstar' player, PG or not, socrer or not, has a high usage number. Paul himself has been on the high twenties before, and always increases his usage to about that rate in the playoffs.

It's actually a fancier way of saying the classic "gotta be agressive earlier in games" that Paul himself has been vowing to every few months (and not ever getting round to do it).

Of course he is fine, he'd still be finer with a ring around his finger. Adjusting his game to get there is what great players do. Not saying he needs any drastic change or anything, just stating the obvious, we have one of the best offensive players in the league, the most we use him, the most we're gonna benefit. He's not playing with Trevor Ariza and Morris Peterson anymore, all of his current teammates should be good enough players not to be continously worried about having to get them involved.

My point is that there are pretty much no PGs that have 30% usage and for good reason. Magic's career usage rate was only 22%.

I like how Paul is playing atm. Everything he does is in the flow of the offense. He isn't forcing anything while getting everyone involved(including himself). He is also pushing the ball more. I think what he is doing right now is ideal.

Its different compared to the last two seasons since he isn't playing slow anymore and things are a lot easier for him now that we have great shooters and a coaching staff that knows what they are doing offensively.

Woodsanity wrote:My point is that there are pretty much no PGs that have 30% usage and for good reason. Magic's career usage rate was only 22%.

I like how Paul is playing atm. Everything he does is in the flow of the offense. He isn't forcing anything while getting everyone involved(including himself). He is also pushing the ball more. I think what he is doing right now is ideal.

Its different compared to the last two seasons since he isn't playing slow anymore and things are a lot easier for him now that we have great shooters and a coaching staff that knows what they are doing offensively.

I think if he keeps this up for this run of tough games we will have for the next week he should definitely be a heavy favorite no matter how early it is
Miami,Houston,Brooklyn,Minnesota and OKC
yikes :/

Love the banner ps.

Paul under Doc is MVP worthy for sure.

Our recent struggles on the road showed the obvious: effectively keying in on Chris Paul early and often can hinder the Clippers' offense. Such is life with so much reliance on the Point God. Typically, that wouldn't be much of a concern since it's easier said than done to neutralize the likes of LeBron, Durant, and CP3, but that is exactly what happened when Oladipo, Beverly, and the Heat defense hounded Paul enough to throw off his aggressive approach during the 3-game road trip. Even so, there shouldn't be much need to worry as Chris Paul should be able to make the necessary adjustments, with our without Doc's help.

Kevin Arnovitz, ESPN.com (11/7/13)

Paul’s performance in the early going suggests that the scorer-facilitator debate has always been a false choice. His usage rate so far this season is a career-high 29.2, and his assist rate of 35.8 is just a scant below last season (36.9), but considerably higher than his first season with the Clippers (32.1).

What’s going on? How can Paul up his shot attempts and individual production as a scorer without diminishing his role as the team’s facilitator?

Paul has come to realize the idea that the keeper of the ball, if he can shoot, is often the guy most equipped to get a quality look at the basket. And Paul can shoot. Last season, he drained greater than 48 percent of guarded and unguarded jump shots, which put him in the 92nd percentile in the league. This season, his effective field goal percentage from 10 feet and beyond is 54.5 percent. In his preferred range of 15 to 19 feet, he’s posting a sizzling shooting percentage of 57.9 percent. Paul is one of the relatively few players in the league for whom an open 15-foot jumper with no risk of a turnover is a smart bet.

Chris Paul finally taking his shot

I actually think Paul doesn't deserve to be ranked first at this point in the season for the MVP race given that his play has been relatively disappointing with respect to the high standard of expectations he sets. Obviously, it's still elite as he's apparently ranked second in Player Impact Estimate.

If our regular season record can stay within 5 wins of Miami, and his stats stay around what they are now, I think Chris should be MVP this year. But if OKC get more wins Durant takes the cake.

CP3 has no chance unless the Clippers start doing a lot better. He is playing at an MVP level but the Clippers are just not as good as the Thunder, Spurs, Pacers, or even the Blazers right now. Our wings in particular have been playing really bad and injuries have hurt us badly.

At the moment (in my opinion):

1. George
2. LeBron
3. KD
4. CP3
5. Aldridge
6. Love