Take This 4 Granted

His more explosive peers get the lion’s share of the headlines these days, but don’t forget the truth: The Clippers’ CHRIS PAUL has been the League’s most reliable star PG for a decade.

- Leo Sepkowitz

It’s no big secret how it begins, how the Clippers score time and again: Chris Paul stands at the top of the arc and dribbles.

In this instance, he is guarded by Danny Green. Paul’s teammate, JJ Redick, approaches him from the right wing and runs past him, dragging Green into the far corner, away from the play. The man who had been guarding Redick—this time, LaMarcus Aldridge—is left to guard Paul, whom he is too big and too slow to cover. On a December night in Los Angeles, the Spurs are toast, and the Clippers know it.

DeAndre Jordan jogs toward Paul to set a screen, and his defender, Pau Gasol, follows. The paint is now unprotected, as Gasol and Aldridge are lost to the perimeter, vaguely challenging Paul but mostly just looking nervous. Paul sees all of this and charges toward the basket, causing both defenders to step forward toward him. This is Jordan’s cue. He breaks for the rim, and Paul hits him in stride with a firm one-hopper. A two-handed flush ensues. The whole play takes only four seconds. It is a simple motion, just a high screen-and-roll, one that’s common at every level of basketball, from your local rec league on up.

The Clippers soon try it again. This time, the Spurs counter by hedging against the roll—Gasol and Aldridge move to defend the rim, preventing another Jordan finish (thank goodness). But they’ve left Paul wide open beyond the arc, his dribble still alive—briefly, anyway, before he buries a three. By halftime, Paul is nearing a double-double, and the Clippers lead by 12.