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The Oklahoma City Thunder have less than a full season of hindsight, but they can already laugh knowing they got multiple draft picks to go with Chris Paul who was seen by some as simple salary cap filler in the Russell Westbrook trade.
Paul, who helped the Thunder far surpass expectations this year, was voted to the All-NBA Second Team on ESPN reporter Zach Lowe’s ballot, the analyst revealed Wednesday.
His second team is Paul, Damian Lillard, Luka Doncic, Jimmy Butler and Nikola Jokic.
The first team guards were LeBron James and James Harden. Third team guards were Ben Simmons and Jayson Tatum.
Lowe wrote that including Paul wasn’t a tough decision.
“Second team was pretty easy. Paul has a shockingly airtight case considering he averaged eight or 10 points fewer than most candidates. The advanced stats for Paul and Butler are overwhelming — way above Donovan Mitchell, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, Trae Young, Kyle Lowry, and, yes, Russell Westbrook.”
Paul’s traditional stats of 17.7 points, 6.8 assists and 4.9 rebounds don’t stand out compared to the others, but his advanced stats and clutch time numbers showed just how impactful he was for the transitioning Thunder team.
“Those (advanced) numbers capture Paul’s value as an off-ball shooting threat and ace defender. He was the league’s best crunch-time player, and it was not close. He shot a preposterous 46-of-86 in the last five minutes of close games, and the Thunder were an uber-preposterous plus-109 in 160 such minutes with Paul on the floor.”
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Lowe also considered Paul for an All-Defensive team, calling him one of the six “toughest guard omissions.”
“Lowry and Paul are aging, surrounded by enough defensive talent that their teams often stash them against less dynamic spot-up guys. They are still massively valuable off to the side. They flash into driving and passing lanes at precisely the right moments.”
Perhaps the most notable part of Lowe’s list is that he didn’t include Westbrook. The guard had atrocious shooting numbers for much of the season and was actually left off Lowe’s All-Star ballot in late January.
Over the last few months of the season, Westbrook posted phenomenal numbers, including much-improved shooting, but it was too late of a surge.
Lowe called Westbrook one of the three toughest guard omissions for the All-NBA team, along with Lowry and Booker.
He called Westbrook’s stat line “bonkers” but said advanced stats and the eye test both show how lacking his 3-point shot and defense are. His 2-point percentage also isn’t nearly as good as that of Simmons, who made the third team.
“Houston’s frenetic pace and team design — everyone stand around while these two dudes do everything — inflate Westbrook’s numbers a little.
Let me say it loudly: Westbrook was good, and then spectacular for two months. He will make lots of ballots, and that’s fine. He barely misses here.”
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