This is for 42… and QueenBee too!

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Published: November 30, 2010

Ok…

So I’ve been getting ROASTED by Mr. Moderator, 42, and Ms. Queen Bee, QueenBee for saying that CP3 hasn’t looked the same to me ever since I saw him tweak his knee at the end of the Houston Rockets game. 

I have PERSONALLY felt that he has been tentative for a long stretch of games. I feel like he is scared to attack the basket as much as we are used to seeing him do so, and I feel like its because he is having a mental block because he is scared of getting hurt again. 

And since 42 asked me to run some statistics to try and prove my point, I thought, “Why not”. =)

Anywho, so I decided to pick certain statistics that would be effected if CP were to have a “mental block” that is effecting his game. For instance, assists wouldn’t really take much of an effect if he had such a “mental block” because it would make sense that he would choose to pass the ball rather than to take a shot. But I still wanted to record them because I wanted to also analyze his assist to turnover ratio. 

 

Chris Paul in his first 4 games:

 

POINTS: 21.25

ASSISTS: 9

TURNOVERS: 1.25

REBOUNDS: 6.25

FT ATTEMPTS:  7.75

FG ATTEMPTS: 13

FG %: 52%

 

Chris Paul in the 13 games after “Tweaking” his knee:

 

POINTS: 15.1

ASSISTS: 10.7

TURNOVERS: 2.8

REBOUNDS:  4.2

FT ATTEMPTS:  3.8

FG ATTEMPTS: 10.9

FG %:  48%

 

So when you look at Chris Paul in the first 4 games compared to the games since, you can see a drastic change in every category. He is averaging 6 fewer points a game, on a lower shooting percentage, and on few shot attempts. His assists are higher, but at a cost because of his turnover ratio. His rebounds are down because he is tentative at slashing inside and grabbing boards amongst bigger, stronger defenders, and his FT attempts are down almost 3 shot attempts. 

I know these numbers are somewhat minuscule to some, but for his career, CP is averaging 19.2 points, 10 assists, and 4.7 rebounds. And he is at a point in his career where his numbers should be rising even higher because he is on the cusp of hitting his prime (I think NBA Players Primes are between 25-31 years old) and because he has a team thats even deeper than his 08 squad that won 56 games. 

I’m not blaming CP. He’s my favorite player in the world and I’m amazed with his brilliance and tenacity on the court. But I KNOW that there was hesitation in his play for a long stretch of games, and that is a big reason for the losses we’ve had. Again, I’m not blaming him, but he’s THAT good, that a few different plays in those games would have made all the difference.

I think he’s finally starting to go away from that hesitation. But I think as fans we should be aware of it. We all have gotten a taste of how great this team can be this season (especially if Demps can strike gold with a few more moves), and I’ve seen a lot of frustration in the comments about the team. But…

I guess what I’m trying to say is that we need to stand behind our superstar. Understand that something could be wrong, and God forbid we see anything happen to him like what happened to him last season. Every game counts, but its a long season, and we got 65 more to go…

 

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