SPANISH HARLEM – It took Chris Paul 16 years but he has made the NBA Finals. There is always this narrative in basketball where if you can’t win a championship, let alone make a Finals, that you can’t be a great or all-time player. This is a sport where one person can have a great impact in a game or series, just look at Michael Jordan and LeBron James. Some players can elevate their team to greatness and though Paul has made his teams better, he never took them to the promise land but after taking game 1 of the NBA Finals, he is well on his way to doing so.
The Point God has made an impact on every team he has played on. He is the ideal playmaker, making sure to run the offense in the best way possible. Whatever you need he can do and its been that way since he entered the league. He keeps players involved with his assists and can get you an important bucket from any part of the court. Not the typical scoring point from the modern era but more of a flash back to the days when what was expected from the position was to make everyone around you better. Not to say that he couldn’t be the main scoring threat on your team but he was satisfied with his role and what he could contribute.
Chris Paul has played on some fun teams but he was always the captain of the ship. The reason those teams played so well and the reason they were in contention every year. Injuries and playoff failure doomed him for most of his career, making his chances of getting a ring that much harder with each passing year but he knew, as long as he was healthy, he had a chance. Which is what makes this year, this season more memorable. For the most part, he has been healthy and while he missed some games in the playoff, the injuries weren’t bad enough that he couldn’t continue to play. Its truly remarkable that his body has held up considering all the injuries that most playoff teams had to contend with.
As a basketball fan, it is hard not to root for a person like Paul. He has pretty much accomplished everything you could want for a player except that championship and now he is in a position to get what has evaded him. Trust me when I tell you, nobody wants a ring more than him and he will give it his all and whether he wins or not. He will always be one of the best players to ever play the game.
That’s it for now, come back tomorrow for Different Matt or Cam James, depending on who wins their cage fight.
