OKC Thunder: 3 keys to finish road trip strong in Phoenix

OKC Thunder key no. 2 – Sizing up Chris Paul

One year of witnessing Chris Paul with the OKC Thunder gave many fans in Thunder Nation (and the analysts – – raises hand) a whole new appreciation for the Point God.

Because of the narrative in the league the previous season there were questions about how Paul would deal with the trade or if he would stay long in OKC. Instead of being a deterrent, CP3 embraced his team and the role of leader citing the 2019-20 Thunder as one of his favorite two teams ever in his career.

The Thunder became known as the Clutch Time killers with Paul ascending to be the most dangerous player during the stretch (a factor Billy Donovan seemed to forget on the last play of the postseason — but I digress).

Oddly, the transition with Devin Booker hasn’t been as successful with the duo not experiencing the same success. As John Schuhmann noted in his weekly power rankings as of week four the Suns were better with CP3 off the court

"Chris Paul has three on-off titles in the last six seasons and, in the 13 seasons for which we have on-off data, his team has never been fewer than 5.1 points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor than it’s been with him off the floor. So the Suns’ on-off numbers through 11 games – they’ve have been 17.8 points per 100 possessions better with Paul off the floor – are among the wackiest stats of the first four weeks. That differential starts with the Suns’ starting lineup having allowed 116.6 points per 100 possessions, the second worst mark among 15 lineups that have played at least 100 minutes together."

With four additional games played the numbers are slightly better but the Suns are still better defensively with Paul off the court by 8.4 points and 10.4 when Booker is off the court. The real albatross is Ayton though as the Suns are 17.0 points better defensively with the big man on the bench.

In the match tonight Booker isn’t expected to play and without Al Horford expected back Ayton will pose big issues for the Thunder to guard.

Ultimately though it’s the matchup against Paul everyone wants to see. Will his student Shai Gilgeous-Alexander guard him or will Luguentz Dort get the nod given Booker’s absence? Either way, Paul knows all the youngsters’ moves and tricks and will look to capitalize on that fact.

SGA and Bazley were extremely close with Paul forming a brotherly bond on and off the court so this match should offer plenty of the good old-fashioned one-upmanship that comes with those matches against good friends and siblings.

Paul is averaging 13.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 9.0 assists per game this season but with Booker out he’ll assume more responsibility.

Place your bets fans – will it be the mentor or the student who draws first bragging rights?