Chris Paul on Magic's Level? (Regular Season)

kooldude · Post #1 » by **kooldude** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 4:52 am

Right now, Paul's PER and Assist rate (with lower TO rate than Magic's best) are already higher than Magic's best PER and Assist rate seasons . Is Chris Paul right now, on Magic's level, judging by the regular season?

Texas Longhorns · Post #2 » by **Texas Longhorns** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 4:55 am

Hell no.

J~Rush · Post #3 » by **J~Rush** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 4:56 am

Texas Longhorns wrote:Hell no.

chrice · Post #4 » by **chrice** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 5:03 am

Texas Longhorns wrote:Hell no.

jzmagik · Post #5 » by **jzmagik** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 5:19 am

He's at Isiah's level right now.

JordansBulls · Post #6 » by **JordansBulls** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 1:07 pm

Paul is closer to Magic than Kobe to MJ.

hermes · Post #7 » by **hermes** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 1:10 pm

no he's not there

magicfan4life05 · Post #8 » by **magicfan4life05** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 3:37 pm

not there yet

JordansBulls wrote:Paul is closer to Magic than Kobe to MJ.

?

did that make you feel better?

Post #9 » by **tsherkin** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 4:07 pm

Chris Paul, close to Magic?

No.

Chris Paul, close to Kevin Johnson?

Hell yes.

Paul is a very good player, an MVP candidate and all that, but he doesn't approach what Magic did on the court. Not in style, not in on-court effect and not yet in terms of performance at the highest of levels.

He needs more time before he can be considered alongside a guy who's top-6.

Post #10 » by **CBS7** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 4:15 pm

As of now, no.

But if continues doing this while having some playoff success and good playoff numbers, he could be up th ere.

Post #11 » by **tsherkin** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 5:10 pm

I think maybe a more appropriate question would be "Is Chris Paul on Isiah Thomas' level?"

And to that, I think the answer might be "yes."

TheKingOfVa360 · Post #12 » by **TheKingOfVa360** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 5:41 pm

Hell no,

He is almost on Kevin Johnson's level.

For the people saying he is on Zeke's level already you forgot that legends are made in the playoffs. Zeke almost went to 3 straight finals in the golden era. Won back to back championships in the golden era of the NBA.

Paul has yet to get to the playoffs and out the first round.

KNICKS1970 · Post #13 » by **KNICKS1970** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 5:49 pm

This season, Chris Paul is playing PG as well as anyone that's ever played in the NBA, including Magic and/or Isiah. There's nothing wrong with saying that.

But no, he's not at Magic or Isiah's level yet. He has to extend his regular season success to the playoffs, and he has to do it consistently or get better throughout his career.

Chris435 · Post #14 » by **Chris435** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 7:25 pm

TheKingOfVa360 wrote:Hell no,

He is almost on Kevin Johnson's level.

For the people saying he is on Zeke's level already you forgot that legends are made in the playoffs. Zeke almost went to 3 straight finals in the golden era. Won back to back championships in the golden era of the NBA.

Paul has yet to get to the playoffs and out the first round.

I don't know much about Kevin Johnson other than game 6 between phx vs bulls in 93.

Chris Paul seems like he's a step ahead of KJ at this point, but I'm just speculating...

Post #15 » by **nate33** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 7:45 pm

I say yes.

Paul is having an historic season. I don't think people are properly recognizing his accomplishments. Let's face it, without Paul, that New Orleans team simply isn't very good. Paul has them vying for the best record in the West when the West is playing its best ball in memory.

Here's how they compare statistically on a pace-adjusted per-40 basis. I'm using Magic's 1986 campaign:

Code: Select all

Player        PTS  REB  AST  STL  BLK   TO eFG%  TS%  PER
johnson,magi 25.8  6.8 13.2  1.9  0.5  4.0 .525 .602 26.8
paul,chris   23.7  4.3 12.3  3.0  0.0  2.8 .534 .582 28.8

Statistically, it's pretty much a wash. Magic has slightly better numbers, but Paul's higher PER is probably an indication that it's simply harder to achieve high numbers in today's NBA. The PER score is saying that Paul is superior to his contemporaries by a greater margin that Magic was superior to his. And I'd argue that Paul is a better defensive player as well. Paul also plays an additional minute per game. Over the course of the regular season, I don't see why it's so blasphemous to say that Paul is comparable to Magic, or even a touch better.

That said, what made Magic great was his postseason performances and his overall clutchness. And also the fact that he did it for so many years. But if Paul can continue to put up these kinds of numbers with this kind of winning percentage, and then keep it up in the playoffs, I don't see any reason why he can't one day be considered the greatest point guard of all time.

Those are big ifs though. All I'm saying is that Paul is on track to rival Magic. He's got to do in the postseason now.

a-rod · Post #16 » by **a-rod** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 8:07 pm

lets be fair magic johnson had a hall fame center next to him, Chris Paul doesn't have that luxury.

Sedale Threatt · Post #17 » by **Sedale Threatt** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 8:29 pm

No doubt Magic was blessed with an outstanding supporting cast, but he was still dominating and producing at a Hall of Fame level well after Kareem had faded and finally retired.

I think Paul is having an absolutely phenomenal season. But this comparison is drastically premature. Echoing what Nate said, Chris has had one, maybe two, Hall-of-Fame seasons. Magic had 12, not to mention all his heroics in the postseason.

He needs to put in a lot more work to be mentioned in the same breath.

writerman · Post #18 » by **writerman** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 8:36 pm

Oh, COME ON for heaven's sake...

:crazy:

jzmagik · Post #19 » by **jzmagik** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 8:38 pm

TheKingOfVa360 wrote:Hell no,

He is almost on Kevin Johnson's level.

For the people saying he is on Zeke's level already you forgot that legends are made in the playoffs. Zeke almost went to 3 straight finals in the golden era. Won back to back championships in the golden era of the NBA.

Paul has yet to get to the playoffs and out the first round.

In terms of accomplishment, ofcourse he's not on Isiah's level, but then there'd be no point in comparing young studs to legends in the first place... But when you look at the impact that CP3 makes on the game, it's hard not to say he's near Isiah.

jzmagik · Post #20 » by **jzmagik** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 8:39 pm

oops double post