Why Chris Paul Deserves to Be in the MVP Conversation

Most Valuable Player debates are heating up, but one name remains consistently absent: Chris Paul. While Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Stephen Curry and James Harden are dominating the discussion, Paul's play has gone somewhat unnoticed. 

Paul finished seventh in MVP balloting during the 2013-14 season, receiving five third-place and six fourth-place votes, according to NBA.com. This season, Paul is putting up nearly identical numbers, the Clippers are winning just as many games but he was forced to carry the team while Blake Griffin missed 15 games during February and March.

During Griffin's absence, Paul averaged an impressive 20.5 points, 12.0 assists and 4.4 rebounds while shooting 50.8 percent from the field. Additionally, the Clippers went 9-6 during that stretch, defeating playoff teams such as the Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies.

ESPN's Arash Markazi went even more in-depth about how vital Paul's play was without Griffin.

"During that stretch, Paul has led the NBA in creating 48.9 percent of the Clippers' points either by scoring or assisting on a score. The Clippers also score a team-high 113.8 points per 100 possessions when Paul is on the floor, compared to a team-low 97.2 points per 100 possessions when he is on the bench."

The Clippers could have easily faltered during that period, especially considering Jamal Crawford missed five games and Matt Barnes two. However, it was Paul who rallied the team and put up sensational numbers, including a four-game stretch in which he dished out 53 assists while committing only four turnovers.

Paul absolutely should be in consideration for MVP this season, especially when you break down his numbers compared to the other four main candidates.

Offensive Statistics

Name	PPG	RPG	APG	ORTG	PER	eFG%	TS%	USG%
Chris Paul	18.4	4.7	10.0	122	24.7	53.1	57.9	23.6
James Harden	26.9	5.8	7.1	118	26.6	51.4	60.5	30.9
Stephen Curry	23.6	4.4	7.8	121	27.8	58.4	62.9	28.7
LeBron James	26.0	5.8	7.4	112	26.3	53.9	58.2	32.9
Russell Westbrook	27.5	7.2	8.3	111	29.7	46.0	53.9	38.4

The first thing which stands out is how important these five players are to their respective offenses. Each player is responsible for creating and distributing for their team.

This is where Paul's statistics and efficiency become paramount. He is one of two guards (John Wall) averaging a double-double on the season. His impact on the Clippers offense is tremendous, yet he uses the least amount of possessions of the main MVP candidates.

Paul's role is as important as any on this list, but he also has to share the ball with another high-usage player in Blake Griffin. Westbrook is in the same position, but the Clippers have had more success which gives Paul the leg up.

Next, Paul leads all candidates scoring .81 points per possession, ranking 24th in the entire league per NBA.com/Stats. He also ranks third (.94) among candidates in points per possession as a ball handler, behind Curry (.99) and Harden (.96).

Finally, Paul leads all point guards in offensive rating (122) and ranks 13th among all players who have played at least 500 minutes, according to Basketball-Reference. Offensively, Paul has been as impressive as James and Westbrook and slightly behind Curry and Harden.

Defensive Statistics

Name	STL%	Block%	DWS	DRPM
Chris Paul	2.7	.4	2.4	.38
James Harden	2.6	1.6	3.6	.88
Stephen Curry	3.2	.5	3.5	1.7
LeBron James	2.3	1.5	2.2	1.99
Russell Westbrook	3.1	.4	2.6	-.45

Historically, Paul has been a good defender, consistently among the league leaders in steals. This season, his defense has been solid, but the other candidates have been nearly as good or better in metrics such as defensive win shares and defensive real plus-minus.

His steal rate is down from his 3.4 career average to 2.7, and his defensive real plus-minus down from 1.95 to .38 this season. Still, head coach Doc Rivers thinks Paul deserves more credit for his defense, according to ESPN's Arash Markazi:

"

But I think Chris has had an amazing year. He's a heck of an offensive player, but I think Chris defensively doesn't get half the credit. He is as good as there is in the league at that position guarding the ball.

"

Rivers might be on to something.

Alexander Franks and Andrew Miller, PhD students at Harvard, presented a paper at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in early March which highlights Paul as the best defender in the NBA. The metric is based on his ability to contain and disrupt shots of the players he guards.

Grantland's Kirk Goldsberry, also one of the paper's authors, was able to transfer this data into a defensive shot chart below:

Kirk Goldsberry

Analyzing defensive data, what little there is, is quite difficult.

Statistics such as steals or blocks per game are vague when it corresponds to a player's defensive prowess. Meanwhile, other metrics like defensive win shares and defensive real plus-minus have opened new avenues to evaluate a player's defensive impact. Neither of which are too complimentary of Paul.

Some advanced metrics clearly help Paul's MVP case, especially Goldsberry's chart, while others do not seem to add much. Regardless, combining his offensive impact with his solid defensive statistics clearly puts him in the MVP race.

Much has been made about Westbrook's scintillating performance without Kevin Durant in February, but there should have been more discussion about Paul's heroics sans Griffin. If Westbrook is an MVP candidate, Paul certainly should be one as well.

James' remarkable play since January has spearheaded the Cleveland Cavaliers' surge towards the top of the Eastern Conference. Again, Paul has been somewhat passed over despite leading the Clippers to 42 wins compared to the Cavs' 43 and the league's third-best point differential as of March 15, per ESPN.

Paul might not win the MVP this season, but he absolutely should be receiving more respect as a candidate.

For more Clippers' coverage and in-game breakdowns Follow Jeff Nisius on Twitter @JeffNisiusNBA.