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Houston Rockets: Is Chris Paul’s legacy on the line in the 2018 NBA Playoffs?

By Chris Murch

DALLAS, TX - MARCH 11: Chris Paul
DALLAS, TX - MARCH 11: Chris Paul /
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On the best team he has ever been apart of, €œThe Point God€ Chris Paul has the opportunity to change the one thing that has haunted him his whole career, playoff success

The date is May 2, 2015. The site: Staples Center. The stakes: A birth in the Western Conference semifinals.

The Los Angeles Clippers and San Antonio Spurs are deadlocked at 3-3 in the series. The Spurs are defending champions and the Clippers are the butt of every NBA joke. Down 3-2 after 5, they take game six in San Antonio, (probably the toughest homecourt in the history of the NBA playoffs) 102-96. Chris Paul has a game high 15 assists to go along with 19 crucial points.

In Game 7 we see a back and forth affair with each team trading buckets. Tied at 109 with 8 seconds left, Doc Rivers calls a simple middle of the floor iso for Chris Paul. Basically playing on one leg after injuring his left hamstring in the first quarter and being guarded by notoriously tough defender Danny Green, he performs one hesitation move and take several dribbles into the lane.

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He isn’€™t really able to shake Green but another last minute hesitation gives him a brief second to get a shot off. He takes a right handed floater and it just passes the outstretched arms of Hall-of-Famer Tim Duncan who was helping in the lane. The ball hangs in the air for what seemed like five minutes. Bank. In. Game over.

Tears flowing from players faces. Fans ecstatic. Spurs fans scratching their heads. Team exhausted, but they finally did it. The organization and it’s best player Chris Paul finally have their signature moment. They dethroned a champion. This was their year.

Their next opponent, the two-seeded Houston Rockets. Incredibly, without CP3, they take Game 1. They proceed to win Games 3 and 4, drop Game 5 and set up a game that every Clipper fan has dreamed of, a chance to go to the Western Conference Finals in L.A.

The Clippers were ready and in control. Up 15 heading into the final frame, you got a real sense that maybe those jokes were a thing of the past. That this team could finally absolve the Clippers of the dreaded œClippers Curse€. What happened next can really only be described as a car crash on top of a boat crash on top of a plane crash on top of a train crash. The Clippers get outscored 40-15 in the fourth quarter with the Rockets best player, James Harden, on the bench for all of it. 119-107 was the final in favor of the visiting team.

Game 7 almost felt like a slow march to the gallows, with the Clippers getting bounced out of the playoffs to the tune of 113-100. Season over, hopes dashed, momentum ruined.

As I wipe the tears from my keyboard and relive these painful memories in my Clipper fandom, I am reminded of all of the different aspects of Chris Paul’€™s time with the Clippers . All the terrible injury timing. All of the ego clashing with Blake Griffin and others. All of the playoff letdowns. But, at the same time, you also think of all of the wins, all of the highlight plays and a resurgence of a franchise that had done nothing in it€™s 33 years prior.

His status as one of the best point guards of all time is for the most part, intact. The man is a 9-time All-Star, 4-time First-Team All-NBA, 7-time First-Team All Defense and is 9th all-time in assists. Bonafide first ballot hall-of-famer without question. That’s his €œstatus€ as an all-time point guard in this league. His €œlegacy,€ however, is a little more convoluted.

If you were to take the approach that people like to take these days and only focus on success when it counts, then CP3 hasn’€™t really done anything. He has never escaped the second round of the playoffs in his nine attempts. It’€™s harmful to everyone’€™s health to put things in that perspective because you overshadow everything else he has done in his career. However, in this new age of “€œIf you ain’t first, you’€™re last”€ (Shoutout Reese Bobby), it’€™s a totem of which success is derived.

Chris Paul’€™s legacy at this point in his career is of someone that can’€™t get the job done when it counts. Plain and simple. Ask anyone who has watched the NBA in the last 10 years and they will tell you the same.

Winning is essential to a career and Chris Paul has done plenty of it. Including this year, it will be his 10th time in the playoffs. He led a young squad in New Orleans to some memorable, yet short, playoff runs in the late 2000€’s and obviously had the Clippers on the brink of the Conference Finals a few times. For most players, the barometer of having double digit playoff appearances in their career would be an amazing feat, but for someone who is generally considered to be a top 5 all-time player at their position, this €œisn’t impressive enough. Like he would need to add more to his resume.

Paul is going to have to figure this out quick; his legacy is going to depend on it

For most people’s opinions, he does.

We would also be remiss in not mentioning that Chris Paul has not been without some controversy in his career. His Clippers career was plagued by alleged in-fighting and ego clashing with multiple players and, as reported in the last few days, had more than a few riffs with head coach Doc Rivers.

He was also described as having a domineering personality€ in an SB Nation report. If you watch one game involving Chris Paul, being ball dominant is kind of his thing. He’€™s a dribbler. It looks like it takes him a few extra seconds to get a play in motion. He needs to have the ball in his hands to be successful and that has led to this domineering€ archetype that has plagued Paul for his career, and has probably driven away some teammates. He has, however curbed that a bit in Houston in Mike D’Antoni’€™s wild, fast-paced offense. In Houston, alongside James Harden, Paul finally looks at home.

If you take a look at his stats, you would think I am crazy for stating that above. He is averaging the least amount of assists per game since his rookie year, his scoring is down and he has been injury plagued, leading to him probably missing his first all-star game in nine seasons. However, with an outstanding supporting cast of shooter, rim-runners and guys that actually play defense, Paul doesn’€™t have to be the €œstar€. He can let Harden shoulder that burden and Paul can play freely in an offense that puts emphasis on getting out in transition and finding the open man, Paul’s specialty.

Must Read: 2018 NBA Playoffs: First-round schedule, initial thoughts on each series

It’€™s a few days before the playoffs start and the Houston Rockets have the best record in the NBA for the first time since 1995. They have at times seemed unstoppable and are a real threat to knock the crown off the mighty Golden State Warriors. A lot of that is going to have to do with Chris Paul’s play these next few weeks.

Will he elevate his game like he has so many times in first round series? Or will he shy away from the spotlight and let the others try to win it themselves. Paul is going to have to figure this out quick; his legacy is going to depend on it.