Don’t look now, but the Phoenix Suns are the hottest team in the NBA (sorry Steph and Dray). And Chris Paul is a huge part of that.
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There are few players in basketball history to have been blessed with the IQ that Chris Paul has. The Point God is producing at pretty much the same rate as John Stockton would do at a similar age.
Chris Paul leads the NBA assists charts currently at 10.1 per game. He may have taken a foot further back in terms of scoring, but he’s efficient as ever. And it’s pretty good for him to be taking that step back, given the stage of development his squad is in.
Deandre Ayton and Mikal Bridges are both playing the most efficient basketball of their careers. Ayton is a walking double-double with true defensive anchor potential and a face-up game that’s going to be a problem before too long. Mikal, meanwhile, is putting in a DPOY campaign with his stellar 3-and-D play.
The emergence of these talented two-way young guns allows the 36-year-old Paul to be the offensive orchestrator arguably better than ever before. Devin Booker might be the most talented scorer he’s ever played alongside, after all.
All in all, the circumstances are shaping up for a Western Conference rivalry between Steph and Chris Paul. And CP3 is clearly in no mood to give up on his championship obsession, given his arguably All-NBA level play this year.
“Chris Paul has this IQ that’s gonna keep him on that floor till he’s 50”: Mikal Bridges
Mikal Bridges described Chris Paul and how he’s able to sustain his level of play in year 17 during a recent appearance on JJ Redick’s ‘The Old Man and the Three’ podcast.
“For one, that goes to him taking care of his body with his lifts and all that stuff. You can tell he’s mastered that. The guy’s vegan, the guy comes in with the trainer and he knows what lifts he’s doing. And if he needs to do it at certain times, then there’s routine.”
“And then step 2 it’s just his IQ, that’s what it really is. He takes care of his body so he can be out there and play. But his IQ is so, it’s so separate from a lot of people, man.”
“It’s gonna keep him on that floor till he’s 50 and he can’t barely move a bone on that quarter. It’s just his IQ and how smart he is, he just knows the game so well, it’s unbelievable.”
With young stars like Deandre Ayton and Mikal Bridges coming into their own alongside Devin Booker, the Suns seem fated to have several deep playoff runs in the future. The Point God would be the perfect leader to help them on their quest for basketball immortality.
