Paul Millsap: the real Playoff P!
Deron Williams and Paul Millsap were supposed to be the next great duo in Utah: Williams (wrongly) compared to John Stockton; Millsap (rightly) compared to Karl Malone.
It fizzled out because Williams demanded a trade from Utah. The Millsap/Malone connection is still downright eerie: both grew up in the backwaters of northern Louisiana, starred at Louisiana Tech, and were drafted by the Utah Jazz.
Millsap never made it to Malone’s level. But he is a four-time NBA all-star, making it each time in his four seasons with the Atlanta Hawks. Once his contract with Atlanta expired, no one batted an eye when Denver signed him to a 3-year, $90 million deal. Given his declining production, the deal looks overpriced – but his intangibles and veteran leadership are priceless.
Millsap deserves way more credit for saving Denver’s season in Game 5. While his third-quarter scuffle with Clippers forward Marcus Morris gets all the hype, his 14 points in the quarter deserve an equal amount of praise.
The rest, as they say, is history.
LeBron James is now looming on the horizon. He actually guarded LeBron in past playoff showdowns while he was in Atlanta. That was five years ago. LeBron is an ageless cyborg; Millsap is not.
Unless if Denver coach Mike Malone wants to revisit the past, somebody else will guard LeBron. Even Millsap in his prime and the Atlanta Hawks stood no chance against LeBron’s Cleveland Cavaliers back in the 2014 Eastern Conference Finals.
He will now likely be guarding Anthony Davis. Millsap presents a unique challenge for AD as a taller, longer version of PJ Tucker. Millsap is built like a fire hydrant and rarely gives up ground in the low post. That’s why he got away with entering the league as a 6’7” power forward in the mid-2000s.
If we are going to take the Lakers-Nuggets regular season into account, which we probably should not, Davis had his way with Millsap inside, averaging 29 points and 9 rebounds. Denver may also throw the likes of Jerami Grant (more on him later) and backup center Mason Plumlee on AD. But Millsap is the clear-cut choice.