Welcome to the Western Conference Finals, CP3; Where You Been?

Chris Paul did it. After all the naysaying and snickering, CP3 made it to the Western Conference Finals.

Let's ignore for a minute that they do not hand out rings, trophies, banners or even commemorative T-shirts for getting out of the second round of the NBA playoffs. Let's also forget that the Rockets' next opponent is the defending champion Golden State Warriors, one of the most talented basketball teams of all time.

This is still very good for him!

Paul, who had 41 points and 10 assists in his monster Game 5 win over the Jazz, was all business after the contest in reminding reporters that the Rockets might "enjoy tonight, but [we need to] get ready for whoever's next."

He should enjoy this, though. This is Paul's 10th trip to the playoffs since he entered the league in 2005. He has never played more than 13 games in a single postseason run. That year was 2014, when the Clippers were pushed to seven games in the first round by a young Warriors team and then lost in six games to the Oklahoma City Thunder. It was a tight series, with four of the six games being decided by six points or fewer. The next year, the Clippers blew a 3-1 series lead in the Western Conference semifinals to James Harden and the Houston Rockets.

There's a recurring theme to Paul's playoff history: heartbreak. He's almost always been in the wrong place at the wrong time. He couldn't get past Kobe's Lakers, the KD-and-Russ Thunder, the ageless perpetual motion machine that is the Spurs and so on. Now, it's the Warriors, the almighty juggernaut that has bested LeBron James in two of their three Finals meetings. So, what's different this time? How did Paul shake off all the jokes, memes and doubters to get across the second-round desert? Is this the year?

Let's break it down.

The Origin Story

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The first point in favor of Paul being an elite player is that he carried multiple New Orleans Hornets teams into the playoffs during the early years of his career. Among the starters on those teams were modern-day role players like Trevor Ariza and David West, as well as Emeka Okafor, who was not even in the league from 2013 through 2017.

He had to carry those teams on his back—with next to no support—and so Paul agitated for a trade that would initially send him to the Lakers, but through NBA chicanery, he landed in Clipperland instead. But let's take a minute to appreciate Paul's crossing up Kobe Bryant in Game 4 of the Hornets-Lakers 2011 first-round series. Paul averaged 22.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 11.5 assists and 1.8 steals in a six-game loss. No matter what you think of him now, one cannot deny his greatness. This is why he was given the nickname "Point God."

The Flops

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With success comes the inevitable backlash. CP3 is one of the most talented point guards in the history of the NBA, but he's also one of the most adept floppers. In this clip, Paul explodes off contact from a driving Mike Conley Jr. as though he just ran into Thanos. Paul and the Lob City Clippers would defeat Memphis in seven games, but when they faced the Spurs in the second round they disappeared from the playoffs at the snap of a finger.

Game 7 Against the Spurs

If there is a defining moment in Paul's career, it's this: Game 7 of a first-round series against the defending champion Spurs in 2015. Nursing a hamstring injury, Paul drove to the edge of the paint and lifted a floater that banked off the glass to give the Clippers the lead with one second left in the game. It seemed like the beginning of a magical run, but the injury would keep Paul out of the first two games of the next series against Houston. And, well, you know how that ended.

3-1

After beating the Spurs, the Clippers looked as if they had their own Big 3: Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. Griffin and Jordan both had gaudy postseason numbers (if you ignore DJ's free-throw shooting), but in Game 6 of the 2015 Western Conference semifinals, Griffin was minus-10 on the court. He shot 42.9 percent from the free-throw line, and the Clippers lost by 12.

In Game 7, he was minus-12 and got to the free-throw line only twice. Jordan was 2-of-7 from the line. They lost by 13.

It just never clicked. Outside of Jamal Crawford, the Clippers' bench was wafer-thin; Big "Baby Glen" Davis, Spencer Hawes and Austin Rivers were simply not enough. Lob City was never really the same after this. The Clippers are still trying to shake the stigma of this loss.

The Steph Crossover

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Speaking of shaking, every time I watch this moment, I wonder how the doctors put Paul's ankles back together after Stephen Curry broke them both at the same time. CP3 looks like he's doing some kind of bullet-time move from The Matrix or like he just lost his contact lenses. Or maybe they had just announced over the loudspeaker that a hundred-dollar bill was dropped on the court. Brutal.

One has to wonder what it is about the Clippers that dudes are crossing them so badly they fall to their knees in agony. First, it's Chris Paul and Steph. Then, this year's GIF of the Year featured James Harden and Wes Johnson. Maybe it's not Paul that was cursed. Maybe it's the entire Clippers organization.

The Injury

One more run seemed possible for the Clippers in 2016. They drew a decent but unremarkable Trail Blazers team in the first round and jumped out to a 2-1 lead, but Paul broke his hand in Game 4 on a seemingly routine defensive strip. Without Paul or an also-injured Blake Griffin, the Clippers lost in six games.

Harden Slaps CP's Hand Away

After the trade to Houston, it seemed that Paul would either have the running buddy he always needed or another ego that would consume him. Harden had developed a bad reputation after losing patience with Dwight Howard and former coach Kevin McHale.

Game 3 of this year's second-round series with the Jazz gave fans a glimpse of tension, as Paul and Harden jawed at each other during a timeout, with Harden going so far as to slap Paul's hand away when he attempted to make nice.

I have no clue what they were arguing about, but I have to assume it was about who was going to pick up the tab for dinner after the game. Too bad for them that all the restaurants in Salt Lake City close at 1 a.m.

The Game 5 Explosion

If there was any question that Paul, at 33 years of age, could still take over a game, the clincher against Utah was the definitive answer that yes, he can. And those who thought James Harden would never happily step aside to let CP3 dominate were wrong.

Sure, Paul revealed that Harden was sick during Game 5 and maybe didn't have a choice in the matter, but Harden still let Paul take over, and if my mother taught me anything, it's that it's the thought that counts.

And that brings us to now, with the Rockets as close to a complete, well-rounded team as you'll find outside of Golden State. Their young center, Clint Capela, has found himself, they are one of the best three-point shooting teams in the league and can defend against even the most loaded offense.

This is, without question, the best team Chris Paul has ever been part of. The Rockets just might be good enough to win a title.