Sources: After Paul informed Clippers he'd sign w/ HOU in FA, teams agreed to deal sending Beverley, Decker, Williams and 2018 FRP for Paul.

Still a weird fit to me. As good as Cp3 is, Harden had his best season on the ball last year, and its shown he's at his best in that situation.


On the clipps side, i wonder if they ride with Blake and this squad or scrap it all.
.

every great team i've ever seen has had multiple playmakers. and they're both great off the ball. they'll be fine.

of play.

And assuming they max CP3 out, will there be any money to had anybody else. I still feel like this team needs a reliable inside presence.

>of play.
>
>And assuming they max CP3 out, will there be any money to had
>anybody else. I still feel like this team needs a reliable
>inside presence.


But do you not watch modern NBA? Reliable inside presence? Like the Cavs and the Warriors had? Like the Spurs or even the Celtics had?

Capela was arguably a better "inside presence" in the traditional sense than any of those conf finals team had

of the game such as defense and rebounding that are equally important to winning basketball games.


>But do you not watch modern NBA? Reliable inside presence?
>Like the Cavs and the Warriors had? Like the Spurs or even the
>Celtics had?
>
>Capela was arguably a better "inside presence" in the
>traditional sense than any of those conf finals team had
>

>>
>>Capela was arguably a better "inside presence" in the
>>traditional sense than any of those conf finals team had
>>
>

>
>>>
>>>Capela was arguably a better "inside presence" in the
>>>traditional sense than any of those conf finals team had
>>>
>>
>

and its not really up for debate, what part of that are you not getting?

RE: "inside presence" just doesn't mean offensively, there are other areas...

>of the game such as defense and rebounding that are equally
>important to winning basketball games.
>
>
>>But do you not watch modern NBA? Reliable inside presence?
>>Like the Cavs and the Warriors had? Like the Spurs or even
>the
>>Celtics had?
>>
>>Capela was arguably a better "inside presence" in the
>>traditional sense than any of those conf finals team had
>>
>

Rebounds Per Game
2017-18 NBA 11.2 (6th)

Blocks Per Game
2017-18 NBA 1.7 (5th)

Offensive Rebound Pct
2017-18 NBA 15.0 (6th)

Defensive Rebound Pct
2017-18 NBA 34.4 (2nd)

Total Rebound Pct
2017-18 NBA 24.9 (2nd)

Block Pct
2017-18 NBA 5.8 (5th)

Defensive Win Shares
2017-18 NBA 1.3 (10th)

Defensive Box Plus/Minus
2017-18 NBA 4.0 (3rd)

Defensive Rating
2017-18 NBA 97.2 (1st)

Remember when Harden was a ball stopper and wouldn't work in D'antoni's offense?

Its just as lazy a trope to assume adding more stars always works. Thats like what my hs students used to always get hype about--big star movement. OHHH MAN CARMELO A KNICK SON, AMARE and MELO, SON!



>Remember when Harden was a ball stopper and wouldn't work in
>D'antoni's offense?


I never said the above. (I know youre not saying I did)
But weve often talked about how important fit is for teams and player dev. (this also isnt that)

Im not saying that this combo will suck. Of course its an upgrade over Beverley offensively. There's no doubt about that --- but end of the day both of these guys are at their best facilitating the offense with the ball a lot and a high usage rate.

Harden last year and CP3 seemingly every year. Even if each guy is at their best as the primary play-maker, each is also very proficient as a spot-up shooter which allows both to not be as fatigued.

>Sources: After Paul informed Clippers he'd sign w/ HOU in FA,
>teams agreed to deal sending Beverley, Decker, Williams and
>2018 FRP for Paul.
>
>Still a weird fit to me. As good as Cp3 is, Harden had his
>best season on the ball last year, and its shown he's at his
>best in that situation.
>
>
>On the clipps side, i wonder if they ride with Blake and this
>squad or scrap it all.
>.

And Blake's got to be gone now, right? No reason for the Clips not to blow it up and start over.

nationally televised. Like, on multiple channels.

They don't even have a decade of relevance under their belt; do they really have the rope to totally rebuild?

something in return plus I assume he's getting his max contract out of the deal

to show that he wants long-term, sustained success. Not just being happy with cracking the 4th seed twice a decade like the past 10-12 years.

edit - the presumption being that the current (as of prior to the trade) Clipper team has its best days behind it.

>They don't even have a decade of relevance under their belt;
>do they really have the rope to totally rebuild?


______________________________
http://i.imgur.com/Gj5Wy56.jpg

>They don't even have a decade of relevance under their belt;
>do they really have the rope to totally rebuild?

Jerry West got plenty of rope...if it was still Doc alone -prob not.
Then again, Doc would prob run the same team back and not get over the hump again.

____________________

<================== Learn the name now before everyone gets dunked on

better than GSW.

____________________

<================== Learn the name now before everyone gets dunked on

.

in a hotel room to keep him from signing with Dallas now they're both probably gone lol

.

Make your own decisions!!!

but Houston got him and gave up very little, so good deal for them.

i remember when "lebron and wade couldn't play together" ©

you get the talent first, and figure out the fit later.

great players figure out how to play together.

>i remember when "lebron and wade couldn't play together" ©

paul and harden will actually have an EASIER time learning to play together than lebron and wade (which took an entire season) for 2 reasons:

1) they're both great off the ball...

"Over the past four years, Harden shot 39.5 percent on 886 catch-and-shoot 3-pointers, while Paul shot 43.9 percent on 330 attempts, per SportVU."

https://theringer.com/chris-paul-james-harden-fit-houston-rockets-a13a944b7b6b

...while neither bron nor wade were great outside shooters.

2) they both already have extensive experience at playing a secondary scoring role, paul to blake and harden to KD/russ, whereas bron and wade were both accustomed to being #1 options and needed to learn how to defer.

players and how Spoelstra built his defense around those guys were key to Miami's success. Despite still getting 1st team all-D nods CP3 hasn't been an elite defender for at least the last 2 years and Harden never was.

>paul and harden will actually have an EASIER time learning to
>play together than lebron and wade (which took an entire
>season) for 2 reasons:
>
>1) they're both great off the ball...
>
>"Over the past four years, Harden shot 39.5 percent on 886
>catch-and-shoot 3-pointers, while Paul shot 43.9 percent on
>330 attempts, per SportVU."
>
>https://theringer.com/chris-paul-james-harden-fit-houston-rockets-a13a944b7b6b
>
>...while neither bron nor wade were great outside shooters.
>
>2) they both already have extensive experience at playing a
>secondary scoring role, paul to blake and harden to KD/russ,
>whereas bron and wade were both accustomed to being #1 options
>and needed to learn how to defer.

Harden playing behind KD & Russ was a lifetime ago, he's a different player now.

nobody talking about paul and harden having "fit" issues is referring to their damn defense. lolz.

i'm saying that OFFENSIVELY they'll have an easier time learning to play together than lebron and wade did. agree or no?

what's going to happen the first time CP3 screams on Harden for not playing D? All that other shit you're talking about will be out the the window.

.

upgrading from beverley to paul is an impeachable win. period, full stop. fuck a fit.

>upgrading from beverley to paul is an impeachable win.
>period, full stop. fuck a fit.

you have to play both ends of the floor, and CP3 will not defend like Beverly.

(save your keystrokes, i know you don't agree)

>(save your keystrokes, i know you don't agree)

Actually...he is....

>
>
>Actually...he is....

Lol

you'd think some of these cats would know better by now.

Until they did.

Sitting on your ass because "well, this doesn't immediately make our team immediately the favorites to beat GSW in the playoffs" is dumb as hell.

Like, did anyone respectable out there ever really think the Warriors lacked depth this year or was that all hot take horseshit from the Peanut Gallery?

We know what both can do in the PnR but both are also over 40% on spot-up 3's according to synergy. This move allows them to stagger the play-maker role which limits the fatigue on each while not sacrificing spacing.

big whoop.

supermax and Spurs probably weren't going for that lol

Why play with Harden when you could play with Kawhi?
I don't get that at all

..this was plan b?

cp3's people were pushing to get him to cleveland, but that shit was never gonna happen (too many moving parts).

if melo ends up in houston, this would be pure comedy.


*skatin' the rings of saturn*


..and miles to go before i sleep...

____________________

<================== Learn the name now before everyone gets dunked on

Every great team has at least 2 ball dominate players.

They still need a 3rd star to compete, I'm sure Morey is on it

Stephen A. Smith reporting that if Carmelo Anthony receives a buyout from the NY Knicks, he'll head to Houston to join Harden and CP3.

>Stephen A. Smith reporting that if Carmelo Anthony receives a
>buyout from the NY Knicks, he'll head to Houston to join
>Harden and CP3.


Huh? Now I'm confused; didn't Dolan reject the buy-out option for Carmelo Anthony a few days ago?

I'd tell people I wanted to go to Houston too.

Not to say he wouldn't do well in Houston but as far as ring potential he'd be better there

Should be interesting to see his style mesh with recent coach of the year and a rejuvenated Mike D'Antoni. I have to think Houston isn't done yet though. Have to wonder how the other western conference teams will respond to this move.

this is a home run, a plus move. Yes, it gets them closer to the warriors. Yes, they're the favorites for the other conference finals spot. Yes, it put Bron to HTown in play, especially since CP3rdOption is a free agent next season who can take less.

No, they're still not beating the warriors and Bron is a long shot, but it's amazing. They just added one of the five best point guards ever for pat Beverly and pocket lint.

>this is a home run, a plus move. Yes, it gets them closer to
>the warriors. Yes, they're the favorites for the other
>conference finals spot. Yes, it put Bron to HTown in play,
>especially since CP3rdOption is a free agent next season who
>can take less.
>
>No, they're still not beating the warriors and Bron is a long
>shot, but it's amazing. They just added one of the five best
>point guards ever for pat Beverly and pocket lint.

- The Rockets just got worse defensive, they're still behind the Warriors and Spurs at least...

- I'm pretty sure CP3 is re-upping for 5 years/$200mil

- he's 32 years old

And obviously they're pushing in to win as much as possible in the next 2-3 years. At the very least, they're 1 or 2 ancillary moves away from being the warriors main challenger.

in his career. We all know once star players make something like All-Defense a few times they're on there for life regardless of if they actually deserve it.

>And obviously they're pushing in to win as much as possible
>in the next 2-3 years.

and lmao@this:

>At the very least, they're 1 or 2
>ancillary moves away from being the warriors main challenger.
>

>- The Rockets just got worse defensive...


Man...lol...Why do u keep saying this shit???

It's not true...At all....

That doesn't mean it'll work.

Win 55-60 games and get a top three seed? Because that's a done deal

>Win 55-60 games and get a top three seed? Because that's a
>done deal

I don't. And their offense is going to be much more diversified for the playoffs. Even without any other moves, they're the obvious second best team in the conference RIGHT TODAY

D'Antoni is a regular season wizard. I have no doubt he was gonna win 55 with that team cause they are built perfectly for him.

The biggest benefit to this is now Harden won't be spent by the time the playoffs roll around but I dunno.

Not enough, but yeah, they had to do this.

Harden has already shown the ability to adapt under D'Antoni and I think both (especially CP3) have realized that they need someone else to split the play-making load...Harden was cooked by the end of season and CP3 has looked cooked for the last 4 years once the 2nd round came along.

Even getting a "3rd star" unless it's Bron won't be enough.

At least not in full.

CP opted in so he can max next year with Houston I'd assume, and he will outside of a disaster happening.

CLE might scoop Melo and Wade if they get buyouts, or maybe they go to Houston.

But I don't see all 4 coming together right now, even tho all could be FA's next year.

If nothing else, with the Clippers about to become irrelevant yet again, it allows me to focus my contempt on Rockets, rather than spreading it out over the Rockets and the Clippers.

still not enough for the God State Warriors

but im going to enjoy the CP3 & Harden experience in the regular season at least.

______________________________
http://i.imgur.com/Gj5Wy56.jpg

https://twitter.com/GoodmanESPN/status/880097687793672192
https://twitter.com/ProCityHoops/status/880102589098012673

in the meantime, this team will be fun as hell to watch. and should durant twist a knee or curry tweak an ankle, rox will be in as good a position as any team in the league to capitalize and make a run.

You have a star on the market and a win-now team. However, the fact that he gave up some good assets in a sign and trade for CP3 (rather than just waiting until FA and not giving up anything) tells me that CP3's bird rights were priority 1 and Morey doesn't have much confidence in a deal happening. The only real asset he has left is Capela and dude plays the same position as one of the best modern 5's in the game, Turner.

Just asking

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/paulch01.html

2016-17 NBA

Assists Per Game 9.2 (4th)
Steals Per Game 2.0 (3rd)
Offensive Rating 126.0 (5th)
Player Efficiency Rating 26.2 (9th)
Win Shares Per 48 Minutes .264 (2nd)
Box Plus/Minus 8.7 (3rd)

....downslope for his career. Things could take a sharp turn for the worse in the next couple of seasons. Which is why it makes sense that he's in "Win Now" mode.

He still isn't going to win though.

>....downslope for his career. Things could take a sharp turn
>for the worse in the next couple of seasons. Which is why it
>makes sense that he's in "Win Now" mode.
>
>He still isn't going to win though.

Harden gives him a player who he can share play-making duties with and thus reduce CP3's fatigue and wear. Based on the fact that Morey dealt for him rather than wait tells me that bird rights are very important to CP3 (aka he wants a 5 year deal).

supposedly he isn't a fam of re-running the same group

gonna be interesting to see what the Clippers look like w/o Paul (*cringe)

so much for the attempted shift to this being a Clippers town

likewise this isn't goign to help team morale with the proposed move to Inglewood

maybe they can be the ones to get Lord NyQuil. then the jokey-jokes end.

i'm guessing he resigns for less than the supermax (shout out to no state income tax)

I could still see him returning to NO to play with AD after the Boogie experiment is over with...

http://hoopshype.com/player/chris-paul/salary/

....Shit.....!

backcourt defensively even if they can mesh offensively.

I don't see them being better than the Spurs...

Obviously not better than the Warriors.

The Spurs won't look the same next season - Manu/Tony may be done, etc - so tough to say there.

The rest of the West are total question marks. If Hayward leaves Utah, then they're not a playoff team. TBD what the Clippers do, but they won't be as good as Houston. Memphis, OKC, Portland...nope.

The Pelicans are probably, at best, a 4-5 seed.

So I mean...it's possible but I'm not betting on it, no.

Blake seemed like a good fit but they have no money. They're paying Kanter, Adams, and Oladipo a combined $60 mil next year.

better.

And when they play the Rockets who's going to guard Russ?

WHO MADDDDDDDDDDDDDDD?????????????????????

Chris Paul Lost Faith In Doc Rivers Due To How He Favored Austin Rivers Over Team

https://www.facebook.com/MrMichaelEaves/posts/1239427866166362

Michael Eaves
51 mins ·

Here's some information on the Chris Paul trade. First the MICRO:

Paul's relationship with Doc Rivers started to deteriorate rapidly after the Clippers acquired Austin Rivers. Several members of the team felt Austin acted entitled because his dad was both the coach and the President of Basketball Operations. In the view of the tenured players, Austin Rivers never tried to fit in, and when players tried to address the situation with him, he still did not respond the way the core of the team wanted him to. It led to resentment within the locker room, which often played out during games. One of Paul's biggest contentions with Doc was that Paul, and other players, felt Doc treated Austin more favorably than other players. He would yell at guys for certain things during games and practices, but not get on Austin in the same manner for similar transgressions.

But what really solidified Paul's dissatisfaction with Doc was a proposed trade involving Carmelo Anthony last season. New York offered Carmelo and Sasha Vujacic to the Clippers in exchange for Jamal Crawford, Paul Pierce and Austin Rivers, a deal to which Rivers ultimately said no. That event led Paul to feel that keeping his son on the roster was more important to Doc than improving the team. So, ultimately, Paul lost both trust and faith in Doc. As one league executive put it, "Chris despises Doc."

(I was also told that when Paul met with the team to inform them of his plans, Jerry West was not in attendance. It was only Doc and Lawrence Frank.)

MACRO

This move is a win-win for Chris Paul, and it was all part of a master plan. By opting into the final year of his current contract and pressuring the Clippers to trade him to Houston, Paul will be in the exact same situation next summer. He can re-sign with the Rockets for 5 years and $200+ million or sign a 4-year deal for about $150 million with another team. In addition, he will save several million dollars in state income tax.

Also, by being committed to the Rockets for only one season, it gives him a year to see if he can actually co-exist and pursue a title with James Harden. But even beyond that, this move gives Paul more flexibility to join LeBron James in 2018. If he stayed in LA or signed the max deal with the Clippers and forced them to do a sign-and-trade with the Rockets, Paul and LeBron could only join forces at one location. Now, they will have the ability to pick and choose wherever they want to go as a tandem, which could be Houston, LA {Lakers or Clippers (provided Doc is no longer with organization)}, or any other destination in-between.

Dudes didn't fuck with sorry ass Austin.
Doc like.. man fuck yall.

>As one league executive put it, "Chris
>despises Doc."

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_9B-9HH4E2g/maxresdefault.jpg

http://basketball.realgm.com/nba/teams/Washington-Wizards/30/Playoff-History

God".

Right?

.

so I could tell you more about Serpentor than your lame ass get back.

>so I could tell you more about Serpentor than your lame ass
>get back.

he turned on his team just like you did.

.

What's your adult excuse?

vex would be proud of you.


>What's your adult excuse?

it's called integrity.

The Wizards have pretty much done what they're supposed to do, and the Clippers have generally lost because of injuries and complete lack of any swingman with an ounce of athleticism(CP3 got blame the year he had those big turnovers late)

.
.

"The unexamined life is not worth living." - Plato

How Will Chris Paul and James Harden Fit Together?
There’s only one ball!

Pairing Chris Paul with James Harden seems awkward at first glance, but maybe those guys know something we don’t. The Clippers are sending Paul to the Rockets for a seven-player package that includes Patrick Beverley, Sam Dekker, Lou Williams, and a 2018 first-round pick. “Chris Paul and James Harden were determined to play together,” Adrian Wojnarowski reported Wednesday, “and found a way with the Rockets-Clippers trade agreed upon today.”

Paul and Harden are two of the most ball-dominant guards in the game. Harden possessed the ball for 8.9 minutes per game last season, which led the NBA, per SportVU. Paul ranked seventh, at 7.2 minutes. Is there enough ball to go around for the Beard and the Point God?

Yes, though you wouldn’t know it if you’ve watched CP3 over his career. He has been the sole orchestrator since high school, through college at Wake Forest, and at both his NBA stops in New Orleans and Los Angeles. Even while playing alongside one of the most talented playmaking bigs of this century, Blake Griffin, there were often chemistry issues stemming from how much Paul wanted the ball.

But that wasn’t exactly Paul’s fault. The blame should largely fall on Clippers coach Doc Rivers, who, year after year, failed to stagger Paul’s and Griffin’s minutes, which meant they almost always shared the floor. Houston coach Mike D’Antoni always staggers minutes. With Harden and Paul, he can have at least one of the NBA’s elite playmakers on the floor for the entire game. Last season, Beverley and Eric Gordon played only two-thirds of their minutes with Harden. Beverley went from averaging 2.7 assists per 36 minutes while sharing the floor with Harden, to 8.8 assists per 36 when Harden was off the floor, while Gordon went from 15.6 points per 36 to 24.9 points per 36, respectively.

D’Antoni turned Gordon and Beverley into feature players when they played without Harden. The same idea applies to Paul. He and Harden don’t need to share the floor. Paul can be as dominant as he’s always been when he plays without Harden, and the Beard can play like he has the past few years with the Rockets. D’Antoni’s offense could unleash Paul 2.0, in the same way Harden reached a higher level this past season.

There will be growing pains, especially early in the 2017–18 season. But Harden willingly and successfully took on a supporting role with the Thunder when he was the third wheel behind Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. It’s not out of the question for him to relinquish some control to Paul. That both players wanted to join forces is a sign that they’re committed to doing what’s best for the team. Paul is in a new situation, one that will still feature him for some portion of the game. It’s reasonable to assume that he’ll view playing off the ball alongside Harden as an opportunity to get easier scoring chances than he’s ever dreamed of having. This was one of the draws of Golden State for Kevin Durant.

And don’t expect the Rockets to stop playing Moreyball. Harden and Paul are both knockdown spot-up 3-point shooters. Regardless of who’s handling the ball, the other can be a floor spacer who will significantly strain the defense. Over the past four years, Harden shot 39.5 percent on 886 catch-and-shoot 3-pointers, while Paul shot 43.9 percent on 330 attempts, per SportVU. Those guys are capable of draining 3s off the catch and off of screens, or they can attack a closeout and make a play off the bounce. Houston’s offense was intoxicating last year; just imagine the possibilities now. D’Antoni must feel like he’s dreaming.

Losing Beverley will hurt Houston’s defense, but Paul is no slouch — he was also just named first-team All-Defense. Even at the age of 32, he’s still an elite defender who grinds, night in and night out. Maybe by relinquishing some of his offensive workload, he’ll be able to be even more impactful on the defensive end. The same goes for Harden, who people seem to forget was a reliable defender early in his career in Oklahoma City, and in college at Arizona State.

So what’s next? Because with Morey, there’s always a “next.” Stephen A. Smith reported that if Carmelo Anthony is bought out he will be pursued by the Rockets. But to do that, Houston will need to move Ryan Anderson’s $19.6 million contract. Trading away Anderson, or even dealing him as part of a package for Melo, could be a realistic next step for the team to add another star presence in its quest to take down the Warriors. Brian Windhorst also reports that the Rockets are chasing Paul George, though finding a practical trade package for the Pacers star would be difficult.

Houston also acquired DeAndre Liggins, Tim Quarterman, and Ryan Kelly to include in the Paul trade, which suggests that the Rockets will not go under the cap to absorb Paul’s contract and will retain the use of their full $8.4 million midlevel exception. These moves suggest that names could be added to the Paul trade to make it work financially. The benefit of going over the cap to do it would be having the flexibility to chase other free agents with their exception.

By being traded, Paul retains his eligibility to sign a designated-player veteran extension worth five years and roughly $205 million. Once he inks that deal, the Rockets are locked in. Morey said he had something up his sleeve. That is quite a sleeve he’s got. There’s a superteam arms race happening in the NBA, and it’s not even July yet.

https://theringer.com/chris-paul-james-harden-fit-houston-rockets-a13a944b7b6b

shades of Morey's calculator telling him the Dwight signing was good here...

*looks*

Oh wow, painfully obvious which side of the argument is right. Nicely done, gang.

>*looks*
>
>Oh wow, painfully obvious which side of the argument is right.
>Nicely done, gang.

Only thing I ended up being wrong about is The Clippers being irrelavent for the foreseeable future. Turns out they bounced back after two seasons.

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/246557/Reuniting-With-Trevor-Ariza-Factored-Into-Chris-Pauls-Decision-On-Rockets

i won.

On Monday, it was announced that James Harden finished second in MVP voting in his first season as the Houston Rockets' point guard. On Wednesday, the Rockets traded for an even better point guard.

Before free agency even began, Houston got what would have been one of the best free agents on the market, trading for Chris Paul, who will not exercise his early termination option and will instead remain under contract for one more season.

And now, we wonder how Harden and Paul will work together.

First of all, let's assume that Coach of the Year Mike D'Antoni is smart enough to stagger the two playmakers' playing time, so that one of the two is always on the floor (excluding garbage time). If the 32-year-old Paul stays playing about 32 minutes per game and Harden plays about 36 minutes per game, they'd only be on the floor together about 20 minutes per night (for about five minutes each quarter).

And having the other on the floor while one sits helps avoid the issue that both the Clippers and Rockets have had in the past. L.A. outscored its opponents by 14.9 points per 100 possessions with Paul on the floor and was outscored by 5.3 when he was off the floor. That differential of 20.2 points per 100 possessions was the league's biggest on-off NetRtg differential (by a pretty wide margin -- LeBron James had the second biggest at 16.3) among players who logged at least 1,000 minutes last season.

The Rockets didn't see nearly as big of a drop-off when Harden sat. They were only 3.4 points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor (plus-6.3) than they were with him off the floor (plus-2.8).

But Houston's success still depended on its bench minutes. The Rockets' aggregate bench NetRtg was plus-12.1 in wins and minus-15.3 in losses. That difference of 27.4 was the biggest in the league. More than any other team, how well the bench played is how well the team played.

It remains to be seen how deep of a bench the Rockets will have come October. But by just having Harden and Paul on the roster, they already have the Sixth Man of the Year (Eric Gordon) and one of the league's best playmakers around which to build a second unit.

Still, even if D'Antoni minimizes their minutes together, both Harden and Paul will have to sacrifice touches and touch time. They each ranked in the top seven in time of possession per game last season. Only 76 (9.6 percent) of Paul's 785 shots were catch-and-shoot jumpers last season, while only 194 (12.7) of Harden's 1,533 shots were catch-and-shoot.

According to SportVU, Harden led the league by using 39.1 ball screens per game. Paul ranked fourth, using 29.4 per contest. But they can each continue running lots of pick-and-rolls, even on the same possession. In fact, that's the advantage of having two great playmakers. If the defense stops the first action, there's another guy on the floor who can take advantage of the attention that the first guy has drawn. Imagine a Harden-Clint Capela pick-and-roll leading into a Paul-Ryan Anderson pick-and-pop, with the league leader in corner 3s over the last four years (Trevor Ariza) keeping his defender honest.

(dula's note: i'll be honest, that last sentence made me a little erect)

That's a big reason why the Rockets traded for Lou Williams in February. They wanted an additional playmaker to make it more difficult for defenses to load up on Harden. Unfortunately, Williams shot 35 percent in the conference semifinals, with more turnovers (nine) than assists (six).

Paul is obviously a huge upgrade (on both ends of the floor) over Williams (who is being sent to L.A. in the trade). When Paul used a ball screen last season, the Clippers scored 1.17 points per possession. When Harden used a ball screen, the Rockets scored at the same rate. Those marks ranked third and fourth among the 46 players that used at least 1,000.

They are both elite pick-and-roll guards, but neither is a liability otherwise. This is not a pairing of Rajon Rondo and Ricky Rubio, where defenses can sag off the guy that doesn't have the ball.

Harden has had an effective field goal percentage of 59.2 percent on catch-and-shoot jumpers over the last three seasons. Paul (though on limited attempts) has been better.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DDb9MeWWAAAdrSf.jpg

John Schuhmann ✔ @johnschuhmann
Over the last 3 seasons, Harden & Paul have a combined eFG% of 61.0% on catch-and-shoot jumpers.
4:01 PM - 28 Jun 2017

Both Paul and Harden will have to add off-ball cuts to their game. Paul will also have an adjustment to make if the Rockets want to continue playing at a fast pace. The Rockets have been in the top three in pace three times (and no lower than seventh) in Harden's five seasons in Houston. Paul's teams have ranked in the top 10 in pace only once (2013-14 Clippers) and above the league average only one other time ('14-15 Clippers).

And something will have to give in regard to Paul's mid-range shooting. Over the last three years, he has taken 42 percent of his shots from mid-range, while the Rockets have taken only 11 percent of their shots from between the paint and the 3-point line. Paul has been the league's second best mid-range shooter over that time (minimum 500 attempts), with his 48.5 percent from mid-range trailing only Kevin Durant's 48.7 percent, but the Rockets have basically erased his best shot from their offense. After the All-Star break last season, they took less than seven percent of their shots from mid-range. In fact, Paul took more mid-range shots after the All-Star break (149) than the Rockets did (147).

Playing off Harden will lower the percentage of shots that Paul takes from mid-range, because catch-and-shoot jumpers are more likely to come from beyond the arc. Still, it will be fascinating to see how this all plays out, in more ways than one.

The thing that's disappointing to me is that Paul didn't do the exciting for the league and go to San Antonio at a reduced price. He took the big bucks and moved on just to move on. Houston would have been hard-pressed to repeat last year's success, now they should be able to. Whoopty-damn-doo. In your face, middling Western Conference franchises!

From Houston's standpoint oh BFD that Harden has to play off the ball more. It's nothing different than he did for most of his career and he will still run the one. I would expect them to be on the floor together less than most star duos, giving them both more opportunities to play run units.

From the Clippers' standpoint, well they got something which is better than nothing. You can't say much more than that. The biggest thing they was a reprieve and also a nudge in the right direction. Had Paul said give me the five year deal, I'm saying, it would been hard to say no. Do you know what that deal will look like in years four and five? Not pretty. It also tells them what they already knew: this group is not winning a title, you've got rebuild. Most franchises would be content with a high-scoring, entertaining team that put butts in seats. But Ballmer doesn't want that, he wants to win. Well time to start from scratch

Houston will be willing to give him a 5-year deal next summer

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"The unexamined life is not worth living." - Plato

It's pretty well known hes a bulldog in practices and games

The first time Harden shows up to practice smelling like Pineapple Ciroc, CP3 is gonna take the Andis to his face.


Maybe Harden turns over a new leaf though.. I'd like to see that. He's one of the most fun players to watch in the league when he's clicking.




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>"The unexamined life is not worth living." - Plato

>It's pretty well known hes a bulldog in practices and games
>
>The first time Harden shows up to practice smelling like
>Pineapple Ciroc, CP3 is gonna take the Andis to his face.
>
>
>Maybe Harden turns over a new leaf though.. I'd like to see
>that. He's one of the most fun players to watch in the league
>when he's clicking.
>

http://stats.nba.com/teams/advanced/?sort=NET_RATING&dir=-1&Season=2017-18&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&DateFrom=11%2F16%2F2017

his personal numbers over that stretch: 19/9/5/2 on 65% true shooting (50/45/91), leads the league in +/- and offensive rating, and top 5 in 4th quarter PER.

#washedtho
#canitworktho
#yeahyourfavoritePGsbetter
#jimcornetteface

knows the team hierarchy.

Melo would definitely be better here, though. Knicks probably cost him a few million trading him to a team with 0 point guards instead of 2.

>Knicks probably cost him a few million trading him
>to a team with 0 point guards instead of 2.

feels like they dodged a bullet. he doesn't fit their personnel or system at all tbh.

now.

Unless he transformed into a 40% 3pt shooter and limited his shooting to open jumpers.

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and we still in play for Bron....


CRY NIGGA

fuck no

Even when shit goes right, it goes wrong

I bet they are lol...

https://www.complex.com/sports/2019/05/rockets-reportedly-willing-to-trade-chris-paul?

I bet they're trying to trade him, LOL

Why in the fuck is he making more money than Harden?

SMH@these contracts

They should let the FA chips fall before making that decision

KD/Klay leave GSW...it's a different ballgame.

at least have a hometown (close to it) guy to keep the fans engaged through it all.

And unlike Carmelo, Paul's still useful.

Lakers have cash and LeBron. If they can't pull off 2 major free agents in July (but maybe they land 1), don't be surprised if they take on Paul at LeBron's behest. lol

If it does...Lakers better get a lot of picks.

I can see Pelinka or Jeanie feeling like they can "fleece" Houston for that terrible fucking contract and get another star on the roster.

Like, do the Lakers have the salary on the team to match up and get a trade done? Like, wouldn’t it take including LeBron?

>Like, do the Lakers have the salary on the team to match up
>and get a trade done? Like, wouldn’t it take including
>LeBron?