Los Angeles Clippers: The Bittersweetness of Chris Paul

Paul can take over games almost on command, but his reluctance to do so is somewhat troublesome. The point guard is incredibly unselfish—too unselfish. He dribbles for far too long, creating an unnecessary sense of urgency deep within the shot clock, thereby, making him and his team vulnerable to turnovers.

The Clippers’ superstar is averaging 20.7 points, 7.7 assists and 2.8 steals per game during the postseason, but his production is marred somewhat by his turnovers—3.3 per contest—and incessant ball-handling.

Paul is the best point guard in the league—true story—but he has the potential to become even better. He has to take on a more self-centered role on offense. And while that sounds shallow and abrupt, Los Angeles is at its best when he is in complete control.

There’s no need for Paul to stifle his, and his team’s, creativity through the overuse of dribbling. He is one of the best playmakers in the game, but he often takes too long to develop those plays or won’t accept that they’re not there.

We know Paul can make decisions in the blink of an eye, we’ve seen him do it before. But through the first round, he hasn’t, at least not consistently. And it shows.

Paul is averaging nearly 40 minutes per night thus far, meaning he’s in control of Los Angeles’ offense for almost the entire game. Well, over the course of the Clippers’ seven game series, they got off 438 field-goal attempts to the Grizzlies’ 534. That’s nearly 100 less shots, so just think of how many points were potentially left on the board.

In the end, Los Angeles passed through Memphis, but shooting a slightly better field-goal percentage while taking 100 less shots isn’t going to fly against the incredibly efficient Spurs.

And let’s not make unfounded accusations, because it’s hardly all Paul’s fault. That said, he is one of the primary culprits as it’s his job to create and maintain a flow within the offense.

Fortunately for Paul, though, he’s so great at what he does, that we hardly notice. He carried the Clippers for the better part of the first round, leading them to victory despite an overwhelming deficit in the field-goal attempt department.

But again, how much longer will that work? How much longer can Paul get by being too unselfish?

Not much longer, that’s for sure.

His intentions are clear, they’re genuine and also clever, but the execution needs improvement. He’s the Clippers’ most important player, yet has failed to grasp the urgency that must be associated with every possession during the playoffs.

And that’s bittersweetness of Chris Paul, as the understanding that he can take over a game and lead his team to victory is tainted by the fact that he’s his own kryptonite.