Griffin’s dunk not the only thing worth talking about
Yes. Blake Griffin’s dunk was pure, unadulterated awesomeness. Twitter and highlights from every corner of the internet have shown us that. What hasn’t been mentioned nearly as much is another truly spectacular display from last night; Chris Paul’s first quarter.
With 11 points and 5 assists in the period, Paul put himself on pace for is an incredibly rare (and possibly never accomplished before) feat of a 40-20 game. That’s right. 40 points and 20 assists. A game of that magnitude is almost as mind-blowing as Blake Griffin leaping over the Kendrick Perkins, six fans and a minivan en route to the rim last night. Alas, Paul ‘cooled off’ and finished with a mere 26 points and 14 assists. Given his first period was an absolute clinic on point guard play, it’s still worth reviewing, especially considering that’s kind of what we do here at Playbook.
The first thing to look at is how incredibly well Paul uses his body and dribble to keep defenders out of a play and/or create space. The next video contains two clips. In the first, Paul has the ball passed out to him near the top of the key with only seven seconds left on the shot clock. Reggie Evans sprints out for a ball screen in order to create some quick offense.
Evans, however, slips the screen leaving Paul to battle both Russell Westbrook and Nick Collison on his own. Paul reacts by driving hard at Collison’s hip, turning the corner on him and keeping Westbrook behind the play. As Collison recovers to Evans, Paul, in a brilliant maneuver, curls behind him and in front of Westbrook, dribbling in an “S” curve that frees him for an elbow jumper with just over a second left on the shot clock.
The second clip in the video contains similar movement. Paul gets into a pick and roll with Griffin at the left elbow. Immediately coming off screen, Paul has nothing. The help defense has sagged into the paint and Westbrook is still in a position to contest any shot or pocket pass. Paul, being the Houdini that he is, uses a low hesitation dribble to get the stunting help defender (Harden) out of the way and put Westbrook on his back. After a quick hop-step deep into the paint, Paul finds himself free for a two foot floater.
In the next edit, the Clippers find themselves with Paul and Griffin engaging in another bailout, shot clock-induced, ball screen. This is perhaps the most technically perfect ball screen attack one could find. Paul comes off the screen with great pace and his defender on his back. Paul uses an in-out dribble on the big zoning up the paint (Ibaka) changing speeds with aplomb before exploding to the rim for an inside hand finish.
The next stop on the Chris-Paul-Is-Really-Good tour is a pick and roll between him and Evans. Due to some prior action, Evans’defender (Collison) is unable to get up to hedge on the screen. Paul wraps right around Evans’ hip unimpeded with a full head of steam toward the rim. He in-outs Collison on the dribble but the crafty Collison stays right with him. While Paul gets an opportunity to get off a runner deep in the paint, he sees Collison staying with him looking to contest. In the air, Paul finds Evans, who powers his way to a rim for a finish.
This play showcases two great Paul traits. The first is his ability to read the second line of defense. With no hedge, Paul looks to come off the screener shoulder to hip in an effort to keep his defender out of the play. The second is Paul’s great feel for manipulating space. By using an in-out dribble and getting to the middle of the paint, Paul creates the space for Evans to be open near the rim. After that, it’s just Paul’s unselfishness to pass up a mediocre look for a potential great one.
The final two videos simply show off Paul’s intelligence. The first is a rather non-descript. Following a rebound, Paul receives an outlet near the Thunder’s 3-point line. But before taking a second dribble, Paul sees an opportunity to snap a crisp two-hand pass over half the court to Griffin posting near the left block. Griffin misses the hook, but Paul’s ability to not only see the opportunity, but execute the pass is extremely rare.
The last second clip perhaps illustrates Paul’s film study habits. After inbounding from a made OKC free throw, Paul pushes ahead and finds DeAndre Jordan for an easy lob. This type of play should clearly never happen, but perhaps seeing a lax approach to transition in a few clips of the Thunder, Paul pushes with pace and gets an easy shot at the rim against a defense that should be set and ready to make L.A. work.
The amazing thing about all these clips is that this only part of the brilliance Paul showcased in that first period. It was about as technically perfect as a coach could ask his primary ball handler to play. So despite major holes in their roster, when the Clippers have a point guard playing as well as this, dunks shouldn’t be the only thing the league is talking about.
