The Case of Williams vs Paul
‘Point, Counter Point’ (Noah Graham - NBAE/Getty Images)
As I drove into work last Monday I flipped through a few sports radio programs when what to my wondering ears? But Chris Paul on the Dan Patrick show. I was intrigued to hear what Paul had to say as Dan Patrick would inevitably ask some tougher questions related to point guard play in the NBA. Mr. Patrick did not disappoint. “Who is the one point guard that you don’t want to see on the other side of the floor?” inquired Patrick.
Paul hum-hawed for a moment, and Patrick rephrased, “Who do you least want to go up against?” Paul responded, “Steve Nash.”
Ooooohh. Wrong answer, Mr. Paul; I’m sorry. The correct answer was Deron Williams, yes, Deron Williams for three reasons:
(1) Paul owns Steve Nash. His Hornets are 4-0 against them and CP3 performs at a very MVP level against the wily Canuck with 29 points, 11 assists, 5 rebounds and 4 steals per game. But that’s not the real reason Paul was wrong.
(2) Paul has certainly not owned Deron Williams. The inverse is closer to the truth. When the two fellow ’05 draftees have gone head-to-head this season Williams has held Paul to 12 points per game on ugly 30% shooting and cut his assists to 9.25 (as opposed to Paul’s season averages of about 21 points on 49% shooting and 11.25 assists per game). And of course, beyond the head-to-head numbers the most important stat is the Jazz’ three wins to the Hornets’ one. A quick scan of Paul’s ’07-’08 stats shows that no team other than the Jazz, and no opposing player other than D-Will has given him such consistent fits.
(3) Finally, Paul’s overlooking of Williams was wrong because he missed a golden opportunity to further stoke what should be a great NBA rivalry. Perhaps his and Deron’s agents should get together. But, while it seems that the Williams/Paul rivalry only exists in Jazz fans’ heads, the rest of the NBA continues to overlook one of the next great talents in the NBA in Deron Williams. Of course, we Jazz fans probably shouldn’t mind. The more D-Will gets slighted, the bigger that filthy chip on his shoulder becomes and along with that chip, the bigger the performances.
Now if we can just get back on defense…
4 Comments to “The Case of Williams vs Paul”
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I don’t think Paul likes talking about Williams anymore. I heard him say earlier in the year that D-Will was the hardest guy in the league for him to guard. However, if he wants to win the MVP, he doesn’t want to have people thinking about D-Will vs. CP3 right now. It makes him look bad to the MVP voters.
I think it’s hard for Deron william’s because everyone is comparing Chirs Paul and Kobe Bryant. And Deron William’s is playing way better.
So if the Utah Jazz win the championship this year he probably will be better with Deron Williams.
Or at least people will think that maybe.
Yep, I think you nailed it Jeff.
Nice post Stanton. Where do you get these amazing stats? Unfortunately, I think CP3 is right on the money. Until D-will and his Jazz establish themselves as a contender and not a pretender, this will continue to be the case. We can’t drop games to the Timberpups and have anybody take us seriously. Some consistency on the road and winning in San Antonio more than once per decade, as well as a deep run in this year’s playoffs, would go a long way to striking more fear in the heart of the illustrious Mr. Paul. The rest of the NBA still looks at last year’s playoff run as a fluke because we got the Warriors in the second round. The Jazz have yet to establish themselves as a threat to win a championship and until they do, Chris Paul should rightfully fear Nash (whose team IS a threat to win a championship) more than Deron Williams. That being said, I will thoroughly enjoy watching D-will dismantle Alston and whoever they have backing him up now in Houston. Williams will bring a championship to Jazzland someday, you can rest assured.
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