Los Angeles Clippers: Quarter Season Report Card

Chris Paul

Grade: C+

16.8 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 8.1 APG, 1.8 SPG. 45.4 FG%. 34.6 3P%.
PER: 22.4

At age 30, the Point God is starting to show signs that his best days might be behind him.

He’s missed five games this season due to nagging injuries to his groin and ribs. The injuries aren’t much of a threat to Paul’s status for the rest of the season, but nonetheless it’s not good when minor injuries continue to rack up.

Paul’s points, rebounds, assists, steals, field goal percentage, and three-point percentage are all less than his career averages and are more comparable to Paul’s first and second seasons than his last eight, all of which have results in All-Star selections.

However, it would be foolish to dismiss him as someone who is past his prime.

Paul has a history of playing himself into shape and getting better as the season progresses (check last year’s month-by-month breakdown or his pre/post All-Star game splits here.) Even with that in mind, Paul’s numbers and effectiveness have been down.

There’s little doubt that Paul can break out on any given night, but he’s been saving himself for the big games as evidenced by his 29.5 points and 8.5 assists per game in the two games against Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors.

It’s more than likely that Paul improves his play as the season progresses, but we’re judging him based on what he’s done so far this season. So far, he’s playing below the level he’s played at over the past few seasons and the injuries are certainly not a good thing.

Next: DeAndre Jordan