As the ultimate bench organizer, Paul can still contribute quality minutes.
In the closing stages of the third quarter against the Washington Wizards, the Golden State Warriors were running the break. The Wizards got back in time to prevent a transition bucket from happening, which meant that the Warriors had to settle themselves into a half-court set.
Perhaps there’s no one better in history to settle an offense into a half-court set than Chris Paul — returning from a 21-game absence due to a fractured hand. Coming off the bench and expected to run the second unit with Klay Thompson as his main running mate on offense, Paul is aware of who butters the offensive bread.
As such, he makes it a priority to see where Thompson is at all times and make decisions off of it. Once he settles down the offense, peep at what he tells Jonathan Kuminga to do — and the bucket it generates as a result:
“That’s not a playcall, that’s just Chris Paul getting us organized,” Steve Kerr said of the sequence above. “I think he motioned to (Kuminga) to go set the screen, he knew to slip out because he’s played with Chris and he understands the gravity that Klay has. That was a great sequence. Again, that’s what Chris does, he gets you organized, he gets you good looks. All season long he’s been such a high performer in terms of all of our best lineups it seems like he’s in. He knows how to play.”
This is why Paul — despite being somewhat of a controversial figure in Dub Nation circles this season — still provides a non-insignificant amount of value to this team. While he can run anathema to the breakneck speed and organized chaos the Warriors are known for, being plainly organized isn’t a bad thing at all, especially in situations where the Warriors tend to overstep that fine line and turn into a disorganized mess.
But I also understand why Paul’s tenure with this team has been controversial. Never mind his historical stature as one of the Warriors’ hated rivals prior to being traded to this team — Paul is a generous 6-foot guard and well past his days as an All-Defensive Team mainstay — on a team filled with other guards who are no taller than 6-foot-4, on a team whose tallest player is defensively compromised Dario Šarić.
Combine one of those small guards with Paul — namely, Steph Curry — and you can see why that could be a problem. That gives opponents two attackable targets on defense, especially at the point of attack. Off the ball, either Curry or Paul as the low man on the weak side allows opponents to find the corner option and get open looks from that spot, due to Curry and Paul’s small statures making them ineffective as shot contesters.
Add to the fact that the Warriors showed zero indication of trading Paul’s expiring contract away before the trade deadline and some of the gripes and concerns are valid. But now that Paul is here to stay till the end of the season, it’s now Steve Kerr’s job to mix and match lineup combinations that bring out the best of Paul’s skill set — without compromising the team as a whole.
Paul played just a shade under 22 minutes, which partly could be due to easing him back into competitive play. Save for a few possessions where he was paired with Curry to close the first half, Paul was mostly a bench operator along with Thompson — and it’s no coincidence that the bench exploded for 59 points against the Wizards.
What caught my eye is Paul reestablishing the budding chemistry he had with Thompson early in the season. Thompson is embracing his role as the second unit’s main scorer and advantage creator, but it would still be preferable for him to do most of his work off the ball.
This is where Paul comes in as the organizer and Thompson whisperer, so to speak. Even while Paul didn’t get the assist on this sequence — one that started with a set play called “Head Tap” that the Wizards were able to defend — Paul calls an audible for split action, which allows Thompson to do his damage off the ball:
The intriguing part of the sequence above was Paul’s willingness to set the split screen for Thompson. Paul has the capability to be a nasty screener whenever he’s given the opportunity — as former Warrior Jordan Poole found out:
One game back — and against the 9-49 Wizards — isn’t necessarily representative of how Paul’s minutes distribution and performance will look like the rest of the season. But the Warriors are still outscoring opponents by nearly six points per 100 possessions during Paul’s minutes this season (with low-leverage situations eliminated from the equation). Paul has done some things right — but it also precludes that he be paired with the right players who complement him on both ends of the floor.
His ability to feed the needy served Thompson well tonight:
And the oft-theorized pairing with Trayce Jackson-Davis — an ideal combination because of the rookie’s vertical athleticism and Paul’s reputation as a roll-man whisperer — even made a thunderous appearance tonight:
The Warriors outscored the Wizards by 17 points during Paul’s minutes on the floor tonight. Single game plus-minus isn’t a reliable indicator of long-term impact, but Paul is still a cumulative plus-102 for the season. When paired with Thompson (523 minutes), the Warriors outscore opponents by 89 points.
It’s paramount that Paul be paired with the Warriors’ new sixth man as much as possible. There are still questions as to whether he should be closing with Curry as his back-court partner — again, the defensive concerns are there (opponents outscore the Warriors by 117.4 points per 100 possessions with Curry and Paul as the backcourt — equivalent to the 20th-ranked defense in the league).
I’m leaning toward that not being the case and focusing on defense as the primary concern when it comes to closing games. Paul still has plenty of value to provide — but it doesn’t have to be when the Warriors need to string together stops in crunch time.