2. Chris Paul is more than capable of guiding the Rockets offense when called upon
James Harden might be regarded as the consensus favorite to win the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award, but no one can deny the overall impact that Paul has on the Rockets’ offense. The 32-year-old point guard continues to take advantage of tired starters and reserves on a nightly basis by serving as the primary ball-handler for Houston’s second unit.
He exploits countless mismatches and was able to discover multiple scoring opportunities for his teammates against Minnesota, including himself, within pick-and-roll and isolation sets. The Timberwolves bigs were left to try and defend one of the game’s craftiest players.
Chris Paul gets to his spot for the mid range jumper!#Rockets are on a 12-0 run.
— NBA (@NBA) February 24, 2018
📺: @ESPNNBA pic.twitter.com/peLW4T5lnz
https://twitter.com/LeadingNBA/status/967237282397749248
In the second quarter of the contest, Paul ignited the Rockets on a 9-2 run early in the period, where he was responsible for setting up a 3-point field goal from Gerald Green during the Harden-less stretch. Paul’s presence on the floor has proven to be a huge luxury for head coach Mike D’Antoni, who has been nothing less than impressed by the future Hall-of-Famer this season.
"“I was amazed that people that should be watching our games don’t watch the games and see how important a guy is,” D’Antoni told ESPN’s Tim MacMahon when expressing his displeasure in regards to Paul not being named to the All-Star team late last month. “He’s for all the right things — gave up space and personal accolades to make the team better. He did that and is still having one of his better years. It’s perplexing.”"
While no one should seek to diminish Harden’s on-court value to the Rockets, Paul has played an instrumental role in helping Houston’s offense establish a faster pace of play this season, seeking to constantly push the basketball up the court. He regularly sets up his teammates such as Joe Johnson in the process, as the Rockets finally have the additional playmaker they will need to take the load off of Harden come playoff time.