Paul or Williams?
Most people would say that this is a no brainer for Chris Paul. After all, he is being mentioned for MVP this year and deservedly so. In his games against Steve Nash he has destroyed him and played some of his best basketball. The Hornets also consistently beat the Suns at their own game of run and gun.
Deron Williams on the other hand is quietly having another amazing season in Utah. He isn’t as flashy as Paul but he is perfect for the Jazz system and is a true team leader.
If you look at the numbers Paul has the clear edge averaging 21 points, 11 assists and 2.7 steals a game. Williams averages 19 points, 10.5 assists and 1 steal a game. The Hornets even have a better record than the Jazz do and nobody is talking about Williams for MVP and honestly shouldn’t be.
Do I have an argument here? Of course I do. These two players will always be tied together because of the draft that they were taken in and where they were taken. The Jazz traded up to get the 3rd pick that year and chose Williams over Paul siting the fact that Williams was more traditional and would fit their system better. Paul went on to win rookie of the year but regressed last season. Meanwhile, Williams led the Jazz to the conference finals where they lost to the Spurs. Here’s my point:
Paul can’t beat Williams. He’s struggled against him all the way back to college. If you’ll remember 2004, Wake Forest was ranked 1st in the country and went to Illinois to play in Champaign when Illinois was ranked 4th. Illinois destroyed Wake Forest that night and remained #1 the rest of the year until the title game where they lost to Carolina. Williams became a lottery pick that game while Paul had always been considered one.
When they got to the pros it has been very one sided in favor of Williams. This season the Jazz are 3-1 against the Hornets with Williams going for 17 and 11 against Paul. Last season was 3-0 against Paul and the Hornets. When Paul plays against Utah his average drops to 12 points and 9 assists and shoots 30% against them. Coincidence? We have a large enough sample of data to show that head to head Williams and the Jazz come out on top more often than not.
Chris Paul is having the better season and he’s deserving of the MVP talk, but Deron Williams owns him.
