If you Need a Clutch Win Take Paul Over Harden
Chris Paul is the most clutch player in the NBA, all you have to do is look at the numbers, and they tell you all you need to know. Chris Paul leads the league in clutch points with 150 while being tied with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for first in clutch steals (10). He shoots 52 percent from the field and 92 percent from the line.
Paul also has the best fourth-quarter plus-minus rating with plus 172, and his 28 fourth-quarter steals have him tied for third. Armed with all this information and seeing him score 8 points in down the stretch in Game 6, why would you want anyone else in a winner-take-all situation?
No sane person would bet against Paul with a series on the line, yet are those who like to tempt fate. ESPN's Chiney Ogwumike said today on The Jump she is taking James Harden over Paul in tonight's Game 7.
We'll give her a break, Ogwumike is a native Texan, so her fear of not being "allowed to "and at Bush International Airport" lead her to that decision." Harden is 2-1 in Game 7's, scoring 26.7 points per game, with 5.7 assists and shooting 42 percent from the field.
While Paul is 3-3, with 20.8 points per game, 9.5 assists, and shooting 46 percent, if the moment were going to be too big for Oklahoma City, they would have folded on Monday.
The Thunder has nothing to lose; whatever happens, tonight, or against the Lakers, Sam Presti has a plan and will not veer off course. The Rockets, on the other hand, will have to ask if they are built to win a championship; a loss could mean pushing the reset button on not just the roster but the front office as well.
James Harden knows this, and while he's capable of having a transcendent moment, Paul is the safer bet. Harden shrunk when the Rockets had a six-point lead and a chance to close the door in Game 6, letting Westbrook literally throw their chances away.
After getting hit with a tech, Paul scored on back to back possessions to force a tie, then sank the game-winning free-throws. Paul knows how to rise to the occasion, and tonight, the Thunder is in good hands.
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With more than 20 years of experience hosting local and national radio shows, Erik Gee is a fixture of Oklahoma sports media. He has covered the Oklahoma City Thunder for the past six seasons. He is also the co-host of the Pat Jones show on 97.1 The Sports Animal in Tulsa.
