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few power forwards today still can, running up 24-point, 10-rebound, 4-assist averages that evoke imagery of an era gone by, back when Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Chris Webber and Karl Malone posted those types of averages a decade-plus ago. Jordan’s progress has its own upside ticks, with 98 percent of his shots coming within 10 feet of the basket, and finishing rates of 68 percent at the rim and 72 percent in the 3-10 foot range. Not bad for a guy who gets up 6.3 attempts per game. It almost makes you willing to live with his .428 free throw percentage, a liability that hurts L.A. in close games. And don’t forget the straw that stirs the drink, Paul, who just might turn this L.A. team of stars into something bigger than the Lakers. At least for now. Their offensive rank is in no doubt due to Paul, who has helped the team maintain top 5 league status in assist-to-turnover ratio (18.4; third in the NBA) and true shooting percentage (.567; fourth). Yes, Paul is somewhat injury-prone missing 38 games over a three-year period, but what he gives an offense in 70 games a year is indeed priceless. OUTLOOK Paul turns 30 in May. Jordan is 26. Griffin turns 26 in March. Paul has logged 7,806 regular-season and postseason minutes in a Clippers uniform; Jordan, 11,468; Griffin, 11,994. By all measures of time, the Clippers’ Big Three are now entering their prime, not only in basketball years, but as teammates via chemistry, maximizing their synergy skills together. They are now ready to win 60 games. They are now able to reach the conference finals and beyond. They are now matched up against some of the finest teams of their era—the dynastic Spurs, the always-up-and-coming Thunder and the like-minded Warriors. Will the Clippers overtake one of the aforementioned this postseason? Their chances have never been better than the present. SPOTLIGHT: Chris Paul There are regular-season performers and then there are prime-time playoff performers. Now we are not saying Paul can’t be both. Statistically speaking, he has been all things to two organizations, posting an MVP-worthy postseason 25.0 Player Efficiency Rating to go with his 25.6 regular-season career PER for both the New Orleans Hornets and L.A. Clippers. However, the knock against CP3, for all his greatness, is that he has not trusted his teammates enough during postseason play to reach that next level of all-time playoff greatness. It was something he faced as a young, shot-creating point guard when he took his own shot as oft as he dished to the likes of David West, Tyson Chandler and Peja Stojakovic on the Hornets’ playoff teams of 2008 and 2009, as well as the 2011 squad that lost the latter two vets. And it is something he is hearing now, with Tony Parker, Russell Westbrook and Mike Conley edging him out of three straight Western Conference Finals appearances in his three seasons thus far in Los Angeles. Paul’s detractors would concede he never was paired with a great coach, playing under the likes of Byron Scott, Monty Williams and Vinny Del Negro for most of his career. That all changed in 2013-14 when championship coach Doc Rivers joined the L.A. organization, in hopes of transforming Paul, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan and the Clippers into a title-winning squad. Likewise, Paul knows what he signed up for. He has yet to take a team to the Conference Finals in his nineyear career, but then again, he has never had a squad like he does this season. It’s Year 10 and advanced metrics indeed show us signs that CP3 trusts his talented offensive teammates in ways not seen before. In 2013-14, thanks to info supplied by SportsVU cameras, Paul had the ball an average of 7.3 minutes per game (ranking sixth in the NBA), with more frontcourt touches than all but two players (82.5 touches per game). So he has the ball a lot, but the fancy numbers also show he is looking for others. During that time, CP3 was able to set up Griffin with 6.9 close touches per game, which ranked ninth among bigs within 12 feet of the basket. Paul also set up Griffin for 10.5 elbow touches per game, ranking third. Paul also led the League in secondary assists (2.2 per game) and points created by assists (24.5). So Paul is trying. That is why he still has his believers, mixed with a few doubters here and there. Today, 71 percent of NBA GMs, in a 2014-15 survey, say Paul is the best point guard in the game. The only way Paul gets that number to 100 percent is by getting his team to the 2015 Finals. Or the Western Conference Finals, at the very least. Chris Paul, DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images


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