OKC Thunder: 3 Key takeaways from Chris Paul appearance on NBA Game Time

Key takeaways from Chris Paul’s appearance on NBA Game Time included the need for a long training camp upon return and his happiness playing with the OKC Thunder.

OKC Thunder captain Chris Paul appeared on NBA Game Time to join Stephanie Ready and Brendan Hayward on Monday’s prime time show.

Family Time:

The NBA Players Association President discussed his time at home and spoke on how he’s getting to be with the family. While not playing isn’t ideal the fact CP3 isn’t used to not being with his wife, son, and daughter.

Chris Jr. has him doing Tik Tok videos while he is coloring with Camryn and wife Jada has him has got him helping out around the house.

The point guard said he worked out with his wife the day prior and although they’ve been together since they were 18 it was the first time he’d witnessed his wife run a mile in their 16 years together.

Players will need at least two week training camp:

Asked about the night of the Utah game, Paul went through how the events went down and precisely how confusing the situation was.

The most notable takeaway was when Hayward asked about how long it will take for players to get ready once the players return to action.

He noted rookie Grant Williams in Boston who lives in an apartment so he doesn’t have access to a gym, work out on equipment, or the ability to get up shots. Paul is making the point because one or two weeks he doesn’t feel is long enough for everyone to get back in shape.

This comes on the heels of David Aldridge in the paid-for subscription The Athletic article suggest teams follow John Hollinger’s idea of a five-day training camp.

Given his knowledge as a player, a veteran and his position of being the NBAPA President Paul in a unique situation where he has his own feelings but his finger is also on the pulse of many of his peers.

Later in the same article Aldridge explains the first round of the playoffs should be only three games instead of seven then details why (soft tissue injuries, need for recovery etc..). Um – – those issues are still going to be present whether the series is three games, five, games, seven games or regular-season games are played first.

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The point is the players need time to get back into game shape in a reasonable time frame and in this very unusual circumstance (as Paul notes) the level of readiness will have a wide spectrum given the circumstances.

Also, not to beat a dead horse here  BUT — the teams who managed to land the seeds they currently occupy did so by playing consistently and earning that right. To put those teams in jeopardy by forcing them to play too quickly (especially teams who have multiple players who didn’t have access to equipment or couldn’t get outside) is unfair.

The perfect example here is the 1-8 series in the East. Regardless of where players live in Orlando, they can get outside to run and get up hoops whereas those in Milwaukee won’t have that benefit. For the Bucks to be put in a situation where the Magic would likely be in better game readiness after the season they’ve had isn’t fair.

And while I recognize this is an unusual (hopefully) one-off situation it shouldn’t mean the teams who took the regular season seriously should be punished because of where they reside.

Donovan relationship and swagger of OKC Thunder::

Another takeaway was the relationship Paul has with Donovan which the guard says took some time as he initially wanted to be playing more. He alluded to Billy making him understand his strategy for why his minutes were less than he was used to (presumably to keep Paul fresh for the postseason).

The vet also credited Donovan for his communication skills and how right from the start the coach and star were in touch. Clearly, this is a strong relationship that hasn’t always been the case with Paul’s former coaches.

The OKC Thunder captain also noted the swagger and confidence of the team particularly in clutch time when they believe no one can beat them.

To watch the entire interview click here.