Chris Paul will return to Los Angeles for the first time on Monday to face the franchise he cemented his legendary status with. It should be a bittersweet return for Clippers fans after the guard’s departure from the team he took to six straight postseasons. That’s because he’s taking his new Houston Rockets team to new heights.
Last offseason saw Paul, J.J. Redick, and Blake Griffin all become free agents, and the latter was the only Clipper to return. These aren’t the Lob City Clippers we’re used to anymore, and injuries have made them even more unrecognizable.
Paul’s loss wasn’t for nothing, as the point guard had to opt in to his contract in L.A. and be traded to the Rockets for financial purposes. L.A. wasn’t supposed to be on the outside looking in for a playoff spot, but here we are. The Clippers received a few rebuilding pieces for Paul, including a protected first-round pick in this year’s draft, and holdover pieces like Lou Williams and Patrick Beverley. But this season hasn’t gone to script.
Injuries have devastated the Clippers thus far, leaving them in a five-team battle for four playoff spots in the West. The transition from perennial postseason team to an average (and injury-riddled) one has been rocky for L.A., while Paul is playing in paradise alongside maybe the best scorer in the league, James Harden.
Though injuries kept him out of 18 of the 41 games the Rockets have played, Paul has been the co-star James Harden has longed for as his perfect complement. He’s averaging 19 points, nine assists, and six rebounds, shooting seven three-pointers per game (the most of his career) at a 38 percent clip.
It’s no wonder the team is outscoring opponents by six more points per 100 possessions with him on the court, per NBA stats. The Rockets even have an offensive rating just slightly below the Warriors this season, to which Paul is owed a lot of credit.
Houston looks poised to give Golden State a real run should they meet in the postseason with shooters all across the depth chart and another ball-handler now when Harden steps off the court.
The Clippers are in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time in six seasons to no fault of the organization. Instead of a full-on rebuild, they locked Griffin up long-term and attempted to replace the losses of Paul and Redick, but a swarm of injuries have plagued the middling team and kept it from reaching its ceiling.
Milos Teodosic was the Serbian phenom meant to ease the loss of Paul in the lineup, but he’s missed 27 games this year, and is averaging just nine points and six assists in the 14 he has played in. Patrick Beverley was supposed to back him up, but a knee injury cost him the season after 11 games.
Danilo Gallinari was the shooter meant to replace Redick in the rotation, but he’s missed 30 games to a glute injury, making matters worse. And Blake Griffin has missed 16 games to various injuries, too.
It hasn’t been pretty for the Clippers, who have been forced to audition second-round picks and two-way contract players like C.J. Williams, Jamil Wilson, and Jawun Evans.
It could be worse. They aren’t completely out of the playoff run, still only two games out of reach of the No. 5 seed. To be in that position given their injury woes is a credit to Doc Rivers and the red-hot Lou Williams, acquired in the Paul sign-and-trade. But would a first-round exit to Houston or Golden State make anything better?
Chris Paul’s presence is sorely missed in L.A., and it hurts even more for fans to see him succeed for a conference rival. It won’t be surprising to hear some boos ring in his return at Staples Center. But Clippers fans will always remember the hope he brought to a championship-less franchise.
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