Clippers: Can Chris Paul Exorcise Postseason Demons?

Who is the best player to never win a championship? Generally speaking, the answers fall along the lines of Charles Barkley, Elgin Baylor, Allen Iverson, Karl Malone and Jerry West, with a number of other incredible names thrown into the mix.

At 29 years old, Los Angeles Clippers superstar and six-time All-NBA honoree Chris Paul is in danger of joining that list. His career is far from over, but CP3’s shortcomings in the NBA Playoffs are well-documented and something of a red flag on his resume.

The question is, can Paul and the Clippers exorcise their postseason demons in 2015?

So far, so good.

Paul erupted for 32 points in the Clippers’ Game 1 victory over the San Antonio Spurs. It was a surprisingly poised 107-92 defeat of the defending NBA and two-time defending Western Conference Champions.

The jury is still out, and those who have ruled are non-believers, but this Clippers team seems different. That starts with Paul.

For Paul and his critics, winning Game 1 isn’t enough; perhaps rightfully so. Despite playing genuinely dominant basketball, his performance wasn’t met with an, “I’ll never forget that,” mentality; it’s met with a, “So what? Keep winning,” thought process.

According to Arash Markazi of ESPN Los Angeles, CP3 feels the same way.

"“I just need to win a championship,” he said earlier this season. “You can have whatever else. I don’t care. You can have the assists and steals titles, you can have all that. I just need to win a championship.”"

The general public agrees, no matter how relevant they may be once the games begin.

For Paul, blocking out the criticism isn’t much of an issue; it’s only the media who make him think about it. That includes battling questions about the media and fan-created version of Paul’s legacy.

So what does championship or bust mean for Paul? It means playing the same way he has all season.

"“Only when y’all are asking questions like that,” Paul said Sunday night. “When they throw the ball up, I’m trying to figure out what play we’re going to run, if I’m going to attack, if I’m going to pass. … We’re playing basketball, man, trying to win as many games as possible.”“It’s not a secret,” Paul said. “I’m funny, man. I’m one of those people, I don’t need anything to drive me. I’m going to play regardless. Win it, lose it, say I’m the best, say I’m the worst, I’m going to play.”"

That’s how it should be.

Paul is coming off of a season in which he played all 82 games for the first time in his career. He helped the Clippers overcome Blake Griffin‘s 15-game injury absence, Jamal Crawford‘s decline in efficiency and the second unit’s generally underwhelming play.

Paul also became the eighth player in NBA history to lead the league in assists on four separate occasions.

The other players on that list are Bob Cousy, Magic Johnson, Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, Kevin Porter, Oscar Robertson and John Stockton. That’s incredible company.

It’s also an extra mountain of pressure to climb and overcome.

Chris Paul is ready to put it all on the line for the Los Angeles Clippers and their championship aspirations. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports /

Every one of those players helped or led their team to the Conference Finals—a stage Paul has never reached. It’s also worth noting that, of the eight players to lead the league in assists four or more times, four won titles: Cousy, Johnson, Kidd and Robertson.

Nash, Porter, Stockton and, currently, Paul are the four distinguished facilitators who never won championships.

As is the case for any player with as much talent and as limited team success to show for it as Paul, many have asked a polarizing question: why does he continue to come up short? Some chalk it up to his being overrated—a strange belief given his accolades—while others have questioned his heart.

One of Paul’s teammates, J.J. Redick, made it clear that effort and passion are not issues for the Clippers’ leader and floor general, per Markazi.

"“If Chris sleeps eight hours a day, he probably thinks about basketball 14 hours a day,” J.J. Redick said. “He probably thinks about his family the other two hours. He’s always thinking about basketball. It’s what drives him. There are certain guys, regardless of what they accomplish or how much money they get paid or what endorsements they get, they’re wired to be great and they don’t let that stop them from working and getting better. Chris is one of those guys.”"

The question is, how much does that help Paul’s legacy? The bigger question is, why are we even talking about it?

Doc Rivers posed that very question with a harsh reminder: Paul is just about to turn 30.

"“He has a great legacy, but he’s still playing,” Rivers said. “He’s 30 years old. What I don’t understand is why anybody’s talking about anybody’s legacy when they’re 30. I’ve never figured that one out. Legacies, you talk about them after everything’s done. You can’t worry about in the middle of it what you have to do to make a better legacy. It’s silly talk to me.”"

Good question.

Turning 30 years old is often labeled as the sign of the end of an era. More accurately, it’s a time in which superstars tend to evolve from the statistically prolific superstars in every commercial on the planet to championship-hungry legends in the making.

Therein lies the crossroads. Set to turn 30 years old on May 6, the player who’s been endearingly labeled as the, “Point God,” is in the grueling and unforgiving process of defining his legacy.

The world wants to know if he’ll rise up to the occasion.

As Paul ages and the pressure mounts, perspective appears to have been gained. He played in all 82 games during the regular season, made the big plays when they counted in Game 1 and is hungrier than ever before as he begins to face his own basketball mortality.

The question is, will Paul’s aggressiveness as a scorer and general sense of urgency push the Clippers to new heights in 2014-15? Or will it be yet another chapter in the underwhelming story that’s evolved from Lob City to hype haven?

If Game 1 is any indication, Paul isn’t going to accept defeat.

Next: Which rising stars should you keep an eye on in the 2015 NBA Playoffs?

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