In the wee hours of Friday, Paul made headlines after being involved in a stunning deal during the 2023 NBA draft that will see him being traded for the second time this week. Nicknamed ‘CP3’, Paul is a modern-day basketball legend with a rich fan base. “I think the biggest thing for us is we’ve done a good job executing, we’ve done a good job of getting to the free throw line, and I think we’ve done a good job of not fouling and rebounding in some of those situations,” Donovan said.If you are a fan of basketball and regularly watch matches in the NBA, you can never miss an update on the veteran campaigner Chris Paul. Making sure they’re prepared for more than just being in their spot to shoot has helped the Thunder dominate in closing minutes. With those stats, it comes down to little things to turn the tide consistently enough to win at the rate the Thunder have been.Įvery team who is unusually strong in late-game moments has some luck on their side, whether it’s an extra rebound that bounces in their direction or a 50/50 call that goes their way. And then I think Steven’s ability to rebound.” “Gallo has provided us a unique, skilled big man that can do a lot of different things. “We’ve gotten really, really good minutes out of that three-guard lineup,” Donovan said. Steven Adams only has 20 shots, but he almost never misses, shooting 70% during clutch time. Gallinari in particular thrives behind the arc late in the game, making 45.2% of his looks from 3. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is shooting 57.4% in clutch moments and Schroder is at 51.1%. Gallinari’s true shooting percentage is an indicator that Paul isn’t the only reason this team is so strong in the clutch. Gallery Thunder point guard Chris Paul through the years The third-best, it’s worth noting, is Gallinari with a 66.0% true shooting percentage. That number is second in the league to Terry Rozier among players who have attempted at least 50 looks. Paul’s true shooting percentage is also phenomenal.Īt 68.1% in the clutch, it’s even better than it is during the rest of the game. “I think Chris has played masterful coming down the stretch of games,” Donovan said. This season, about 90% of his field goals during clutch time are unassisted, according to The Ringer. It’s also notable how much Paul creates for himself. His 53.5% clip in clutch time in second-best in his career, second only to the insane 59.3% in 2017-18, though he only attempted 27 field goals. Four of the times he was in the top-10, notably this season and the 2011-2012 year in which his 143 points was tied for second with Kobe Bryant and only two points away from the league leader, Kevin Durant. Ten times has Paul finished in the top-22 in clutch time points. That point total is the highest of his career. He has been hyper efficient, making 46-for-86 of the shots, a 53.5% clip. Paul leads the league with 146 points in the clutch, but that’s not due just to taking more shots. In 2017-18, the Houston Rockets went 24-17 in those close games with an offensive rating of 124.9 and defensive rating of 97.7 146 Twice in the last three years has Paul’s team finished No. In three of his final four years in Los Angeles, the Clippers were in the top-10, including No. Over his six-year New Orleans Hornets tenure, five of the times they finished exactly No. Over Paul’s 15 seasons, 10 times has his team been in the top-10 in clutch net rating. By the numbers 10Ĭonsistent is the key word. “Over the course of his career, his teams have been consistently the best crunch time teams in the NBA, or among the very best,” Lowe said. The net rating is 30.2, which tops the league by about eight points.ĮSPN’s Zach Lowe and Royce Young addressed this same topic - and, specifically, Paul’s history of leading teams that win in clutch moments - on Lowe’s podcast released Thursday. The offensive rating of 124.0 leads the league, and the defensive rating of 93.8 is second to the Milwaukee Bucks. Over the last five minutes in games with a point differential of five points or fewer, the Thunder are 29-13. “Chris’ intelligence, his smarts, his understanding, his experience, I think always in those situations keeps the group calm,” Donovan said. While he complimented the entire three-guard lineup that includes Danilo Gallinari and Steven Adams, the answer started with and eventually came back around to point guard Chris Paul. Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan was asked about the crunch time success of his team this season during a Zoom call with media Wednesday.
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