Suns All-Star Competition for Devin Booker, Chris Paul, Deandre Ayton
Phoenix Suns Guard Chris Paul 2022 All-Star Competition
Chris Paul – 14.1 PPG, 10.0 APG, 4.1 RPG (.484/.316)
As the pure point guard for the Suns, Chris Paul takes on the others out West who meet that definition. He finds himself going up against an undisputed MVP-candidate, one guy starting to find his groove, and two superb youngsters.
Steph Curry – 27.7 PPG, 5.9 APG, 5.3 RPG (433/.397)
Steph Curry stands a top-two scorer right now, trailing only Kevin Durant. On the other hand, Paul reigns supreme as the league’s top assist guy, averaging 10.0 per game. But as we all know, NBA fans value scoring before passing, and with that, Curry’s +13.6 point scoring advantage hoists him well above Paul for All-Star consideration.
With him already nominated by most as an MVP candidate, this should come as no surprise for Suns fans. Paul remains a marvelous talent, but he sits a tier below Curry, who frankly looks like a guys who belongs on his own most of the time.
Damian Lillard – 23.9 PPG, 7.4 APG, 4.1 RPG (.403/.328)
The Damian Lillard comparison to Paul feels a bit tricky. From an efficiency standpoint, Lillard finds himself laboring through a tough season, currently with career lows from the field and three.
But still as a volume scorer, he still owns a +9.8 point per game edge over CP3. Also with Lillard seemingly turning it up over his last 10 games, averaging 27.5 points per contest on .403/.359 shooting splits, his scoring advantage will likely inflate as he puts his early season woes behind him.
At least for now though, Paul’s superiority everywhere other than the scoring department tells you he is having the better season on paper. But once again, voters often prioritize points per game above everything else, where Lillard posts a significant advantage. Paul’s chances over Lillard’s will simply come down to how much each voter cares to look beyond that first figure.
Ja Morant – 23.7 PPG, 6.8 APG, 5.5 RPG (.478/.350)
Much like Lillard, Ja Morant’s scoring resembles his most crucial argument against Paul. But unlike Lillard, Morant also beats CP3 on the glass and with his long range shooting.
With the Grizzlies performing so well this year behind Morant, also with youth and excitement factor on his side, expect Morant to snag some votes away from Paul and Lillard, beating them both through the early rounds of All-Star voting.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – 22.7 PPG, 5.2 APG, 4.8 RPG (.420/.283)
Everyone scores more than Paul on this list, including SGA with his 22.7 points per game. He also possesses a slight rebounding advantage, but after that, Paul wins out handsomely everywhere else.
His 10.0 assists per game nearly double Gilgeous-Alexander’s, and Paul shoots better from the field and from three by significant measures as well. SGA deserves recognition for his growth and vigor having carried the Thunder all season, but not All-Star considerations over Paul.