There was no question who was getting the ball for the final possession, and Chris Paul showed us why he is the point god.

The win gave the Clippers a 2-0 series lead as the series heads to Memphis. Game 3 will be Thursday night at 9:30 ET on TNT.

But last night, Paul and Griffin raised the bar with a 75-foot alley-oop. Late in the second quarter, after a missed Byron Mullens three (shocking, I know), the ball was batted around until finally Paul came up with it. At this point, Griffin was already streaking down court. Paul looked up and threw an inch-perfect lob from the Clippers’ three-point line that Griffin finished with ease.

Griffin finished with 24 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists, while Paul added 13 assists as the Clippers easily took care of business with a 106-84 victory over the lowly Bobcats.

Oct 22, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) dribbles the ball against the Golden State Warriors at the Staples Center. The Clippers defeated the Warriors 88-71. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

Chris Paul
Resume: 19.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 9.1 assists (3rd in league), 2.5 steals (1st in league), 36.4 minutes, 48% FG, 86% FT, and 37% 3PT… Team record in games played: 37-23 (3-3 without)… Playoffs: 17.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 7.9 assists, 43% FG, 4-7 record… All-Star, 3rd in MVP Voting, 1st Team All-Defense, 1st Team All-NBA

Rajon Rondo
Resume: 11.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 11.7 assists (1st in league, career best), 1.8 steals, 36.9 minutes (10th in league), 6 triple-doubles (1st in league), 45% FG, and 60% FT… Team record in games played: 31-22 (8-5 without)… Playoffs: 17.3 points (career best), 6.7 rebounds, 11.9 assists (career best), 2.4 steals, 42.6 minutes, 47% FG, 70% FT (career best), 10-9 record (1-0 without)… All-Star, 8th in MVP Voting, 2nd Team All-Defense, 3rd Team All-NBA

The hottest debate that my basketball fan friends and I engaged in during this process was “who is the undisputed champion amongst point guards in the NBA?” Really, it came down to two players: Chris Paul and Rajon Rondo. Needless to say, I was relatively shocked when Rajon Rondo entered ESPN’s NBA Rankings at #12. To me, the choice between Rondo and Chris Paul was too close to call and that was the sentiment amongst most of my friends and family too. So before I even made a decision, I had to sort it out in a similar fashion to Bill Simmons’ Dr. Jack Breakdown. Let’s do it!

Scoring Ability
We haven’t seen an entire season of Rajon Rondo as the featured scorer for Boston, however we’ve seen him shoulder that burden on plenty of occasions. Those performances usually come in the biggest moments, particularly the playoffs where Rondo’s scoring average has increased every postseason except Boston’s 2008 Championship season. Despite the fact that defenders routinely play about 5 feet off of Rondo, he still finds a way to get into the paint and finish in a variety of creative ways around the hoop. Don’t be surprised to see Rondo take on a bigger role as a scorer in 2012-13, maybe one similar to his counterpart.

Paul on the other hand is more of a natural scorer than Rondo. In his ridiculously impressive 2008-09 season, he was not only first in the league in assists and steals, but also 7^th in points per game. Paul has totally mastered the art of facilitating the action early on, and being able to close out the game as a scorer late. It’s routine at this point. Over the last few years as you watch Chris Paul you just know it’s coming. It’s like when you are watching a scary movie and the creepy music starts to play in the background, someone is about to die. When there is six minutes left in a close game Chris Paul is going to start scoring, and scoring, and scoring, and scoring.
Edge- Chris Paul

Passing
It’s hard to criticize either of the two in this category. Paul and Rondo have combined to win 3 assist titles and are both legitimately fun to watch orchestrate an offense. Since they are both so entertaining I took to YouTube to decide the winner of this critical category. Rondo’s passing mix is a joy to watch as a former point guard, but unfortunately there aren’t any good Chris Paul passing highlight mixes on YouTube. So who wins the Rajon Rondo vs. Chris Paul passing matchup? Well, I was leaning towards Rondo to begin with. I’ve gone on record saying that I believe Chris Paul plays the point guard position better than anyone else, but Rondo seems to see passing angles that other guys just can’t, even Paul.
Slight Edge- Rajon Rondo

Defensive Prowess
This is a great debate to have since in their own ways, both Paul and Rondo are elite perimeter defenders. Paul is a more typical man to man defender. He’s going to be in front of you and in your grill all game, and if you put the ball in front of him he’s going to take it from you. Plain and simple. Rondo is more of a roamer. His help defense and ability to play the passing lanes is a big reason why he is the only player not named Chris Paul to lead the league in steals per game in the last five seasons. Who has more value as a defender? Paul has been the best defensive point guard in the league basically since he got drafted in 2005. Rondo isn’t out of Paul’s league though.
Slight Edge- Chris Paul

Calling Card
Picking between the trademark moves of Rondo and Paul is like picking between 1995 Academy Award Best Picture nominees The Shawshank Redemption and Forrest Gump. You really can’t go wrong with either one. It just depends on the mood you are in, but it’s hard not to love both of them. Paul runs the high screen and roll better than just about everyone in the league. And if the defenders switch and their big guy is left out on an island guarding Chris Paul, Paul will make him look like a complete fool. That is a sure thing. Rondo uses pass fakes better than just about anyone in the league, most famously the behind the back fake that has never failed to work. He uses these fakes to not only get himself shots, but also to create space and get teammates open looks. Plus it looks as cool as Miles Davis.
Slight Edge- Rajon Rondo

Potential
There really isn’t much more that Chris Paul can improve on. He’s basically a finished product and a damn good one. But what happens when Rajon Rondo develops a consistent jump shot? Holy crap, look out.
Edge- Rajon Rondo

Teammate Help
Or lack thereof. The question here is who has done more with less? Rondo has shouldered the burden with banged up Celtics teams the last few postseasons. As the Celtics Big Three was running on fumes in the postseason this year, Rondo averaged 20.9 points, 11.3 assists and 6.9 rebounds in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Heat, proving he is perfectly capable of taking on an expanded role. Still, Rondo was playing with three future Hall of Famers. Chris Paul turned a relatively mediocre Hornets team into a 56 win two seed in an incredibly deep Western Conference in 2008.
Edge- Chris Paul

Reputation
Neither of the two has what you’d call a squeaky clean image. Rajon Rondo is known for being moody, stubborn, and sometimes hard to deal with. He was a frequently mentioned trade chip for the Celtics, and was even discussed in a deal for Chris Paul, who at the time was basically forcing his way out of New Orleans. Apparently Rondo has matured and taken on more of a leadership role. I buy into that talk, but it still remains to be seen. I give the slight edge to Paul in this category. He was in a crap situation in New Orleans and stuck around for just about as long as he could. He was going to leave New Orleans once he became a free agent, and by demanding a trade he was actually putting the Hornets in a better situation than they could’ve been in. Plus, Paul is highly praised amongst his peers, and that holds a lot of weight in my opinion.
Slight Edge- Chris Paul

Oct 16, 2012; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo (9) sets the play during the fourth quarter against the Brooklyn Nets at TD Banknorth Garden. The Brooklyn Nets won 97-96. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-US PRESSWIRE

Best What-If
Did you know that Rajon Rondo is directly connected to Rick Fox, Gary Payton, Chucky Atkins, Jumaine Jones, Chris Mihm, Tom Gugliotta, Michael Stewart, Antoine Walker, Boris Diaw, Robin Lopez, Joe Johnson, Brian Grant and Rudy Fernandez? How so, you ask. Well, the pick that would become Rajon Rondo originally belonged to the Lakers and was then traded to the Celtics, then to the Hawks, then to the Suns, and finally back to the Celtics. So, in theory, I’m presenting what-if’s that involve Rondo teaming with Kobe Bryant, possibly playing for one of the most lethargic crowds in the NBA in Atlanta, or being Steve Nash’s understudy in Phoenix. It’s hard to predict whether that future 2006 1^st round pick the Lakers traded back in 2004 would’ve ended up still being the 21^st pick in the draft if they hadn’t made that trade, but what is totally realistic to think about is Rondo being the predecessor to Steve Nash. The Suns drafted Rondo and then traded him to Boston for a 2007 first round pick, which turned out to be Rudy Fernandez. Essentially, the Suns traded Rondo for nothing since Rudy Fernandez turned into James Jones and James Jones wound up with Miami. It’s an interesting scenario to imagine Rondo learning under Nash, eventually cutting into those minutes, and maybe making the process of moving him a little easier than it ended up being for Phoenix. Personally, I’m glad it worked out the way it did, even if that means LeBron having to deal with Rondo year in and year out. It’s hard to imagine Rondo playing anywhere else but Boston.

There are two great what-if’s that relate to Chris Paul. The first being what if three teams didn’t stupidly pass on Chris Paul in the 2005 NBA Draft. It makes total sense to ask this since, well, Paul was the best player in that draft and anyone who watched college basketball the year before could’ve recognized this and been able to forecast that Paul would be an elite point guard. The what-if that is still somewhat fresh in everyone’s mind is “What if David Stern didn’t veto the Chris Paul to the Lakers trade?” What we know for sure is that the Lakers were going to part ways with Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, and in return get Chris Paul. We don’t know if the Lakers would’ve made further moves and tried to get Dwight Howard this offseason. We don’t know how the Paul/Kobe dynamic would work, just like we aren’t sure how Kobe will work with Steve Nash (I expect that it would work since they have spent a few summers playing for Team USA together). Ultimately, I couldn’t decide which option is better if you are a Lakers fan, so I decided to ask four friends/family members who are Lakers fans if they would rather have the current Lakers team, or if they would’ve wanted the Chris Paul trade to go through with no guarantee of getting Dwight Howard over the summer. It was a 2-2 split whether they’d keep things the way they are or if they’d rather have Paul, so basically nothing was concluded. I guess that makes for a good what-if, and probably a pretty good debate.
Slight Edge- Chris Paul

2011-12 NBA Season
This one is pretty simple in my eyes. I thought that Paul had the second best regular season of anyone in the league (over Durant), but the MVP vote said otherwise.  Paul finished 3^rd in the MVP vote, nothing at all to scoff at. If you conducted a Playoffs MVP vote, Rajon Rondo would’ve finished 3^rd behind LeBron and Durant (go figure). Where do you put more stock, individual success in the regular season or postseason?
Edge- Rajon Rondo

Defining 2012 Moment
I just got done touching on how Rondo’s postseason brilliance gave him the edge when it came to the 2011-12 season. What Rondo did in game two of the Eastern Conference Finals was one of the best postseason performances I’ve ever seen in a win or a loss. With Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen all on their last legs, Rondo went all 53 minutes and was doing just about everything he could to try to steal a game in Miami. Rondo became the first player in playoff history to finish a game with 44 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds, and somehow the stats don’t even explain how great he was. Rondo had an unusually good shooting game, making 16 of his 24 field goal attempts, and even more impressively/pretty uncharacteristically, making ten jump shots, showing all non-Celtics fans that we should all be completely terrified when that jump shot becomes consistent.

Paul didn’t have a performance that were even close to being as statistically impressive as Rondo’s , but he proved in his performance why the conversation for best point guard alive usually begins and ends with him. In the Gold Medal game of the 2012 Summer Olympics, closing duties were shared between LeBron James and Chris Paul. People remember the LeBron dunk and backbreaking 3, but they tend to forget about the should have been 4-point-play Chris Paul had early in the 4^th quarter, two tough drives and finishes, and one shimmy move that dropped my jaw to the floor of the Big Room at my Grandma’s house. Paul was the general, and I felt completely comfortable with him at the reins in the game that featured the biggest stakes of 2012.
Slight Edge- Chris Paul

And there lies the biggest difference between Paul and Rondo. I hate to use international basketball as a tool in ranking the players, but there is no way Rajon Rondo takes over a game on that stage like Chris Paul did. It just wouldn’t happen.

Overall Edge: Chris Paul

May 7, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul (3) moves the ball against the defense of Memphis Grizzlies power forward Zach Randolph (50) during the overtime period of game four of the Western Conference quarterfinals of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE

Memphis Grizzlies at Los Angeles Clippers (9:00ET on ESPN): Clippers lead series 3-1

• Stat: In five career “close-out” playoff games – contests in which either team faces a must win scenario – Chris Paul averaged 17 points, 8.6 rebounds, 11.6 assists, 2.6 steals, and 3 turnovers while shooting 45% (7.2-16.0) from the field.
• Take: Chris Paul is a different animal in the playoffs, that much we know by now.  He single-handedly willed an overmatched Hornets team to a six game series with the Lakers last year, and has arguably been been this postseason’s MVP in leading the Clippers to a 3-2 advantage over the Memphis Grizzlies going into tonight’s game 6 at Staples Center.  He’s received special and deserved attention recently for dominating fourth quarters and coming up huge when it matters most, so one would expect Paul to be extra-excellent when his team is on the verge of elimination or the brink of advancing to the next round.  His career averages – all with the New Orleans Hornets, of course – in these instances underwhelm, though, as he’s actually performed below his playoff norms in points and shooting percentage.  For his playoff career, Paul averages 22.0 points per game on 48.9% shooting, well above his “close-out” marks of 17.0 and 45% despite taking almost exactly the same amount of shots from the field (16.1 to 16.0).  Five games is an admittedly small sample size, but in general Paul has failed to rise to the challenge in these situations the way he has time and time again in most every pivotal fourth quarter.  He can hardly be faulted for his 1-4 record in these games, as the Hornets were the lower seeded team in every series but the 2008 Western Conference semi-finals when New Orleans surrendered a 3-1 lead to the San Antonio Spurs.  He’s with a better and more talented team now, and one suspects as his career in Los Angeles goes on he’ll have more success in closing teams out and/or pushing a series an additional game.  But for now, Paul’s track record here is questionable at best, especially considering his growing, deserved, and well-earned reputation as basketball’s ultimate “big-moment” player.  He’s got a huge opportunity to change that tonight, but is supposedly a game-time decision as the result of a lingering groin injury.  That’s all talk, of course, and Paul will surely start at point guard for LAC tonight as long as he can limp up and down the floor a la Isiah Thomas.  And knowing the competitive spirit of Paul, an Isiah-esque performance would surprise no one, but make sure you don’t expect it – CP3, healthy or not, still has something to prove in games like tonight’s.

Apr 30, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat shooting guard Dwyane Wade (3) shoots over New York Knicks guard Landry Fields (2) during the first half of game two in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at the American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

• Stat: Dwyane Wade has finished on 21 of his 24 attempts from the restricted area in the playoffs, good for a conversion rate of 88%.
• Take: That this series is still going on is a surprise, and we’ve seen nothing over its first four games to assume the Knicks have a legitimate chance at forcing a game 6 tonight in Miami.  Save for another Carmelo Anthony explosion and a barrage of three-pointers, the Heat should win comfortably tonight.  So our attention goes to one of the most overlooked aspects of the entire season – the crafty finishing ability of Dwyane Wade in the post.  Obviously, not all of his 21 makes in the restricted area thus far against New York have come via post-ups, but enough have to drive home the point that Wade’s back-to-the-basket game is truly something to behold.  Blessed with supreme overall body strength and long arms, Wade has no trouble finishing over taller defenders in the post.  He routinely takes one or two dribbles to establish deeper position, and often acts as a true big man by utilizing hook shots with either hand over the top of his defender.  Additionally, Wade does a fantastic job of coming off baseline cross screens and sealing his man off for a quick entry pass.  He’s done this routinely against New York and Landry Fields, perfectly planting his feet and using his lower half to create the correct to receive the ball from LeBron James or Mario Chalmers.  Maybe most impressive, though, is how comfortable Wade is using his off-hand; because of his accuracy turning over his right shoulder, defenders can’t shade him one way or the other.  James has received a lot of attention for the improvements made to his repertoire down low, but Wade is at the very least nearly his equal here, craft and nuance that James can only hope to learn in the future.  This is surely something to watch going forward, as Wade will face a different beast in round two against the Pacers; Indy’s likely matchup for him, Paul George, is a legitimate 6’9” with elastic arms and one of the best athletes in the game.  Whether or not Wade can score efficiently in the post against George is one the games within the game that will be huge in determining the series’ outcome.

Los Angeles Clippers at Memphis Grizzlies (9:30ET on TNT): Clippers lead series 3-1

May 7, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul (3) moves the ball against the defense of Memphis Grizzlies power forward Zach Randolph (50) during the overtime period of game four of the Western Conference quarterfinals of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE

• Stat: Chris Paul’s crunch time plus/minus in the playoffs is +38.6.  His net efficiency rating – the difference between offensive and defensive efficiency – is 44.5.
• Take: The Stat of the Day on April 12 touched on Paul’s individual aggression and brilliance in the clutch, but noted how the Clippers were actually been less effective this season despite that.  Well, that hasn’t been the case thus far for Paul and his team in the playoffs.  It’s been the exact opposite, actually, as Paul’s workload has increased and LAC’s extreme effectiveness in crunch time has been the one thing separating them from the Grizzlies in this series.  Let’s micro-bullet for ease and emphasis:
• Regular Season Clutch Points Per 36 Minutes/Postseason Clutch Points Per 36 Minutes – 30.8/41.1
• Field Goal Percentage – 42% / 67%
• Offensive Rating  – 105.6/121.5
• Defensive Rating – 101.3/77.0
• Usage Rate – 36.5% / 38.9%
• No, this is hardly revelatory stuff; Paul’s incredible play down the stretch has provided this postseason with its finest moments and most popular talking points.  But flushed out, the analytics are even more impressive than the eye-test.  Keep all of this in mind when every remaining game of this series – let’s hope it’s three, by the way – inevitably comes down to the wire.  Paul is as locked in as he’s ever been, and what he’s doing to Memphis when it matters most may go down as some of the best individual play in postseason history if it continues.

March 12, 2012; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz small forward Josh Howard (8) looks to pass while defended by Detroit Pistons small forward Tayshaun Prince (22) during the second half at Energy Solutions Arena. The Jazz defeated the Pistons 105-90. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-US PRESSWIRE

• Stat: In Sunday’s loss to San Antonio, Josh Howard went 0-7 from the field, was held scoreless in sixteen minutes of playing time, and had a net point differential of -14.6.
• Take: That Howard struggled so mightily against the Spurs on Sunday should not have been surprising.  He missed the last month of the regular season before coming back for its final two games, playing just six minutes in the one-game playoff against the Suns before logging 25 in a meaningless win in Portland.  For all intents and purposes, he hadn’t seen regular court time in anything but a glorified scrimmage since mid-March, making Ty Corbin’s decision to start him in the postseason opener even more perplexing.  Howard, a poor outside shooter at this point in his career and hardly the slasher or defender he used to be either, played into San Antonio’s hands by taking two long jumpers on offense and serving as little more than flotsam on either end of the floor.  Bearing this miniscule sample size in mind, Corbin would be best served starting DeMarre Carroll at small forward and using active rookie Alec Burks as his primary perimeter backup.  The former offers size and defense Howard can’t while recognizing his limitations on offense, while the latter brings much needed tempo and aggression to a Jazz attack that rarely scores in transition.  Howard was hardly Utah’s only problem Sunday, but his presence in the starting lineup and rotation posed issues on both ends of the floor that the Jazz could potentially eradicate by giving the lion’s share of his time to Carroll and Burks.

Indiana Pacers at Orlando Magic (7:30ET on NBATV): Series tied 1-1

Apr 28, 2012; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers shooting guard George Hill (3) dribbles the ball against Orlando Magic shooting guard Jason Richardson (23) during game one in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Orlando defeated Indiana 81-77. Mandatory Credit: Michael Hickey-US PRESSWIRE

• Stat: In Monday’s 93-78 win over Orlando, the Indiana Pacers assisted on nine of their 33 field goals.  Their assist percentage of 27.3 was barely half their season-long average of 52.2%.
• Take: The Pacers fixed their finishing woes in game 2 by shooting 72.8% at the rim, a key change that we chronicled on Monday.  And their offense, unsurprisingly, thrived as a result.  Indy’s 106.9 offensive rating on Monday night was better than 20 points higher than their Saturday mark, a feat having to do with their newfound accuracy at the rim as much as their proficiency in getting to the free throw line.  The Pacers shot 28 free throws Monday (making 25) for a free throw rate of 36.4, an impressive number not much higher than their regular season average.  So perhaps Indiana’s shockingly low assist rate was affected by Orlando fouls, but such wouldn’t normally account for such a stark decline in assists.  All this goes to say is that the Pacers should be careful if they want to win relying on this style of offense again tonight.  Free throw rate and one-on-one scoring are notoriously fickle on a game to game basis, a fact they’d have to worry about less by getting a few more easy baskets out of offensive sets that yield assists.

Los Angeles Clippers at Memphis Grizzlies (9:30ET on TNT): Clippers lead series 1-0

Apr 9, 2012; Memphis, TN, USA; Los Angeles Clippers point guard Eric Bledsoe (12) dribbles the ball up the court during the second half against the Memphis Grizzlies at the FedEx Forum. Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 94-85. Mandatory Credit: Spruce Derden-US PRESSWIRE

• Stat: LA’s Chris Paul/Eric Bledsoe backcourt combination played just 78 minutes together in the regular season, but posted an impressive plus/minus per 36 minutes of +10.9 that was the best mark on the team.  The two also posted a mind-boggling +/- of +79.2 in game 1.
• Take: The Clippers made their epic comeback run on Monday with the little-used on-floor quintet of Paul/Bledsoe/Nick Young/Blake Griffin/Reggie Evans.  While Young provided the fireworks with three treys in succession to cut a twelve point to lead to three and Evans has been universally lauded for his pick and roll defense and rebounding, little has been made of Bledsoe’s sizable impact.  It should be noted that Bledsoe didn’t play until the beginning of the game-deciding run and was on the floor until the clock struck zero.  So what was the defining and ever-present aspect of this Clippers comeback? Pace.  Lots of pace that the Clippers didn’t play with for the game’s first three quarters.  And that has to do with Bledsoe.  Not unlike Boston’s Avery Bradley, Bledsoe is known as a raw guard with little distribution or shot-making skill but elite athleticism and defensive ability.  On the surface that wouldn’t seem to fit with a player like Paul, but Bledsoe’s presence on the floor often forces LA’s uptempo-averse leading man to get out on the fastbreak where he, Bledsoe, Griffin, and a sharpshooting athlete like Young are deadly.  Go back and watch the run; Bledsoe’s defensive pressure, incisive offensive spacing, and ability to run the floor changed the game for the Clippers.  LA doesn’t have the size, skill, or discipline to slow things down with the Grizz in the halfcourt.  Bledsoe helps curb Paul’s natural tendency to play that way, and the 15-20 minutes the second-year guard will hopefully get from this point on will be huge in determining the winner of this series.

Apr 29, 2012; Memphis, TN, USA; Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul (3) drives to the basket against Memphis Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley (11) during the first half of game one in the Western Conference quarterfinals of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at FedEx Forum. Mandatory Credit: Spruce Derden-US PRESSWIRE

Then Chris Paul took over, leading the Clippers on a 28-3 game-ending run, the greatest win in the organization’s woebegone history, and a classic playoff moment that will be remembered forever.  LA’s “other” team, somehow and some way, beat league darling Memphis 99-98.

Paul scored just four points during the Clippers gallant and ultimately game-winning sprint, including the go-ahead free throws with 23 seconds remaining.  But his impact, unsurprisingly, went far, far greater than that.  Paul assisted on six of his team’s last nine baskets, none bigger than the trio in successive possessions that resulted in Nick Young three pointers, cutting Memphis’ lead from twelve to three in a span of sixty seconds.

From then it seemed LA’s run was a gift of the basketball gods that could end in nothing but the best postseason comeback – the Clippers were down 27 points late in the third quarter – this league has seen in over ten years.  In a postgame interview with TNT’s Craig Sager, Paul said he always believed his team was capable of winning this game.  And when we saw him wheeling and dealing midway through the fourth quarter, getting steals, sprinting the ball up the floor, and being his extra-aggressive crunch-time self, we all should have believed, too.  Bravo, Chris.  We’ll never count you out again.

Saving the Skyhook will have more on this epic Clippers comeback tomorrow.

I join Thunderous Intentions editor Andrew Kennedy on Fansided’s NBA Podcast to discuss the Thunder’s late game offense, the league’s best crunch time player, and my choices for regular season awards.

You can also download the podcast here.

Take: This is an awfully topical post considering Paul’s second-half and game-winning heroics last night in Oklahoma City, but what he does in the clutch as opposed to how he plays the rest of the game merits such special attention that we’re not worried about covering such an obvious narrative.

Paul is the true point guard’s true point guard, as his first, second, and third goals are looking to get the ball to teammates in scoring opportunities where they’re most comfortable.  No matter that he could easily and efficiently rank among the game’s top scorers if that was his preferred role; but it’s not, it never has been, and Paul’s teams have enjoyed success throughout his career with him playing that way.

None of that’s changed in his first season in a Los Angeles Clippers uniform.  He still defers to players like Blake Griffin, Caron Butler, and even Randy Foye throughout the course of a game.  That is, until it’s winning time.

Paul’s New Orleans’ teams of yore were always among the most effective in crunch time, despite lacking superior individual talent.  This was mostly due to the extra and aggressive gear Paul entered when the game was close and the clock was winding down.  He took more shots, attacked the paint with more urgency, and put the team on his proverbial back time and time again down the stretch as a Hornet, and now that he’s a Clipper he’s taken it to a whole new level.

April 11, 2012; Oklahoma City OK, USA; Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul (3) drives to the basket against Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Kevin Durant (35) during the third quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena Mandatory Credit: Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

Paul’s clutch numbers (again, per 36 minutes) in 2011 as a Hornet and 2012 as a Clipper:

• FGA: 14.8 / 21.1
• 3PA: 2.7 / 5.7
• FTA: 7.1 / 10.4
• AST: 7.8 / 6.6
• TOs: 2.2 / 3.3
• Usage %: 29.3 / 35.5
• PTS: 18.6 / 30.1

Paul, for reasons we can only guess, is looking for his shot in crunch time even more often this season than he did in his final season in New Orleans.  And while one might think that approach would yield even more glaringly positive results for the Clips on the scoreboard, that just hasn’t been the case.

Despite a true shooting percentage slightly better than his game-long average and almost seven points better than last season, Paul’s clutch plus/minus is -.7 this year, down from an amazing +10.9 in 2011.  Maybe more telling is the decrease in his crunch time offensive rating with regard to both the entire game in 2012 and last season; he’s down a staggering 6.7 points with regard to the former, and an even worse 7.1 points compared to the latter.

It should be stressed that there are an infinite number of extenuating factors that could be limitng LAC’s effectiveness down the stretch other than Paul’s extra shot-happy play, but the numbers still tell a less than stellar story.  This new crunch time approach obviously worked with flying colors last night against the Thunder, but the season-long analytics paint a much darker picture.  Pay attention to how Paul plays late in the fourth quarter of close games in the playoffs; if he’s aggressive but probing shots for teammates as much as himself like he did in New Orleans, the Clippers will likely be better off.

Take: Since a 19-9 start that had the new-look Los Angeles Clippers the talk of the NBA, the team’s settled back into the franchise’s woebegone ways.  Beginning with a tough overtime loss in San Antonio on February 18, the Clippers have lost 12 of their last 22 games to fall just 2 1/2 games ahead of ninth place, outside-looking-in Denver.

March 28, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul (3) in the first half of the game against the Phoenix Suns at the Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

So what’s the problem for LA’s other team? Why the great start followed by this volatile seemingly never-ending stretch? It sounds strange to say for a squad led by a maestro like Paul and talent like Griffin, but the Clippers just can’t score.  And Paul’s advanced assist numbers help tell the story.

Since the All-Star break Los Angeles has scored just 95.6 points per game, down 1.5 points from their season average.  In that time, the Clippers have gone 9-10, adjusting to life without the injured Chauncey Billups, watching Caron Butler endure the worst slump of his career, and – perhaps as a result – playing through loud and public whispers that a coaching change was imminent.

It doesn’t make sense that Paul’s assist rate would take such a drastic fall in making the transition from Hornet to Clipper.  When players are fully healthy and playing to their career norms, LAC boasts a roster more wrought with weapons than Paul ever had in New Orleans.  That just it, though – these guys aren’t healthy and they aren’t playing the way they normally do, and it shows especially when examining the locations of Paul’s assists.

Paul’s number of assists at the rim, from fewer than 10′ out, and three point range are in line with his career averages.  Meaning, then, that Paul and his teammates struggle to create and finish offense from 10′-15′ and 16′-23′.  The numbers support this – Paul gets just .3 assists from the former distance and 1.8 from the latter, each mark a far cry from those that have been so consistent the last few seasons.

This is hardly ground-breaking stuff, but obviously the loss of Billups and rapid decline of Butler factor in big here.  Each is known as a knock-down shooter from areas the Clippers currently struggle to score, and their “presence” on the floor would no doubt help Los Angeles’ offense revert back to it’s slow but efficient ways of January.  The trade deadline acquisition of Nick Young is sure to help ease the absence of Billups, and one suspects something has to eventually give with Butler’s woes because he’s simply a better talent than he’s shown over the last month of the season.

The Clippers need to find ways to score other than in the paint, behind the three-point line, and off of isolations from their two stars, and nothing better indicates that than Paul’s falling and changing advanced assist statistics.  The premise that the majority of a team’s shots should be of the highest percentage, most worth, and from its best players is a great and successful one for most teams, but it’s not working for Los Angeles, and they need to find a way to rectify it before they find themselves sitting at home in April, May, and June.

The 2011 are right around the corner, and are sure to be the most competitive NBA Playoffs we’ve seen in years.  While the 2^nd round and beyond, are the rounds everyone’s anticipating, there are a few things we need to be on the look-out for.  Here are 10 of them…

1^st Round Upsets

1.  The New York Knicks vs. The Boston Celtics

How can this happen, you ask?  Simply put, Youth and Hunger.  The Knicks are considerably younger, and faster than their Boston Counterparts.  The running style that they live by, is the exact opposite type of game that the C’s want to get in to.  Yes the Knicks have had their struggles versus the Celtics this season, but have also had their moments.  When their backs were against the wall, their closer showed up. Carmelo Anthony put the team on his back on multiple occasions, and performed like the star that he is.  These are the leadership qualities that I spoke of before, that are there, just inconsistent.  If Melo can maintain that drive, and killer instinct throughout the series; The Celtics are in Trouble.  Now the likelihood of an upset isn’t in the Knicks’ favor.  However, the Celtics haven’t been the same team since the Perkins trade, and are injured across the board.  The funny thing about this series is that the Knicks lack that “Inside Toughness,” but then again, so do the Celtics.  Yes of course KG is still the backbone of the team, but then what?  You have an old and injured Shaq, who’s paired with another old and injured Jermaine O’neal.  Either way, the Knicks will make a series vs. ANYONE they play this year; you can put money on that! (more…)

Losers of 6 straight, and 9 of their last 10 games, the New York Knicks are in a bit of a, “funk,” so to speak.  Acquiring a major talent in one, Carmelo Anthony, just before the NBA Trade Deadline, seemed to be the next big step, in “Righting the Ship.”  However, the Knicks have found themselves in a worse predicament than they were before the deal.  A lot of people, namely “fans,” are suggesting that maybe that was the wrong move to make, in acquiring Anthony.  They feel that blowing up the team, and trading away its young talent, was a mistake.  A record of 7-9, and falling to the 7^th seed in the Eastern Conference, would also back those claims.  With the Knicks currently facing a potential playoff match-up with the Celtics, whom the Knicks are 0-3 against; the future doesn’t seem much brighter.

So who gets the blame in this situation?  We could point the finger at the Star Players, Melo & Amare, but they’ve performed consistently.  What about the bench…Or lack thereof?  Naaah, that’d just be a cop out of sorts and besides that only, consists of 3-4 players at max.  The finger can be pointed at the Front Office for making the deal, right?  Let’s face it; the Knicks weren’t exactly playing elite basketball prior to the trade.  Their record only stood, 2 games above .500, which isn’t saying much compared to where they are now.  There isn’t one specific, “Answer,” to the Knicks’ problems.  There are several things wrong with this team. (more…)

Marcus Cousin Ready for Jazz, His Uniform… Not So Much

Marcus Cousin signed a ten-day deal to join the Utah Jazz on Tuesday and were excited to get him involved quickly. He joined the team in Toronto as the Jazz began a four game road trip with a number of players (Paul Milsap, Andrei Kirilenko, Ronnie Price, Francisco Elson, Kyrylo Fesenko and Mehmet Okur) injured.

Unfortunately, things happened so quickly, that the Jazz failed to make up a new uniform for Cousin in time for his first game, so he had to wear a number 0 jersey with no name on the back.

(more…)

What do we think? Well, here’s what the STS crew had to say following last night’s deal:

James Holas – This trade makes me think of the classic Kenny Roger’s joint that’s now the anthem for every wanna be poker player: “You gotta knooow, when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em/Know when to walk away. Know when to run!” (more…)

"Also, MJ might call you Crumbs."

Being a GM in the NBA has GOT to be one of the most thankless jobs ever. The personnel maneuvers, the salary dumps, worrying about the PR, the athlete’s egos, and the fans’ roarin’-rabid certainty that YOU SUCK at your job, cashing those 6 figure checks. All of the pretty talk about salary caps and “remaining competitive” are hogwash- the one and only successful team is the one left holding the Larry O’Brien trophy and giving Obama a bro hug on the White House lawn sometime in June or July.

There are 30 teams in the NBA, meaning there are 30 different ideas about how to build that winner. Slow, patient building of talent through the draft and shrewd free agency? Sounds good- organically growing a team builds a passionate fan base, is cost effective: look at OKC, it’s GOTTA work, right? The Trailblazers are the other side of that coin. (more…)

(Source: Yardbarker.com)

The New Orleans Hornets have played 12 games this season. After an ugly 75-71 win in Sacramento this evening, they’ve won 11 of those games. However, it still doesn’t feel like Chris Paul and the Hornets are getting the respect they deserve. Maybe it’s because the Hornets aren’t filled with stars. But as they have shown thus far this season, having hard workers like David West and Emeka Okafor more than makes up for that lack of star power at multiple positions. (more…)

Early Wednesday, the New Orleans Hornets, New Jersey Nets, Houston Rockets, and Indiana Pacers agreed on a four-team trade that involves a number of notable personnel moves. Here’s the breakdown of what each team got:

Hornets get: Trevor Ariza (from Rockets)

Nets get: Troy Murphy (from Pacers)

Rockets get: Courtney Lee (from Nets)

Pacers get: Darren Collison and James Posey (from Hornets)

The ostensible winners of this deal are the Pacers, who get the long-awaited point guard in Collison — who’s quite a catch — and the defensively sound Posey. With Collison, Danny Granger, and first-round pick Paul George, the Pacers are developing quite a stock of young talent.

The Hornets make a move to appease Paul, getting rid of his surprisingly talented competition at point guard and adding a seasoned defender and shooter to help the team in the short term. It’s evident now that Paul won’t be going anywhere in a deal, as New Orleans no longer has the safety net of Collison to fill Paul’s absence.

For the Rockets, this move starts to clear up a potential power struggle at the wing position, as Ariza wants to be a top option and Kevin Martin already is. Now there’s no doubt in Houston who the No. 1 scorer is. Lee adds defensive toughness for the Kobe Bryants of the Western Conference, and he showed in Orlando that his shooting can be an asset when he’s a fourth or fifth option.

As for the Nets, this move is all about the future. While the move does a lot to constrict their cap space for this season, Murphy is only a temporary solution at power forward so that Derrick Favors has a year to develop coming off the bench and making spot starts if Murphy can’t play. Furthermore, Murphy’s expiring $11.1 million deal makes the pursuit of Carmelo Anthony next summer more of a viable option.