Chris Paul’s arrival to the Los Angeles Clippers has really changed the course of the franchise. Paul, together with Blake Griffin, have put the Clips in championship course, even if they have failed to play big during the playoffs. Now, the Clips will have to find a way to sustain their competitiveness without CP3 for about six weeks.
The megastar point guard suffered a shoulder injury during the third quarter of a game against the Dallas Mavericks. It was a scary moment but after the evaluation and the MRI Paul had, the news was relatively good. No surgery will be required. Nonetheless, CP3 will remain out of action for an extended time and this leaves the Clips without their best player and floor general. So can they really retain their level of performance without him? How much worse will the team be?
First of all, Paul’s essence to the team goes above and beyond scoring or assisting. Yes, he is the second-leading scorer for LA with 19.6 points per contest and he also dishes out 11.2 assists per game. He is also one of the best in the league in steals. This season he is averaging an amazing 2.44 steals per contest. Nevertheless, he does many more things that don’t show up in the stat sheet.
Paul is a floor general, with the full weight the word “general” has. He sets up the team on the offensive end. He sets up the pace the Clippers will follow. He knows how to best utilize the strengths of each of his teammates. He can find ways for them to score easy baskets. He can reach them in their comfort zones. In addition, thanks to his quickness and his superb body-balance, he always penetrates the opposing defense. He causes many headaches to opposing coaches. Paul is a player who draws much defensive attention and that leaves more room open for almost anyone else on the floor for the Clips.
All those elements of his game, plus many more, will be missed now that he is down. Of course, those six weeks, which translate to about 18 games, are not a disaster. In an 82-game season, there is enough time for the Clippers to make up for the ground they might lose without Paul. Nonetheless, The Clippers already lost one seed in the Western Conference standings from the red hot Golden State Warriors. With their 23-13 record, the eight-seeded Dallas Mavericks lie just three games behind. As a matter of fact, those six weeks might have an impact to the Clips’ ranking at the end of the regular season.
Thankfully, Doc Rivers has a solid backup for CP3. Darren Collison will now take over at the point for the Clippers. Collison knows how to play the starting role. He is very capable and in fact he has lots of similarities with CP3: he is quick, can create his own shot and he is a lethal scorer.
Concluding, we can fairly say that the Clippers will certainly be affected from the absence of Paul. They won’t become a lethargic team, but this absence could cost them double-digit losses and one or two seeds in the rankings at the end of the season.
Ron Leyba is the lead editor of www.fantasybasketballmoneyleagues.com. For more of his write-ups and updates, follow @NBAFantasyInfo on Twitter. Follow our site @lastwordonsport while you are at it.
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