Los Angeles Clippers: Chris Paul Needs To Shoot More

Chris Paul has earned his reputation as one of the best pure point guards in league history. But the Los Angeles Clippers’ playoff hopes may depend on Paul’s willingness to create for himself as well as others.

The Los Angeles Clippers have secured a sixth consecutive playoff berth. That run of success comes after having made the postseason just seven times in their first 40 seasons. That run of success is also directly tied to the arrival of Chris Paul.

Paul arrived in Los Angeles in 2011-12, and immediately changed the fortunes of a previously moribund franchise. While the Clippers have yet to make it to the Western Conference Finals, they nonetheless have enjoyed previously unprecedented success during the Chris Paul era.

Paul has led the league in assists twice during his time with the Clippers. While he will not lead the league in assists again this year, he is seen as a passing savant first and a scorer second. However, the Clippers have actually been more effective this season when Paul looks to score first.

For the team to advance beyond the first round of the playoffs, Paul may have to ignore his instincts and look to shoot more often than usual.

A Passing Wizard …

The Clippers currently have a record of 48-31. Chris Paul has had a measurable impact on that record, as they are 40-18 in games with Paul in the lineup and 8-13 with Paul out.

While it seems asinine to say that having an All-NBA caliber guard on both ends of the floor can help you win games, the sheer magnitude of Paul’s impact is still staggering.

Chris Paul is one of the best pure passers in the league, as he has been for many years. His assist/turnover of 3.73 is second in the league, behind Andre Iguodala. Paul’s ability to create plays for others without giving the ball away is unmatched.

The Clippers are a fantastic team when Paul runs the show. In his 26 games with 10 or more assists, the Clippers are 19-7. However, Paul will occasionally favor making the right pass just a bit too much:

While J.J. Redick does end up getting a good mid-range shot from this play, notice how Paul does not even pretend to look to score on this play. He simply camps out beyond the arc and waits for Redick to break free.

Paul finished this game against the Detroit Pistons with 14 assists but just eight points. The Clippers lost the game by 11 points.

… But A More Effective Scoring Savant

Los Angeles Clippers

Chris Paul is a remarkable passer but is also incredibly effective at creating his own shots. His True Shooting Percentage of 61.3 percent this season is his career high and is currently the 15th-best mark in the league, per Basketball-Reference.

The Clippers are great in games when Paul dishes out 10 or more assists. However, they are even better when Paul looks to score. Los Angeles is 16-4 in games when Paul scores 20 or more points.

Furthermore, they are 7-1 in games when Paul scores 20 or more and hands out 10 or more assists. Thus, they are 9-3 in games where Paul prioritizes scoring over passing, but only 12-6 when he does the reverse.

Paul is one of the league’s best mid-range scorers. Thus, he can score effectively on the kinds of looks that defenses are designed to allow.

As opponents try to keep J.J. Redick from getting open behind the arc and try to prevent

DeAndre Jordan

and

Blake Griffin

from getting to the basket, Paul can take advantage of the space created by his teammates rather than the other way around:

Richaun Holmes makes the right decision by hanging back in the paint to prevent DeAndre Jordan from getting an easy lob. However, that leaves T.J. McConnell in a nearly impossible position when trying to keep up with Paul. The defense expects Lob City and tries desperately to prevent it.

While they succeed in avoiding the highlight reel, they nonetheless give up an easy two points.

Playoff Picture

The Clippers are all but locked into a playoff matchup with the Utah Jazz. Although the two are still engaged in a battle for home-court advantage, the matchup heavily favors Los Angeles. The Clippers have won 18 of their last 20 games against the Jazz.

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Their only loss to Utah this season came in a game where Utah shot 14-of-21 from behind the arc–and still only won by six points.

The big question for the Clippers will be whether or not they can overcome the Golden State Warriors in the presumptive second-round matchup. Los Angeles has lost all four of their games against the Warriors this season.

However, Chris Paul only played in one of those games and scored only 15 points.

Although Stephen Curry is an underrated defender, he is far less effective on that end than Kevin Durant and Draymond Green, who will probably be the primary defenders on Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan.

Chris Paul is almost an anachronism as a pass-first point guard in an era of score-first lead guards. However, Paul is still one of the league’s most effective scoring point guards.

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If the Clippers hope to knock off the defending Western Conference champions, they will need Paul to look to score more than he ever has before.