JJ Redick and Kevin Durant spoke in length about Chris Paul’s bad decision-making during Game 5 of the OKC Thunder vs LA Clippers series.
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Chris Paul will go down in NBA history as of the greatest point guards to ever play the game of basketball. The ‘Point God’ has had a positive impact on every team that he has played with during the course of his long NBA career.
The New Orleans Hornets, Los Angeles Clippers, Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Phoenix Suns have all benefitted from Paul’s services. Paul came close to achieving his dream of winning an NBA championship last year when his Phoenix Suns lost 4-2 to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Kevin Durant and JJ Redick discuss Chris Paul’s crucial turnover followed by a bad foul
Former NBA player JJ Redick, now a sports analyst with ESPN, recently sat down with one of the most lethal scorers in the history of the game, Kevin Durant on his podcast, The Old Man and The Three.
Both Redick and Durant spoke about the rivalry between their two teams at that point, the meltdown in game 5 of the 2014 playoff series, the lowest points they had with their respective teams and so much more.
The OKC Thunder and LA Clippers locked horns during the 2014 NBA Playoffs Western Conference Semi-Finals series. With the series evenly poised at 2-2, the two teams headed to Oklahoma City for Game 5 and it would turn out to be a thriller.
With 49 seconds to go in the fourth quarter, The Clippers were up 104-97. At this stage, one would expect the Clippers to win this game but what followed soon after was something both teams wouldn’t have expected.
The Thunder cut the deficit to two points with 18 seconds to go following which Paul tried to shoot a three from the backcourt thinking he would be fouled by Westbrook but Brodie stripped the ball clean. Reggie Jackson ended up with the loose ball and went in for the layup only for the shot to be deflected by Matt Barnes.
The replay looked like the ball went off Jackson’s hands but the ball was eventually given to the Thunder much to the displeasure of Clippers coach Doc Rivers who was irate. Jackson inbounded the ball to Westbrook who threw up a difficult three with CP3 all over him but was fouled in the process by the Clippers’ guard.
Westbrook made all his three free throws and the Thunder were back up by one 105-104. With a little over 6 seconds to go, the Clippers had the chance to win the game and Paul had the opportunity to make up for his mistakes but he instead lost the ball while attempting a layup and turned the ball over leading to a Thunder victory. The Thunder would eventually go on to win the series 4-2.
JJ Redick then mentioned the 2015 Playoff series against the Houston Rockets where the Clippers were up 3-1 but ended up losing 4-3 and how that was the time he saw Chris Paul at his lowest.
While Paul has moved on from these setbacks, it will be interesting to see whether these moments in his career actually turn out to be the ‘What Ifs’ if he doesn’t end up winning a championship.
