Blake Griffin has not played since Christmas. In the 39 games the Los Angeles Clippers have played since then, Chris Paul’s on-court presence is the difference between the Clippers having the best offense in the NBA and the worst offense in the NBA.
Literally.
With Paul on the floor since Dec. 26, the Clippers are averaging 113.0 points per 100 possessions, which would tie for first with the Golden State Warriors over that span. In the nearly 600 minutes that Paul has been off the court over that span, the Clippers' offense has managed 97.2 points per 100 possessions, which would rank last.
That’s a swing of nearly 16 points per 100 possessions, which is the largest on-court versus off-court impact of any player in the NBA over that span. The players with the next-biggest impact? Draymond Green (difference of plus-12.6 points per 100 possessions) and Stephen Curry (difference of plus-11.9 points per 100 possessions). By that measure, Paul has been the most important offensive player in the NBA since Griffin has been out.
With Griffin out, Paul is essentially the team’s lone playmaker. From the start of the season through Dec. 25, Paul accounted for 32.5 percent of the team’s assists. With Griffin out since Dec. 26, Paul has accounted for 46.6 percent of the team's assists and has nearly five times more assists than anyone else on the Clippers over that span.
Until the Clippers' most recent game, when he was finally passed by Jamal Crawford, Griffin (with 149) was still second on the team in total assists despite not playing since Christmas. Crawford has 150.
