And then there were nine. Hey, Welcome back to "Pat's Top 25 NBA Players". On Wednesday, August 15th, DeMarcus Cousins of the Golden State Warriors and Kyrie Irving of the Boston Celtics was selected as the 11th and 10th best player in the NBA.
Chris Paul of the Houston Rockets will be making an appearance on the list today. CP3 has been a top five point guard since his rookie season in the NBA, back in 2005 and still to date is an elite player not only at his position,but in the league.
Before I give my analysis on Cp3 and announce the other player that will be making an appearance on todays list, let's look at the list so far.
*Players that didn't make the cut
- C. Nikola Jokic *Denver Nuggets
- C. Andre Drummond *Detroit Pistons
- SG. Devin Booker *Phoenix Suns
- PF. Kevin Love *Cleveland Cavaliers
- PG. Kemba Walker *Charlotte Hornets
- SG. C.J.McCollum *Portland Trail Blazers
Top 25
*Players ranked #25-10
- (25.) SG. Bradley Beal *Washington Wizards
- (24.) C. Karl-Anthony Towns *Minnesota Timberwolves
- (23.) PG. Kyle Lowry *Toronto Raptors
- (22.) SG. Victor Oladipo *Indiana Pacers
- (21.) C. Rudy Gobert *Utah Jazz
- (20.) PF. LaMarcus Aldridge *San Antonio Spurs
- (19.) PF. Draymond Green *Golden State Warriors
- (18.) SG. DeMar Derozan *San Antonio Spurs
- (17.) C. Joel Embiid *Philadelphia 76ers
- (16.) PG. John Wall *Washington Wizards
- (15.) SF. Paul George *Oklahoma City Thunder
- (14.) SG. Jimmy Butler *Minnesota Timberwolves
- (13.) SG. Klay Thompson *Golden State Warriors
- (12.) PG. Damian Lillard *Portland Trail Blazers
- (11.) C. DeMarcus Cousins *Golden State Warriors
- (10.) PG. Kyrie Irving *Boston Celtics
Now the 9th and 8th selection.
- (9.) PG. Chris Paul *Houston Rockets
CP3 has been the most complete point guard in the NBA for like a decade now, and still till this day that statement still is true. Over the past four seasons Paul has been an NBA All-Star twice (2015,2016), made the All-NBA second team twice (2015,2016) and has made the All-Defensive first team three times, (2015-2017). What's even more impressive about those accolades is that Paul could have even more during this span been an but being injured for 21 games in 2017 and 24 games in 2018 derailed that opportunity.
Chris Paul has an impressive stat line as well. From 2015-2018 his numbers across the board, (18.8 Pts, 4.8 Rebs, 9.3 Ast, 2.0 Stls, 2.3 To's 47 Fg%, 39 3pt% & 91 Ft%.)
Paul greatness tends to get overshadowed these days, because of his playoff failures. In 2015, Chris Paul and the Los Angeles Clippers were up 3-1 in the series against the Houston Rockets and one win away from clinching their first Western Conference Finals appearance in Franchise history, but they choked. The Clippers at home held a 92-79 after three quarters ,but was outscored 40-15 in the fourth and lost another closeout game 119-107. The Clippers then went on to lose game 7 on the road 116-104, squandering their best opportunity to finally get over that Conference Final road block.
In 2016, the Clippers was the fourth seed and they matched up against Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round. The Clippers had a 2-0 lead in the series, but went on to lose the next series 4-2.. Paul broke a bone in his right hand in game four and their other star player Blake Griffin was injured the last two game of the series as well. The Clippers played hard without them, but simply didn't have enough talent to win those final two games.
In 2017, The Clippers were the fourth seed again and they matched up against Gordon Hayward in the Utah Jazz. The Clippers lost game one 97-95 at home, but won the next two games to take a 2-1 series lead. Blake Griffin had to come out of game three with a bruised toe and he was unable to return for the series. The Jazz won the next two games to take a 3-2 lead The Clippers responded with a 98-93 road win in game six, but went on to lose game seven at home. got a hard fought road win in game six, but went on to lose game seven at home.
Chris Paul was traded to the Houston Rockets in the 2017 offseason for Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams, Sam Dekker, Montrezl Harrell, Darrun Hilliard, DeAndre Liggins, Kyle Wiltjer, a protected first round pick and cash considerations. A lot of people questioned how well Paul and James Harden could play with each other, but that duo seemed to be a perfect fit. They both shared the ball handling duties, and Paul made them better defensively as well. The Rockets was number five in defensive efficiency this past season. The two seasons prior they finished 20th in 2016 and 15th in 2017. The Rockets had the best record in the NBA as well. They finished with 65 wins, which was a 10-win improvement from last season.
Furthermore, Chris Paul finally got over a huge road block in his career. Paul scored 41 points, grabbed seven rebounds , dished out 10 assist and had zero turnovers in a close out game five against Utah. Paul scored 20 points in the fourth quarter, he was a man on a mission and conquered a playoff demon.
The Rockets faced the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals. The Rockets lost game three of the series 126-85 and went now down 2-1 in the series. The Rockets were down by 12 points after three quarters in game four, but they outscored the Warriors 25-12 in the 4th and tied the series at 2-2. The Rockets won game five at home 98-94 and it looked like Paul and Harden were about to advance the NBA Finals, but Chris Paul was unable to play the final two games of the series , because of a right hamstring strain and the Rockets ultimately lost the series in seven games.
Chris Paul career in the NBA Playoffs are riddled with injuries and misfortune. That shouldn't take away from his greatness though. If you look at his numbers throughout the playoffs he plays consistently well and if you look at the games , you see that he's out there giving it his all and playing tough and efficient on both ends.
I placed Chris Paul over Kyrie Irving, because no matter the team Paul is placed on they will be exponentially better with him. Since 2007,a team led by Chris Paul has missed the playoffs just once. He instantly increases your value to a team. Paul is a better playmaker, defender and is a slightly more efficient shooter than Irving. Paul has finished top four in win shares per 48 minutes each of the past four seasons, top-10 in in offensive rating each of the past four seasons, top six in plus/minus each of the past four seasons and top 10 in PER three out of the past four seasons, and top ten in MVP award shares two out of the past four seasons. It's definitely a close call and I do understand why Irving can be placed above Paul. Irving unlike Paul is a champion and in game seven of the 2016 NBA Finals had the greatest playoff moment in the last couple decades with his shot against Golden State. Kyrie is younger than Paul as well and because of that has more upside. I'm taking Paul slightly over Kyrie, I doubt I'll be able make that statement a year from now.
- (8.) PF. Giannis AntetoKoumpo *Milwaukee Bucks
The "Greek Freak" is a transcending player in the NBA. Giannis is 6"11, with a 7"3 wingspan and is a nightmare matchup for any player in the NBA.
Giannis Antetokoumpo has improved as a player each season and over the past four seasons has a cumulative stat line of (19.9 Pts, 8.3 Rebs, 4.3 Ast, 1.3 Stls, 1.4 Blks, 51 Fg%, 28 3pt% & 75 Ft%.). Giannis has really made his mark over the past two seasons. In 2016-2017, he won Most Improved Player, he made All-NBA second team, All-Defense second team , finished seventh in MVP award shares , finished 10th in PER, 10thin Win Shares, 5th in Defensive Win Shares, made his first All-Star game and averaged, ( 22.9 Pts, 8.8 Rebs, 5.4 Ast, 1.6 Stls, 1.9 Blks, 52 Fg%, 27 3pt% &77 Ft%.) In his 2017-2018 campaign he averaged,(26.9 Pts, 10.0 Rebs, 4.8 Ast, 1.5 Stls, 1.4 Blks, 53 Fg%,31 3pt% & 76 Ft%), while finishing 6th in MVP award shares, 7th in Value over replacement, 10th in Box-Plus minus, 5th in PER, 5th in Ppg, 10th in rebounds, 9th in Blocks per game and made the All-NBA second team once again.
Giannis is clearly one of the top players in the league, and he's doing all this with a below average jump shot. Giannis put up 26.9 Ppg last year, while shooting 31pt% from the three point line. Imagine if he's able to get a reliable jump shot, how would anyone be able to stop this man...
Giannis played well in the first round against the second seeded Boston Celtics this past season. He averaged (25.7 Pts, 9.6 Rebs, 6.3 Ast, 1.4 Stl, 0.9 Blks, 57 Fg%, 29 3pt% and 69 Ft%.) As you can see his points, rebounds, blocks, three point percentage and free throw percentage went down a bit in the seven game series against the Celtics, but he nearly increased his assist by two a game. Giannis hasn't made it out the first round in any of his three playoff appearances, but Milwaukee wasn't favored in any of those matchups so he shouldn't get blamed for his early exits.
Giannis needs to elevate the play of his team if they ever want to finish as a top four seed heading into the playoffs. The Bucks have some solid talent at each position, but Giannis may need some more help as the top of the Eastern Conference has gotten better the last two seasons. I expect Giannis to be a legit MVP candidate heading into next season and I hope he, Eric Bledsoe, Khris Middleton, Thon Maker and the rest of the supporting cast can make some noise in the East.
Giannis is undoubtedly a top ten player and will stay there for the years to come. He is still under 25 years of age, so his potential is limitless.
There you have it the 9th and 8th selection. Let me know what you think.
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