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Damian Lillard Says Chris Paul Is Good Because He Manipulates The Game And The Referees To His Advantage

Chris Paul continues to be productive and is still one of the most impactful players in the game at age 35. The reason he’s still this good is allegedly because of his ability to manipulate the game, per Damian Lillard.

Appearing on ‘The JJ Redick Podcast’, Lillard, who has had some intense battles with Paul, talked about watching film and studying the game, and later on spoke about how Paul manipulates the game and even the referees to his advantage.

“Now it makes more sense to me how Chris Paul has been so good for so long because all he does is manipulate everything to take advantage of something he saw. And he called his play because he knows this team is going to react like this”

“Not just with your defense or offense. With the referees, with everything. Once you start figuring that stuff, the game gets so much easier and it seems so much slower when you watch teams and recognize their plays and actions and players’ tendencies.”

“When I watch film on other teams and I’ll see three or four games, players do the exact same thing every game. They don’t change it it’s just a matter or did I make or miss tonight. When you notice that it makes sense how Chris Paul can be his age and be a great point guard.”

Chris Paul pulled off a surprising and spectacular season this year, leading the Oklahoma City Thunder, who were deemed to become a subpar rebuilding team prior to the season, to the playoffs . 

The Thunder enjoy a 6thMOY-worthy season from Dennis Schröder, an all-around play from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and scoring contribution from Danilo Gallinari. The Thunder do have a decent cast, but it’s no coincidence that they have taken a big leap as a unit while having Chris Paul on the floor, who brought in veteran leadership and experience.

Paul got his first All-Star nod earlier since the 2016 earlier this season. The Thunder point guard is averaging 17.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game on 49.1% shooting from the field so far this year.