Clutch King:
If there is one overwhelming feature of this iteration of the OKC Thunder it is their clutch time prowess. And the straw that stirs the drink is Chris Paul.
Among all the players who’ve entered clutch time, the Point God leads everyone in scoring with 144 total points. The closest player to him is Nikola Jokic with 119 points.
There are countless games that feature his effect this season and none more obvious than the club’s last game played Sunday in Boston.
https://twitter.com/okcthunder/status/1236813068467933185
It was Paul who led the team in scoring (28) collecting 18 of those in the second half. Most importantly of those were the two free throws and money mid-range shot he took in the games closing minutes.
His defense is what everyone was talking about post-game though as he trapped Kemba Walker in the backcourt allowing Dennis Schroder time to come in from the backside and steal the ball for the game-winning layup. And then there was his defense on the much taller Jayson Tatum on the final shot of the game.
That is one isolated game but in each of the Thunder 29 clutch wins Paul has not only factored he’s often been the x-factor.