Is Chris Paul Declining?

On Thursday night (12/17/2015), Dan Woike of the Orange County Register joined the Posting Up podcast (of the Washington Post) to discuss the Clippers. [If you haven't listened to it, it's definitely worth a listen.] While Woike didn't drop any specific new piece of information, the discussion did cover various topics about the team. One that really does stick out is the evident down season (relatively speaking) that Chris Paul is having. While Paul has had some good games of late, his numbers on the season are clearly not the same god like numbers that fans around the Association have come to expect. For example, he is averaging 2.8 turnovers a game; this is the highest per game average for Paul since his 4th year and would be the second highest overall. Paul's offensive numbers have also dipped as his shooting percentage has dipped noticeably. Granted, Paul has dealt with injury this season and he may just be pacing himself for the playoff push. Likewise, it was never realistic to expect CP3 to replicate his 3-point shooting from last year. (He's now more on par with his career #'s, if just a little below.) Still, it's a cause for concern as the Clippers pursue championship aspirations. The team is already juggling small forwards in search of consistent production between Luc Mbah Moute, Wesley Johnson, and Lance Stephenson. The last thing Doc Rivers needs is CP3 declining and needing Blake Griffin to play even better than he has already this season. Alas, perhaps the Clippers need a Power-God in Blake. Alternatively, perhaps the Clippers not only need the supporting cast to step up, but the team may need to reduce Chris Paul's minutes even more to let the veteran rest (Paul is already averaging a career low 32 minutes per game).