[Shams] Chris Paul reunites with Clippers

[bonita_the_frog]

KD's Rockets and CP3's Clippers will be the 2 most entertaining teams of the 21st Century I predict fascinatingly alluring excitement machines

[Sofia]

The 07-08 Celtics were a veteran squad and went to 7 games vs the Hawks in round 1, 7 vs Cleveland including a 24 point loss (slower pace times, so equivalent to 30+ now), they had KG injured in 08-09 for the playoffs, but were in the finals again in 09-10.

Projecting from that kind of stuff is just useless, it means nothing for the future performance against different teams in different circumstances. They aren't going to stay stagnant and learn absolutely nothing as a young team from that run.

It's really amazing when a fan tries to paint a narrative about a certain team not being great because they lost ONE freaking road game by 42 points right after demolishing that opposing team the first 2 games.
The 2000 Lakers also had to beat the Kings in the final game of the series to advance to the first round. Also got clobbered by Suns in game 3.
The same team also needed 7 games to eliminate the Blazers in WCF. Does that mean they were not that good?
Yes, OKC needed 7 games to beat Denver but that was due mainly of their huge struggles from the 3pt area and the heroics of arguably the most dominant Center the past 30 years.

If Realgm has taught me anything, it’s that every championship team deserves to have an asterisk.

No, it’s only the teams I don’t like that get asterisks

[Jordan45822]

Nice to see him retire with the Clippers.

[Edrees]

There's insane pressure for this team to win it all next season, if they don't it'll affect how remember so many of these guys that helped define a generation. They have all the pieces, it's go big or go home time.

Pressure? They are probably a top 5 team but nobody will pick them to win it all. And they are the oldest team in the league now and injury prone. It’s realistically as low pressure as it gets for how loaded up they are.

This is the deepest team in the league with multiple all-time greats on the roster. Leonard/Harden/CP3, and then an insane compliment of guys around them. Their bench unit is filled with starter quality guys. They should be expected to win it all, or lose a close series to the Thunder. There's no team outside the Thunder that should pose a thread.

OKC thunder are deepest team in the league

[bonita_the_frog]

Pressure? They are probably a top 5 team but nobody will pick them to win it all. And they are the oldest team in the league now and injury prone. It’s realistically as low pressure as it gets for how loaded up they are.

This is the deepest team in the league with multiple all-time greats on the roster. Leonard/Harden/CP3, and then an insane compliment of guys around them. Their bench unit is filled with starter quality guys. They should be expected to win it all, or lose a close series to the Thunder. There's no team outside the Thunder that should pose a thread.

OKC thunder are deepest team in the league

OKC should replace their depth with somebody able to playmake and shoot when it matters most... as they only shot .438 field and .345treys in the NBA Finals!
I bet the Clippers would shoot way better than that in the NBA Finals, especially with all-time great play-making AND shooting and interior scoring too!
Clippers are heavenly bodies and can't wait to see what they have in store for us, even though i think Houston will win it all, Clippers are next best.
And Clippers are so deep they'll be able to keep Chris Paul nice and healthy not that that's hard i guess... because Chris Paul played all 82 games last season

[HMFFL]

This is the deepest team in the league with multiple all-time greats on the roster. Leonard/Harden/CP3, and then an insane compliment of guys around them. Their bench unit is filled with starter quality guys. They should be expected to win it all, or lose a close series to the Thunder. There's no team outside the Thunder that should pose a thread.

OKC thunder are deepest team in the league

OKC should replace their depth with somebody able to playmake and shoot when it matters most... as they only shot .438 field and .345treys in the NBA Finals!
I bet the Clippers would shoot way better than that in the NBA Finals, especially with all-time great play-making AND shooting and interior scoring too!
Clippers are heavenly bodies and can't wait to see what they have in store for us, even though i think Houston will win it all, Clippers are next best.
And Clippers are so deep they'll be able to keep Chris Paul nice and healthy not that that's hard i guess... because Chris Paul played all 82 games last season

OKC seems content with SGA being their playmaker. I wonder why?

Both the Clippers and OKC probably ranked in the top 5 in field goal % as a team last season. How far did that get the Clippers?

Yes, Chris Paul played in 82 games in his casual, we don't care if we win role, but he didn't play in 60 games in each of the two seasons before joining the Spurs. CP3 is 40 years and I doubt he does much against OKC.

In 28 minutes, CP3 6pts and 6ast against SGA in their last meeting.

James Harden managed to become a 40% shooter from the field during the final weeks of the season.

Should we discuss defense?

[HMFFL]

I hope this team stays healthy because I can actually see them creating some problems in the playoffs. Even with all of these grandpas, this team is still loaded with talent.

Indeed.
Like you, I look forward to watching them, and CP3 enjoying himself.

[bonita_the_frog]

OKC seems content with SGA being their playmaker. I wonder why?

Both the Clippers and OKC probably ranked in the top 5 in field goal % as a team last season. How far did that get the Clippers?

Yes, Chris Paul played in 82 games in his casual, we don't care if we win role, but he didn't play in 60 games in each of the two seasons before joining the Spurs. CP3 is 40 years and I doubt he does much against OKC.

In 28 minutes, CP3 6pts and 6ast against SGA in their last meeting.

James Harden managed to become a 40% shooter from the field during the final weeks of the season.

Should we discuss defense?

Well SGA had 8 turnovers in Game 6, and seemed to only win Game 7 (with 8-27 shooting) because Haliburton didn't play much. So OKC need a lot of help in the playmaking department on the biggest stage.

Chris Paul's IQ is off the charts so he'll make the Clippers a lot better whether he scores or not... and his 6 assists in his 28 minutes vs OKC is great considering his Spurs teammates aren't great shooters, not that they cared about winning.... his scoring is hard to assess because he would have felt guilty if he scored for the Spurs because he's supposed to be helping their young guns develop, not take shots away from them.

And Chris Paul will usually not be scoring for the Clippers either, because they have scorers already, but he should get plenty of assists. Even with Harden there taking the ball a lot, it will be easy for Chris Paul to get assists with the quality shooters around him plus those shooters will be better than ever now because Chris Paul will find them better shots.

And Harden should not shoot 40% now that Chris Paul is here. And it will be easier for Harden now than it was in Houston (when Harden averaged 36.1ppg in 2018-19 on 44% shooting when Chris Paul was there), because Houston was too much iso-ball whereas Clippers will use Chris Paul's playmaking more to set-up Harden and everyone else.

And actually Harden shot .513 in April last season (and 25.9ppg) and .436 in March (and 25.3ppg), and also .436 in the playoffs.
As for Clippers defense, Indiana are not a great defensive team and they almost beat OKC in 7 games... and so did Denver.
And Clippers only conceded 108.2ppg last season, very close to OKC's West-leading 107.6ppg defense!
So even if Chris Paul isn't great defensively, Clippers won't be as bad as Indiana or Denver defensively.

[Scalabrine]

Zubac/Lopez
Jones/Collins/Batum
Kawhi/Bogdanovic
Beal/Dunn
Harden/Paul

This team is honestly fun as hell. They have so many different dimensions and can match up with pretty much everyone. They can go small, they can go fast, they can play 5 out, they can play big, they have 4 or 5 guys that can all get 20+ any night. They have fantastic coaching. They have great defenders. They have veterans who are hungry and they are deep enough to survive some load management throughout the year. If these guys can get to the playoffs with the main guys healthy, I honestly think they can beat anayone. I know that sounds crazy, but I actually believe it.

And also might be one of the most injury prone teams of all time. I probably have a better chance of winning the lottery than these guys do being all healthy going into playoffs.

Only time will tell.

[Onlytimewilltel]

Zubac/Lopez
Jones/Collins/Batum
Kawhi/Bogdanovic
Beal/Dunn
Harden/Paul

This team is honestly fun as hell. They have so many different dimensions and can match up with pretty much everyone. They can go small, they can go fast, they can play 5 out, they can play big, they have 4 or 5 guys that can all get 20+ any night. They have fantastic coaching. They have great defenders. They have veterans who are hungry and they are deep enough to survive some load management throughout the year. If these guys can get to the playoffs with the main guys healthy, I honestly think they can beat anayone. I know that sounds crazy, but I actually believe it.

And also might be one of the most injury prone teams of all time. I probably have a better chance of winning the lottery than these guys do being all healthy going into playoffs.

Only time will tell.

Exactly!

[xdrta+]

2025-26 LA Clippers = the OLDEST team in NBA History

Tom Haberstroh and Dan Devine crunched the numbers after the CP3 news became official: the 2025-26 LA Clippers are now, officially, the oldest team in NBA history. With an average age of 33.2 years old (!), the Clippers have surpassed the previous record held by the Stockton-and-Malone Utah Jazz.

[HMFFL]

OKC seems content with SGA being their playmaker. I wonder why?

Both the Clippers and OKC probably ranked in the top 5 in field goal % as a team last season. How far did that get the Clippers?

Yes, Chris Paul played in 82 games in his casual, we don't care if we win role, but he didn't play in 60 games in each of the two seasons before joining the Spurs. CP3 is 40 years and I doubt he does much against OKC.

In 28 minutes, CP3 6pts and 6ast against SGA in their last meeting.

James Harden managed to become a 40% shooter from the field during the final weeks of the season.

Should we discuss defense?

Well SGA had 8 turnovers in Game 6, and seemed to only win Game 7 (with 8-27 shooting) because Haliburton didn't play much. So OKC need a lot of help in the playmaking department on the biggest stage.

Chris Paul's IQ is off the charts so he'll make the Clippers a lot better whether he scores or not... and his 6 assists in his 28 minutes vs OKC is great considering his Spurs teammates aren't great shooters, not that they cared about winning.... his scoring is hard to assess because he would have felt guilty if he scored for the Spurs because he's supposed to be helping their young guns develop, not take shots away from them.

And Chris Paul will usually not be scoring for the Clippers either, because they have scorers already, but he should get plenty of assists. Even with Harden there taking the ball a lot, it will be easy for Chris Paul to get assists with the quality shooters around him plus those shooters will be better than ever now because Chris Paul will find them better shots.

And Harden should not shoot 40% now that Chris Paul is here. And it will be easier for Harden now than it was in Houston (when Harden averaged 36.1ppg in 2018-19 on 44% shooting when Chris Paul was there), because Houston was too much iso-ball whereas Clippers will use Chris Paul's playmaking more to set-up Harden and everyone else.

And actually Harden shot .513 in April last season (and 25.9ppg) and .436 in March (and 25.3ppg), and also .436 in the playoffs.
As for Clippers defense, Indiana are not a great defensive team and they almost beat OKC in 7 games... and so did Denver.
And Clippers only conceded 108.2ppg last season, very close to OKC's West-leading 107.6ppg defense!
So even if Chris Paul isn't great defensively, Clippers won't be as bad as Indiana or Denver defensively.

So, with Chris Paul, maybe Harden can shoot in the mid 40's. We'll see how many minutes Chris Paul plays. I assume CP's shooting attempts will be minimal, but he should have open looks from deep. I hope you're right.

I think John Collins is exactly what the Clippers need and he will benefit greatly. Playing with Kawhi, Harden, CP3, and Coach Lue will make him become a better player.

I am looking forward to watching ths older Clippers team.

[bonita_the_frog]

So, with Chris Paul, maybe Harden can shoot in the mid 40's. We'll see how many minutes Chris Paul plays. I assume CP's shooting attempts will be minimal, but he should have open looks from deep. I hope you're right.

I think John Collins is exactly what the Clippers need and he will benefit greatly. Playing with Kawhi, Harden, CP3, and Coach Lue will make him become a better player.

I am looking forward to watching ths older Clippers team.

I agree i think the 2025-26 Clippers AND Rockets will be the most exciting season of my life, because of KD and Amen Thompson being the most exciting duo in the NBA, and the Clippers having all those stars together... and because the Clippers have such insane depth (not just depth but STAR depth) they will finally go deep in the playoffs (as long as they don't have to meet Houston until Conference Finals) because even if they're injured they'll have enough big names to beat almost everyone i think and in fact i thought Houston were a lock to win the Championship next season, until Chris Paul joined the Clippers. Now its harder to predict

[jezzerinho]

Sheesh, might as well rename Intuit Dome to the geriatric center for this season.

LA Cripples

[PeteyPablo]

Go watch the last game of the season of LAC vs OKC.

It was in Los Angeles. Thunder play a bit of a dirty game with a ton of grabbing , pulling , hacking and in SGA’s case - a ton of whining.


The refs let them get away with a lot of fouling. I agree with the refs leaning in favor of the more aggressive team but this game was disgusting with the level of fouling OKC was getting away with.

Clippers lost by 2 .

[HMFFL]

Go watch the last game of the season of LAC vs OKC.

It was in Los Angeles. Thunder play a bit of a dirty game with a ton of grabbing , pulling , hacking and in SGA’s case - a ton of whining.


The refs let them get away with a lot of fouling. I agree with the refs leaning in favor of the more aggressive team but this game was disgusting with the level of fouling OKC was getting away with.

Clippers lost by 2 .

The Clippers' struggle with OKC are deeper than one game. 

The Clippers have lost 5 straight vs OKC. 

2-9 vs OKC in their last 11 meetings.

[flow]

Nice to see him retire with the Clippers.

Shouldn't he retire with New Orleans? He was drafted there, his best years were there, and he wasn't a disappointment/choke there.

[Scalabrine]

And also might be one of the most injury prone teams of all time. I probably have a better chance of winning the lottery than these guys do being all healthy going into playoffs.

Only time will tell.

Exactly!

Jokes aside, I do think that this is one of the deepest teams in the league. They are a legit 11 deep and the players they have are versatile.

Obviously, they need Kawhi, Harden and Zu healthy, but even if two-ish of the rest of the supporting core isnt active in the playoffs, I still think this team has some optionality. This is a good team. They were a good team last year and they improved pretty significantly. They can match up with anyone. They have defense and offense.

Its not a team you usually hammer down on, but I think theyre the 3rd best team in the West, and thats considering injuries and expected games played,

[OkcSinceSGA]

Read on Twitter

CP3 getting emotional from Clippers fans chanting at his presser.

Really cool. Made me choke up. Chris Paul returning and ending his career on good terms with the Clips (along with Dame and hopefully Westbrook goes to OKC) is bigger than basketball.

[Sofia]

Sheesh, might as well rename Intuit Dome to the geriatric center for this season.

LA Cripples

Crips for short