Chris Paul Clears Path for Others to Thrive

The plan has been for Phoenix Suns PG Chris Paul to take a step back offensively, and it's working.

He may be on his way to the Hall of Fame, but Phoenix Suns point guard Chris Paul has taken a step back on the offensive end of the floor, paving the way for his young teammates to flourish.

In Paul’s prior two seasons with the Suns, he averaged 16.4 points in 2020-21 and 14.7 in 2021-22. This is why it comes as a shock that through the first four games of this season Paul is only averaging 9.2 points which if stands for the remainder of the year, would be his lowest points per game in his career.

Paul registered a mere seven points in Friday night's victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. 

It is not only his points but the most shots Paul has taken this season so far is 11. In the season opener against the Dallas Mavericks, he only took six shots in 30 minutes.

Some may point the finger at Paul's age, but this was the plan for the Suns all along:

“I think it’s something we all talked about going into the season,” Paul said. 

“We wanted to be harder to guard. A lot of teams last year in the playoffs tried to pick me up full-court, with me being the primary ball handler. It’s fine. I can actually shoot. The majority of my career I’ve always been the playmaker, so it’s nice to get a couple of catch-and-shoots. It’s something I have to get used to, because I’m usually creating for other guys, but it’s nice to get some catch-and-shoots.”

It may be early on in the season but with Devin Booker getting more touches on offense, he is averaging 29.2 points a game and is having an MVP-caliber year.

With young players such as Booker, Deandre Ayton and Mikal Bridges, the Suns do not need Paul to punish his body in the regular season and be the primary scorer. At 37-years-old, Paul knows he needs to rely on and trust his younger teammates to carry the load offensively as they still have the fresh legs to compete all 82 games.

Just because Paul’s points are down does not mean he isn’t thriving in other parts of his game. The 37-year-old is still leading the league in assists averaging 10 per game and is sixth in steals with two averaged each night

Paul is a natural pass first point guard and sneaky defender who needs to focus on those attributes of his game. The Suns don’t need Paul to be the primary scorer, but when it matters most, he is always ready to take the biggest shots on the biggest stage. 

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