Under a pressure that has never been so strong, will his arm tremble when it comes to forcing his destiny, as has so often been the case in the past? History will tell, but to his untouched talent is now added a science of the game that has never seemed so in-depth, coupled with a sense of leadership whose benefits on the young Suns team largely explain their brilliant career. .
Despite the consensus around its performance, the shadow of its past failures still hangs over “CP3”, a nickname not taken from the “Star Wars” saga, but which is due to the fact that “CP1” and “CP2” were already taken by his father and older brother. If to recall a few dark hours, those with the Los Angeles Clippers cemented his reputation. In 2015, his mistakes in attack and defense cost the Clippers victory and qualification in the dying seconds of the N.5 conference semi-final game against the Thunder. Then in 2016 its failure in the 6th and 7th meetings against Houston, at the same stadium, allowed the Rockets to qualify after being led 3-1.
Paul: “Real teamwork”:
“On a mission”
In 2018, then co-star of the Rockets with James Harden, it was his right thigh that faltered at the worst moment of a first conference final finally reached, against Golden State. Package for matches 6 and 7, he saw from the bench, “anguished and nauseous”, the Warriors overthrow Houston (4-3), and his detractors to make fun of the one who shines on TV in commercials for the company of “State Farm” insurance, but is far from “all risk” when it counts.
“I’ll always be a Clipper. But this group, these guys… they made me feel welcome from day one.”
The specter of yet another failure resurfaced in the first round of the play-offs when his bruised right shoulder made him suffer. But he gritted his teeth and held on against LeBron James’ Lakers. Ditto at the start of the Western Conference final against the Clippers, when he tested positive for Covid-19. But after missing the first two games, he delivered a “masterclass” in the N.6 match (41 pts, 16/24 on shots including 7/8 three-pointers). “I was on a mission. I am so moved, so happy for my loved ones. I will always be a Clipper. But this group, these guys… they welcomed me with open arms from day one. Sixteen, sixteen! There were operations, defeats, dirty defeats “, he reacted afterwards.
The doors of his very first NBA Finals open, he will have to endorse his role of “leader-captain-big brother” to the end with his relatively inexperienced teammates, to pave the way for them to a title that is so lacking in his record. than that of Phoenix, two-time unfortunate finalist in 1976 and 1993.
“Picky and involved”
Because it is another Chris Paul, less selfish and more mature, who has relaunched since last season. First by leading Oklahoma City, in reconstruction, until the play-offs, then as president of the players’ union with the delicate management of a season truncated by the coronavirus pandemic and the boycott of matches by the struggling players against racial discrimination. Arrived last fall in Phoenix, where he reunited with Monty Williams, his coach for the New Orleans Hornets (2010-2011), he quickly won unanimous support from partners only asking to grow up alongside him.
“I’ve never seen someone so picky and so involved. There’s what he says and the way he says it. For me that’s a huge quality. Chris Paul is the best thing. that could happen to my career “, recently testified the pivot DeAndre Ayton. And the other star of the team, Devin Booker, to abound: “I have a lot of respect for him as a man, not just as a basketball player. I just understand how far he wants us to go, with the time he has spent working to get there. Sixteen seasons is a lot “. Paul knows this all too well, he who has long used to write on his shoe “I can’t give up now”.
Phoenix atomizes the Clippers and rushes into the Final:
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