"Take this guy off this team and where would this team be?" - Kendrick Perkins lauds Chris Paul's impact on the team and his MVP credentials
Chris Paul and the Phoenix Suns recorded their seventh consecutive victory Monday night against the Utah Jazz, beating them 115-109. It was a hard-fought battle going into the fourth quarter when Chris Paul erupted to take over.
During a conversation on NBA Today, posted to ESPN’s YouTube, Malika Andrews, Richard Jefferson, JJ Redick, and Kendrick Perkins touched on the Sun’s win streak. In the spotlight is Chris Paul's dominant performances in the late game this season.
Chris Paul's impact on the Phoenix Suns
In the video, Richard Jefferson comments on Chris Paul.
“Chris Paul in the fourth quarter has been elite, everything this individual is doing. Not turning the ball over, getting to the spot, getting his teammates involved, he has been absolutely next level.”
Paul has 2.8 assists per game in the fourth quarter, leading the NBA. He has 120 assists in the fourth quarter this season, when no other player has more than 75.
When asked about Chris Paul and the Suns, Kendrick Perkins explained:
“You can plug anybody in with CP3 and he’s going to make them look great … When we go to looking at this team … when I look at this Suns team, you could take Devin Booker off and they could still be a playoff team, I think if you take CP3 off they’re not a playoff team.”
Capping their seventh victory on their winning streak gave Phoenix a record of 37-9, which has matched the franchise record for best season start in 54-years.
During the game against Utah on Monday night, Devin Booker scored all 33 of his points in the first three quarters to keep his team alive. CP3 on the other hand, scored 15 of his 27 points and three of his 14 assists in the fourth quarter.
Teammate Cam Johnson scored 11 of his 20 points to buff up the Suns with Paul. Over the last twelve minutes, with Paul on his hot streak, Phoenix only turned the ball over once.
When asked if Chris Paul is deserving of MVP contention this year, JJ Redick replied:
“He absolutely could be a part of the conversation.”
Paul, an 11x NBA All-Star, 10x All-NBA Team selection, and NBA Rookie of the Year in 2006, has yet to win an MVP award across his 16 years in the NBA. He has also never won an NBA championship. If he keeps playing in the clutch like he has been and helps carry his squad into another deep finals run this year, he may just get the first MVP award of his career.
During his 16 years playing in the NBA, CP3 averaged 18.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 9.5 assists per game. He maintains a field goal average of 47.3% and a three-point average of 37.0% across 1136 games played.
For the current 2021-22 NBA season, Chris is averaging a double-double with 14.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 10.2 assists per game in 26 games so far.
Just last season, did Paul carry the Phoenix Suns to their first NBA Finals in 28 years, and his first ever, by defeating the Los Angeles Clippers 130-103. Again pulling up in the clutch, he scored 31 points in the second half alone, adding to a total of 41, bringing Paul to a new playoff career high.
Kendrick Perkins' comments start to make sense when you think about the above notion. Phoenix owes a large portion of thanks for their 2020-21 playoff run to Paul.
With how many fourth quarter statistics he is leading in, whilst running for the first place spot in the Western conference at 37 wins to nine losses, Paul looks to be on another mission. So it begs curiosity to wonder where Phoenix would be if Devin Booker was running a solo mission.