GMTR Valentine Series: I HEART Chris Paul

Categorized as: Author: Patrick, Diatribes, New Orleans Hornets
Posted on: February 14th, 2009

As Erik already mentioned, “Valentine’s Day, the day of hearts, the day of LOVE! It’s time we at GMTR talked about NBA players we LOVE, from a fantasy perspective of course.”

I am game. My favorite fantasy player also happens to be the best fantasy player in the league right now. Call it weak, clichéd, old news, whatever, I don’t care. When my heart tells me to stand outside Chris Paul’s bedroom holding a boombox above my head while blasting some Peter Gabriel, consider it done.

A dramatization of me in front of Chris Paul’s house last week. Yes, hightops FTW.

Paul – as nearly every fantasy player rater will tell you – is quantitatively the best fantasy guy in the NBA right now. And that is not even taking into account that he plays a relatively scare position. Through half the season, he’s averaging 21 points, 11 assists, 5 rebounds, and 2.7 steals a game, after averaging nearly that exact line last year. Those steals are tops in the league by a huge margin (Jason Kidd is second at 2.2 a game) and he slightly nudges Deron Williams for tops in the league in assists. The only bad thing you could say about his game is that he doesn’t shoot the three as much as some of the top guys in the league, but he’s too busy racking up mad assists and winning games to worry about padding his stats ::coughlebronjamescough::.

There have been a few minor bumps and bruises along the road for Paul, but generally he’s been healthy. And he certainly doesn’t carry the worry of Brandon Roy’s knees, Andrew Bogut’s back, or Al Jefferson’s everything. A “guy you can build a team around” is a phrase thrown out a lot in the fantasy world, but it is absolutely true in Paul’s case. He’ll almost single handedly put you at the top of your league in assists and steals, while still giving you the points, boards, and percentages that is on par with many of the top draft picks. Plus, Paul locks up your PG slot, which other than center, is the toughest position to fill in most fantasy leagues.

So, Chris Paul, would it be weird if I said I wanted to touch the light the heat I see in your eyes.

A little weird? Ok. Weird.

Other Stuff Like This:

• Day 122 of 124: Chris Paul Makes a Run At Fantasy MVP (1)
• Day 120 of 124: A Peaceful Elbow To The Head (4)
• Day 112 of 124: the Beginning of the End (13)
• Day 109 of 124: Waiver Wire Team Assemble! (19)
• Day 105 of 124: The Stiem Engine (10)
• Day 93 of 124: Night of the Living Waiver Wire Player (32)
• Day 85 of 124: Capping Off “Paul Millsap Week” (17)

Tags: Chris Paul