The National Basketball Association announced today that Los Angeles Clippers’ All-Star point guard Chris Paul has been named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team. Paul garnered a total of 37 points (15 first place votes, seven second place votes) to make the first team for the second consecutive year.Paul led the NBA in steals per game (2.41 spg) for the third straight year and the fifth time in the last six seasons. This marks the third time Paul has been named to the All-Defensive First Team (2012 and 2009). Paul was also named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 2011 and 2008. He is the only Clipper in franchise history to be named to the All-Defensive Team.Clippers guard Eric Bledsoe garnered one second place vote. He averaged career-highs of 1.4 steals and 0.7 blocks this season for the team.
Clippers.com
1st Team
G - Chris Paul (37 pts)
G - Tony Allen (53 pts)
F - LeBron James (52 pts)
F- Serge Ibaka (46 pts)
C - Tyson Chandler (24 pts)
C - Joakim Noah (24 pts)
2nd Team
G - Mike Conley (19 pts)
G - Avery Bradley (25 pts)
F - Paul George (27 pts)
F - Tim Duncan (20 pts)
C - Marc Gasol (12 pts)
Steals Only Part of Paul's All-Defensive Honor
Nuggets head coach George Karl earlier in the season proclaimed that Paul was worthy of consideration for Defensive Player of the Year. Karl called Paul “incredible” and suggested that he was as much of a leader on the defensive end of the floor for the Clippers as directing traffic on offense.
Paul has vaulted into the upper echelon of guard defenders because as one Western Conference front office member said, “He has good instincts and quick hands, not just getting steals but deflections. He does a good job of avoiding screens and is just tenacious.”
Paul’s instincts are probably his most prolific attribute. He is meticulous and studious, watching film for countless hours to pick up opponent tendencies and weaknesses. He reads screens and cutters, knows when to dig down on opposing big men to rip the ball free, and baits opposing point guards into bad decisions.
Eric Patten, Clippers.com
