Is Paul of the Thunder a point guard? What are his strengths and weaknesses?

Traditional point guard St. Paul, the NBA's other thirtysomething, is the Thunder's answer!

Foreword: Small men also have big energy. In the tall people such as forest in the NBA, there are some small players can play a world, 2000 Iverson singled out the OK combination, let people excited, he is also the spokesman for the short players. In the active players, there is also a short player representative - Chris Paul.

Basic information:

Paul is 1.85 meters tall, arm span 1.94 meters, standing touch height 2.36 meters, weight 79 kilograms, assisted bouncing 0.965 meters, 3/4 field sprinting 3.22 seconds, in the average height of 2.03 meters in the NBA, Paul's physical conditions are general, but with the top of the ball and unremitting efforts, it does not prevent him from becoming A top defender. In the NBA small ball wind prevalent era, many guards have embarked on a biased scoring route, but Paul is still a pass-oriented traditional guard, small ball trend did not let him be submerged, he has his own way of survival, in the inheritance of the excellent point guard style.

Born on May 6, 1985, Paul, also has been thirty years old, this season can contribute an average of 17.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 6.8 assists, 1.6 steals, 0.1 caps, the data is not as explosive as Harden, but the strength is not to be underestimated, the 2019-2020 season, he returned to the All-Star stage, and in the fourth quarter of the key moments is to stay on the court, this can be see the players and coaches trust him, he will be the answer for the Thunder, why is that so?

Easily overlooked offense:

Top shooting small man can be based in the NBA, there must be his foothold in the capital, Paul's shooting is actually one of his capital, of course, he did not like Curry, Thompson and other top masters so powerful, but more than the top than the bottom, in the guards, his shooting is absolutely first-class, 2019-20 season, Paul for the Thunder played 63 games, three hit rate of 48.9% (league average 46.0%) + 36.2% (league average 31.2%) + 90.0% (league average 77.08%), can be said to be quasi-180 club members, 360-degree offense has no dead angle, a ball in the hands of the threat is there.　

How strong is such a performance? We may wish to compare some, take this season's scoring ranking of several guards, to be able to rely on the top of the scoring list, indicating that the strength is also very good, Harden (34.4 points), Bill (30.5 points), Trae Young (29.6 points), Dong Qiqi (28.7 points), Willard (27.5 points), Lillard (28.9 points), Booker (26.1 points) to see how their how their shooting percentages compare to Paul's?

Paul's shooting is at the top of the list in terms of both overall shooting percentage and three-point shooting percentage, as well as free throw shooting percentage. Of course, Paul's hitting rate is not this season is so good, the entire career fifteen seasons performance is good, in addition to the rookie season and the last season in the fire team injury impact, the other seasons are in a very high level line, so that Paul's shooting accuracy, not by luck, but by strength, but the league is easy for many people to ignore this point.

Extremely excellent under the basket finishing ability under the basket is generally the world of big men, but Paul casually height is not high, but in the basket near the finishing ability is very strong, thanks to his fake and soft touch, in the basket within 8 feet of the scope of Paul's hitting rate as high as 68.3%, in this area Harden's hitting rate is 55.8%, Bill is 59.2%, Lillard is 55.2%, and the hitting rate is 55.2%. Lard is 55.2%, Willow is 58.4%, Irving is 57.1%, the difference between these guards and Paul is still very big. Paul's ability to finish at the basket is extremely good.

The annoying defense:

In addition to shooting, defense has been one of Paul's ability to stand in the league, in fact, this does not need to say more we all know, look at his career resume have to admire, six times the king of the steals, seven times the best defensive lineup a burst of 2 times the best defensive lineup two lineups, not a little bit of ability can not really take these, of course, the good man does not mention the year courage, how good the defense before and the Thunder has nothing to do.

Tell us about his defensive performance in the Thunder, 2019-2020 season average contribution of 1.6 steals, is the team's king of steals, in the NBA can also be ranked in the 16th place, although not more than the year steals the king of the so powerful, but it is also considered to be a sword is not yet old, ranked in the top of the alliance; average interception 3.4 times, ranked in the league's 8th place, you can see that he is on the route of the ball preview! how good he is and how aggressive he is on the defensive end.

Paul although his height is not high, but his physical quality is actually very good, 84 kilograms on the bench press he can do a full 10 times, this is still very powerful, his lower plate is very stable, in the defense can be stronger than their own rivals, the use of their own agility, underhanded ball break or interference. He wouldn't have made the best defensive lineup 9 times without some technical strength.

Top control, eye-catching assists turnover ratio:

Paul entered the league, known as the master of ball control, of course, this ball control and the art of Irving ball control is not the same, Paul, the key to this ball control in the stable, very few mistakes, Irving's ball control is very gorgeous and artistic. Paul entered the league, assists or very much, 15 seasons, got 4 assists king, average assists on the double 6 times, the least that season is this season are 6.8 times, career average 9.4 assists; turnovers are not much, career average of 2.4 turnovers, there is not a season average turnovers is more than 3 times, career assists turnovers ratio of 3.92, very strong.

But after all, is 35 years old, playing time some decline, assists also fell, but at the same time the turnovers are also down a lot, this season Paul averaged 31.8 minutes of play (career-low), you can send 6.8 assists, there are 2.17 turnovers (second-lowest in his career), the assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.2, or very good. In contrast, James and Irving are 2.9, Lillard 2.7, Doncic 2.1, Beal 2.0, Trae Young 1.8, Booker 1.7, Harden and Willow are both 1.6, and suddenly realized that Paul is still very stable.

Superb leadership:

What a situation the Thunder are in! In the 2017-2018 season gathered Anthony + Willow + George three giants impact on the championship, at that time, everyone is also more recognized the strength of this Thunder team, but things did not go against their wishes, they did not reach the heights that they want to reach, 48 wins and 34 losses in the regular season, the fourth position in the West, the playoffs round-trip to make them crippled, but also let a lot of friends of the fans scared off the jaws, it is simply unbelievable.

2018-2019 season, George + Willow two stars with the team also did not make much progress, the same can not lead the team to go farther, 2019-2020 season George went away to the Clippers, the Mosaic team traded for Willow with Paul, three-star Thunder all of a sudden was dismantled, came to a thirtysomething, everyone thought that the Thunder team is a strong contender for the first place signing, because there is no Willow, also The first five games of Paul's career with the Thunder were only four losses and one win, which also confirms this idea.

Many people feel that the Thunder's chances of fighting for the first prize are getting bigger and bigger, but perhaps because they have just arrived at a new team, not yet fully adapted to, and teammates more or less a little rusty, so it will be more embarrassing, as the season continues to deepen, the Thunder's record gradually took off, and now with 40 wins and 24 losses ranked in the western region's fifth position, more than the Fire arrows, the lone wolf and the Blazers are to be great.

It is clear that we can see, whether it is Willow or Willow + George or, with the team are not as good as Paul, Paul has the kind of natural leadership temperament, strong leadership.

Strong stability at critical moments:

Paul is a winning player, and fearless at critical moments, very much a general's style, when Paul was in the Mosaic team, the Mosaic team is the only one in recent years to the universe brave threat to the team, it is thanks to the Paul in the critical moments of stability and efficiency, to break a wrist with the Warriors, that year, if it is not Paul's injury, the Mosaic team will not be in the same situation as the Warriors, but also the Warriors. Mosaic team would not have returned from the battle with the Warriors in defeat.

2019-2020 season, Paul's key moment performance is still the top of the league, in the game from the end of the game (fourth quarter or overtime) still 5 minutes, the two teams do not have a difference of more than 5 points of the game, Paul for the Thunder played 42 games this season, achieved a record of 29 wins and 13 losses, an average of 3.8 minutes of play, can cut down 3.5 points 0.6 rebounds 0.4 assists 0.2 steals, shooting rate of 53.5%, three-point shooting rate of 36.0%, free throw shooting rate of 93.8%, the overall hitting rate and free throw hitting rate than the regular season averages are much better than the performance of the key moments of the stability of the marvelous, a lot of teams usually play is smooth sailing, but a key moment on the chain, the lack of is like Paul such a stabilizing the heart of the army, but also be able to efficiently The player who is able to output efficiently.

As a comparison, take Harden, he as the league's top guard, this season's regular season three hit rate of 43.5% +35.2% +86.1%, to the critical moment is 36.5% +32.0% +92.2%, in addition to the free throws, the other two are down to more, so there is no Paul's Harden in the playoffs need to continue to practice, regular season The regular season kills four sides, the playoffs are invisible, and this is the problem that Harden has been criticized.

The championship is not easy, Paul still need to upgrade:

But the Thunder, after all, limited manpower, if you want to go farther in the playoffs, I think the South China as the core character Paul still need to improve the place:

First, more shots more points although Paul is a pass-oriented players, but his scoring ability is also very strong, and efficiency is higher than a lot of players, the Thunder has no well-known scoring masters. The Thunder have no well-known scoring masters, as a highly efficient scorer, Paul to properly increase the shot, to provide more offensive firepower for the team. Paul only averaged 12.8 shots per game this season, or very little, like he is so accurate, a few more shots is also what the team needs.

Second, improve the bottom corner three-point shooting rate. Many players bottom corner three-pointers to be higher than other positions, because the distance will be relatively close to some, but Paul on the contrary, his left and right bottom corner three-pointers are relatively poor, the left bottom corner of 33.3%, the right bottom corner of 28.6%, are to the league's average to be low, the two points to improve, in order to form a stronger threat, in order to strive for the team to get more scoring opportunities.

Third, keep healthy body is the capital of the revolution, if injured, you can not play on the field, but also can not talk about what the championship chase, that year in the Mosaic team is not because of injuries, it is estimated that he will not be traded, the physical condition of Paul this season is good, only missed 1 game, because of Paul's presence, so the Thunder team is doing better and better, if you want to help the team go farther, keep healthy is a very critical step!

Conclusion: a 35-year-old can still maintain the top of the efficiency of the player, superb defense, underestimated shooting, unparalleled leadership, the key moment of composure, forget his age, like the 23 rookie, they are still the top of the league, Paul is "another old man in his thirties! Paul is "another old man in his 30s", and the rebuilding Thunder need a player of his caliber and experience, and he's the answer for the Thunder.