Analysis of Chris Paul’s Game
Since he made his first appearance in the NBA, Chris Paul continues to prove that he is one of the best point guards. This is particularly noticeable in the defense. However, he carries a heavy weight on his shoulders for not leading his team to the NBA Conference Finals. In this article, we’ve prepared an analysis of Chris Paul’s game.
Chris Paul’s game
Excellent passer
Chris Paul’s game has one main setback, his height. His height is inferior compared to the average NBA players. He compensates for this with his incredible passes. These passes allow him to compete against players who are a couple of inches taller than him.
This athletic skill, so characteristic of him, never diminishes his main offensive virtues: speed and power.
These physical qualities, on top of his intelligence on the court, make the Houston player unique. Particularly in terms of how he handles and controls the game. He is -most of the time- able to make the right decisions.
Moreover, we cannot talk about Chris Paul’s attack without mentioning his biggest virtue, his incredible ball handling.
His amazing handling skill is a perfect match with his attack speed, a combination that makes it easy for him to overcome his rivals with his incredible dribble.
Another point that stands out about Chris Paul’s game, is that he is not a selfish player. This is clear even when he’s in an advantage point, in transition or has left his rivals behind.
This might be considered a flaw since he tends to -and perhaps too frequently- choose a pass before a dribble-penetration strategy. For that reason, he’s not a particularly outstanding player in terms of scoring statistics.
Considering his lack of selfishness, and against the opinion of many, we consider Chris Paul to be a great shooting guard who has an endless variety of offensive resources. He possesses an enviable skill when the defense is weakening.
The statistics of Chris Paul’s game
These offensive virtues that we’ve mentioned, turn Chris Paul into a hard-to-stop player, able to make his rival commit a number of faults per game.
A player of this quality must know how to take advantage of that strategy, and Chris Paul is no exception. His free-throws average is above 85 percent in the last seasons, a percentage that we must take into consideration.
As we have mentioned, Chris Paul is not a player that stands out on the offense, especially in terms of scoring. We don’t often see Houston’s base within the three-point line, but when he does…the other team should prepare their baseline throw-in. He knows how to maintain his dribble while avoiding his rival’s attempts at stealing the ball.
He’s a believer of the phrase “an assist makes two players happy”. Therefore, he doesn’t usually make many shots beyond the three-point line (barely 3.5 attempts every 36 minutes). But when he does, he’s highly effective, with a success average above 35 percent.
Chris Paul has one of the best attributes a player in his position can have: he makes his teammates better.
The pick-and-roll is one of his best moves, together with his speed and quality in transitions.
However, we can fault him with taking too many seconds of possession to organize his teammates, especially in the final stages of the game. It’s possible that this is the reason why he hasn’t been able to achieve milestones in his career.
Chris Paul in the defense
Chris Paul stands out in the attack thanks to his skill at assisting, along with his teammates. He also does this without forgetting the importance of working on the defense. He’s one of the best players in the league in this aspect.
His speed, strength and good defense strategies make him a player hard to outrival, being especially effective in his task of standing between his mark and the basket.
We will often see Chris Paul on the list of players with the highest number of steals during the season. This, thanks to his defense moves and fast hands, which add to his dribble, make him an indispensable wing player.
However, perfection doesn’t exist, and Chris Paul’s defense is no exception. Once again, his Achilles heel -his height- plays against him. Despite having worked so hard on his physique, he’s only able to play defense against his rival base player.
What’s next for him?
After everything we’ve told you so far about this player, it seems unnecessary to clarify that we are talking about one of the best players in the league.
He has proven to be a leader and a team player. However, to achieve recognition as one of the best players in history, he needs to prove that he can lead his team to a championship triumph.
Without a doubt, this would award him with individual titles. Will he achieve it with the Houston Rockets? Only time will tell.