“I don’t know why Lakers were guarding me?! I could not dribble or shoot, I was faking the funk”: Chris Paul expresses his wonder in LeBron James and Frank Vogel’s decision to waste a defender on him
Chris Paul just cannot understand the fact why the Lakers were defending him in the last season’s Playoffs.
Similar to their current season, the Los Angeles Lakers had a pretty up down 2020-2021 season as well. The reigning champions somehow managed to qualify for the Playoffs after getting through the Play-in tournament.
Meanwhile, the Phoenix Suns after acquiring Chris Paul had finished second in the Western Conference and were waiting for LeBron James and Co for the first round of the Playoffs.
And very much like this season, even after having one of the best records in the NBA, almost everyone had the Suns as underdogs in the series.
Also read: Warriors’ Klay Thompson reveals why he always puts his best foot forward against the Kings
To add to that, “the Point God” injured his right shoulder in Game 1 of the first round. Paul has recently revealed on J.J. Redick’s podcast “The Old Man and the Three” that he couldn’t even shoot the ball against the Lakers.
“I done had some crazy injuries,” Paul said. “This was probably one of the craziest ones because of dribbling. That’s what I do. Bubs, I would dribble, and the ball wouldn’t come back up.”
Chris Paul says he doesn’t understand why the Lakers were guarding him
Although Paul had severely injured his most important limb for playing basketball, he still managed to average 9.2 points, 7.7 assists, and 3.5 rebounds in six games against the Lakers and played a crucial role in eliminating them. But it was the toughest injury to come through for the 16-year vet.
“It was the scariest thing ever,” Paul continued. “I would dribble, and ‘Whoa. Why am I losing the ball? Why am I losing the ball?’ So, it was a shot that I hit, and I literally grabbed it, and I threw it – I threw it from the right elbow, and it went in. And I turned and looked at my brother, and I was like, ‘I don’t know how the hell that went in.’”
The top-3 assist leader of all time still played through the injury in Game 2 of the series. He explained his shock to JJ, wondering why the Lakers even bothered to guard him.
“Game 2, went out there. I don’t even know why they was guarding me,” Paul said. “I could not – I could not shoot it, I was faking the funk, though.”
While the Lakers did manage to go 2 up in the series, taking a 1-game lead over the Suns, Chris Paul and Co came roaring back with some remarkable team performances along with Devin Booker‘s 29 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists in the series.
Getting just their 3rd NBA Finals appearance in the franchise history, the Suns couldn’t defeat Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Bucks to win it all. Having the best record in the league this season (41-10), they would look to finish what they started.
And their 36-year-old doesn’t look like slowing down anytime soon. CP3, in his 17th season, still leads the NBA in assists (10.5 APG) and is second on the steals per game list (1.9).
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