SpursFanSinceNovember2017
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Chris Paul: The Most Overrated Point Guard Of All-Time
5. Many PGs Are Superior to Overrated Chris Paul
Here is where we explain in detail why there are so many point guards who deserve a top 10 all-time rank over Paul. First, we'll start off slowly with showing why Paul isn't even a top 5 PG of his era, before going to show why he isn't a top PG of 10 all-time. These PGs are not listed in any particular order of ranking. [.........]
Deron Williams at his best was also better than Chris Paul at his best. The only reason that Deron Williams won't rank higher than Paul on the all-time list is because Williams became irrelevant after his 5th season and only had 3 good playoff runs. Although Williams' 2007, 2008, and 2010 Playoff runs are superior to any run by the overrated Paul, Paul was consistent for a longer period of time. Paul's consistency in this sense is relative only to Deron Williams, his "consistency" on an all-time scale isn't that impressive considering his multiple playoff failures and never playing the best opponents, and the fact that he was outplayed in nearly all playoff series against notable PGs.
The only players with multiple 20-10 (ppg-apg) runs past the 1st round are
- Magic Johnson x4 - 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991
- Kevin Johnson x3 - 1989, 1990, 1992
- Steve Nash x2 - 2005, 2006
- Deron Williams x2 - 2008, 2010
In 2007, Williams' 2nd year and first year as a full-time starter, he led the Jazz to the 2007 WCF where they lost to the Spurs. Unlike Chris Paul, Williams legitimately had little help when losing to the Spurs. And the 2007 Spurs went on to win the championship, whereas none of the Spurs teams Paul played against even made the Finals. The only teammate of Williams in double figures for the 2007 WCF was Carlos Boozer, who had 21 ppg on 53%.
However, even Boozer's scoring was created for him by Williams running the offense. Only once in his career has Boozer had over 15 ppg in a series without Williams, when he had 17.4 ppg against the weak Nets in the 2013 1st Round. Williams had 26-4-8-2 on 53% in the 2007 WCF. For the playoffs as a whole, Mehmet Okur was his only other double digit scoring teammate and he shot a poor 12 ppg on 39%. Boozer was his only good help, and even Boozer's production was dependent on Williams creating his opportunities for him.
In 2008, Williams led the Jazz to the WCSF, averaging 22-10 on 49% for the playoffs. They lost to the Lakers who went on to make the Finals. Again, Paul has never played a playoff team that went on to make the Finals or win it all, but Williams in his first 2 years as a starter was already putting up great numbers and while playing against Finals and championship-caliber teams. In 2009, Williams' Jazz lost in the first round to the eventual champion Lakers with Williams putting up 20-11 but on a sub-par 41%. Paul in 2009 was getting destroyed and outplayed by Chauncey Billups in the first round.
And in 2010, Williams' last relevant year, he averaged 24-10 on 45% for the playoffs and led them to the WCSF where they again lost to the eventual champion Lakers. Unlike Paul, Williams outplayed Chauncey Billups in the first round. And Paul clearly had far superior help compared to Williams. Deron Williams never played with anyone as good as Blake Griffin and never had an interior defender as good as Tyson Chandler - the main reason Duncan shot his 2nd-worst FG% of his playoff career in the 2008 WCSF. He also never had a 2x rebounding champ like Deandre Jordan. Then add in that Paul had David West in New Orleans and Jamal Crawford (6th man of the year) plus coach Doc Rivers in LA.
In his first 4 years as a starter, Williams led the Jazz to a WCF, lost to 3 championship teams and 1 Finals team, and averaged at least 20+ ppg and 10+ apg in 2 playoff runs past the first round. Steve Nash (2 times), Kevin Johnson (3 times), and Magic Johnson (4 times) are the only other players to do so. Noticeably, the overrated Paul is not included on that list. Prime for prime, Deron Williams was clearly superior than Chris Paul as a player, but he didn't maintain his prime for a long enough time to warrant a higher all-time rank.
5. Many PGs Are Superior to Overrated Chris Paul
Here is where we explain in detail why there are so many point guards who deserve a top 10 all-time rank over Paul. First, we'll start off slowly with showing why Paul isn't even a top 5 PG of his era, before going to show why he isn't a top PG of 10 all-time. These PGs are not listed in any particular order of ranking. [.........]
Deron Williams at his best was also better than Chris Paul at his best. The only reason that Deron Williams won't rank higher than Paul on the all-time list is because Williams became irrelevant after his 5th season and only had 3 good playoff runs. Although Williams' 2007, 2008, and 2010 Playoff runs are superior to any run by the overrated Paul, Paul was consistent for a longer period of time. Paul's consistency in this sense is relative only to Deron Williams, his "consistency" on an all-time scale isn't that impressive considering his multiple playoff failures and never playing the best opponents, and the fact that he was outplayed in nearly all playoff series against notable PGs.
The only players with multiple 20-10 (ppg-apg) runs past the 1st round are
- Magic Johnson x4 - 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991
- Kevin Johnson x3 - 1989, 1990, 1992
- Steve Nash x2 - 2005, 2006
- Deron Williams x2 - 2008, 2010
In 2007, Williams' 2nd year and first year as a full-time starter, he led the Jazz to the 2007 WCF where they lost to the Spurs. Unlike Chris Paul, Williams legitimately had little help when losing to the Spurs. And the 2007 Spurs went on to win the championship, whereas none of the Spurs teams Paul played against even made the Finals. The only teammate of Williams in double figures for the 2007 WCF was Carlos Boozer, who had 21 ppg on 53%.
However, even Boozer's scoring was created for him by Williams running the offense. Only once in his career has Boozer had over 15 ppg in a series without Williams, when he had 17.4 ppg against the weak Nets in the 2013 1st Round. Williams had 26-4-8-2 on 53% in the 2007 WCF. For the playoffs as a whole, Mehmet Okur was his only other double digit scoring teammate and he shot a poor 12 ppg on 39%. Boozer was his only good help, and even Boozer's production was dependent on Williams creating his opportunities for him.
In 2008, Williams led the Jazz to the WCSF, averaging 22-10 on 49% for the playoffs. They lost to the Lakers who went on to make the Finals. Again, Paul has never played a playoff team that went on to make the Finals or win it all, but Williams in his first 2 years as a starter was already putting up great numbers and while playing against Finals and championship-caliber teams. In 2009, Williams' Jazz lost in the first round to the eventual champion Lakers with Williams putting up 20-11 but on a sub-par 41%. Paul in 2009 was getting destroyed and outplayed by Chauncey Billups in the first round.
And in 2010, Williams' last relevant year, he averaged 24-10 on 45% for the playoffs and led them to the WCSF where they again lost to the eventual champion Lakers. Unlike Paul, Williams outplayed Chauncey Billups in the first round. And Paul clearly had far superior help compared to Williams. Deron Williams never played with anyone as good as Blake Griffin and never had an interior defender as good as Tyson Chandler - the main reason Duncan shot his 2nd-worst FG% of his playoff career in the 2008 WCSF. He also never had a 2x rebounding champ like Deandre Jordan. Then add in that Paul had David West in New Orleans and Jamal Crawford (6th man of the year) plus coach Doc Rivers in LA.
In his first 4 years as a starter, Williams led the Jazz to a WCF, lost to 3 championship teams and 1 Finals team, and averaged at least 20+ ppg and 10+ apg in 2 playoff runs past the first round. Steve Nash (2 times), Kevin Johnson (3 times), and Magic Johnson (4 times) are the only other players to do so. Noticeably, the overrated Paul is not included on that list. Prime for prime, Deron Williams was clearly superior than Chris Paul as a player, but he didn't maintain his prime for a long enough time to warrant a higher all-time rank.
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Did you read the thread title?