Chris Paul has, for awhile now, been one of the legendary chokers in NBA history. Not doubting his talent or ability but I have always questioned his heart. I was happy when the NBA rescinded the trade that would have sent Lamar and Pau to NOLA for Chris. Never understood why the Lakers felt the need to pair Bryant with another ball-dominant player. Didn’t work ever and it would never have, either. You don’t take the ball out of Kobe’s hands you give him the right tools to win. That tool was never going to be a shrimpy, whiny, ball-dominant point guard. Hell, Kobe relegated what was left of Steve Nash to spot up three point shooter.
At any rate, happy for the Mavs and I certainly didn’t see a choke job of this magnitude coming. Likely that few, if any, did. Phoenix had been too good all season long for something like this to happen…right? Picking Miami to win it all, they have the right ingredients, Jimmy B is as good as any player out there, and Spo knows what it takes to go all the way.
Great regular season accolades go to the Suns. But that’s right where the road ends for them this season. Which is, of course, a lot better than how it worked out for us.
I do think they ran CP3 into the ground this year, though.
Naw, he always breaks down on his own. Mentally or physically it’s all but guaranteed.
Perhaps so.
While I didn’t expect a beat down, you could see the Suns were vulnerable even in the Pels series. CP3 is 37. Even with the added rest you get in a playoff series it wore on him. He was fresh for the first couple and then he couldn’t recharge. This is one of the things I worry about LeBron. He’s been injured a lot 3 of the 4 seasons he been a Laker. And while he still was a powerhouse on offense his defense has been declining. It was telling that during the season LeBron was no longer guarding the best offensive player. I mean Frank had Russ guarding PAul George and others. Those are two big warning signs. Just never know when a player is just going to be done.
Michael, you are absolutely right. It was in the Pelicans series that I felt something wasn’t going right with the Suns and especially with CP3. After the first two games against the Mavs CP3 looked mortal. Your comparison to LeBron’s situation is right on the money. This was a stunning collapse of the highest magnitude.