Chris Paul, Devin Booker Ranked Low in Superstar Duo List
Analytics have taken over the world of professional sports, and the NBA is no stranger to the plethora of numbers and stats that have helped the game of basketball advance to what it is now.
It also makes for interesting lists, including the one Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes put together to measure the best superstar duos in the league at this moment.
Hughes used a metric developed by Taylor Snarr defined as an estimated plus-minus.
"So we'll consult the list of 2021-22's top EPM performers, add up the combined total of the top two teammates and rank accordingly. If Player X is a plus-5.0 and Player Y is a plus-4.5, their combined score will be plus-9.5. Easy enough, right?," said Hughes.
"Because we're interested in the best pairings right now, we'll have to fudge things a little when it comes to players who missed last year because of injury. EPM isn't a volume stat, which helps. But in a couple of isolated cases, we'll use 2020-21 EPM as a fill-in. Trusting the numbers eliminates bias, but it also opens up the floor to debate, usually because stats don't always align with the eye test."
Top-Ranked NBA Superstar Duos
Topping the list of duos in the league was Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday, who tied with Denver's Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray at plus-12.6 efficiency but edged them out for other factors.
"Most importantly, we've seen Antetokounmpo and Holiday win a championship together, something Jokic and Murray have yet to accomplish. Nothing validates a partnership like hoisting a trophy at the end of a successful title run," said Hughes.
Rounding out the top five is Brooklyn's partnership of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving (+12.2 combined plus-minus rating), Philadelphia's James Harden and Joel Embiid (+11.7) and the Los Angeles Clipper pairing of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George (+11.3).
Then, you get to the honorable mention club.
Honorable Mentions
6. Steph Curry/Draymond Green (+10.5)
7. Rudy Gobert/Karl-Anthony Towns (+9.7)
8. LeBron James/Anthony Davis (+9.5)
Then, you get the rest of the duos that missed the cut. Boston's Jayson Tatum and Robert Williams lead that list, with Phoenix's Chris Paul and Devin Booker just behind.
Other partnerships past the Suns' backcourt include Darius Garland/Jarrett Allen, Jayson Tatum/Jaylen Brown, Trae Young/Dejounte Murray and Jimmy Butler/Bam Adebayo.
Last season, the Suns exploded to 64 regular season wins and grabbed the west's No. 1 seed before losing in the second round of the NBA playoffs.
Paul himself (+4.8) ranks at No. 12 in the league in estimated plus-minus, while Booker (+4.5) isn't far behind at No. 16.
Surely, Suns fans feel as if Paul/Booker are to be ranked higher than effectively tenth in the league.
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