Health Makes A Huge Difference in Chris Paul's Resurgence
When the Thunder acquired Chris Paul this past Summer, two thoughts came to mind. One how quickly could Sam Presti move the 34-year old point guard and second would Billy Donovan rest him on back to back to put less tread on his tires.
Fifty-Five games into the season and neither has happened. Paul is not only one of the main reasons for the Thunder's unexpected success, but he's also on track to play 81 of the Thunder's 82 contests, something he hadn't done since 2014-15 when he appeared in all 82 for the Clippers.
"I think this year I've probably just been a little bit more healthy. I mean, I knocked knees my first year in Houston in a preseason game, missed 15 games.... Last year I missed like 15 games. My previous year with the Clippers, ol' Russ (Russell Westbrook) broke my thumb. I missed some games."
The thumb breaking incident that Paul is referring to happened in January of 2017 when Joffery Lauvergne set a pick for Westbrook, and Paul got sandwiched in between the two. The result, four broken bones, surgery, and a 14 game layoff. Though hamstrings, groins, hips, and knees, Paul's last four seasons have been riddled with injury and ending in frustration. Most notably in 2018, when he missed games six and seven of the Western Conference finals and his Rockets were knocked out by the Warriors.
Paul seems to have found the fountain of youth. He's only sat out one game this season, and that was for personal reasons the day after Kobe Bryant's tragic passing. We've praised Paul so much for his professional attitude rubbing off on Oklahoma City's young players; we haven't given enough credit to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for rubbing off on him. The post-game locker room banter, between them, and Gilgeous-Alexnder's playful swipes seem to drive Paul in a way past teammates couldn't.
However, this season turns out that both Paul and the Thunder can be grateful for their time together.
