The Z Report

Lance Zierlein: Chris Paul - the hero we needed

Lance Zierlein: Chris Paul - the hero we needed
The Rockets might be James Harden's team, but Chris Paul (left) stepped up when needed the most. Tim Warren/Getty Images

This past January, I was lucky enough to be invited to a lunch that included Chris Paul. This was a small group of nine people who were basically gathered to act in an advisory role. When it was Paul’s turn to speak, it didn’t take long to recognize how special he was and why he was going to be the reason that this year could be different for the Rockets.

Paul is ball. All ball, all the time. He plays his game that night and then comes home and grabs a quick bite with his wife while watching games he has recorded from that evening. He’s looking for tells and advantages. How quickly does each referee allow players to get the ball so they can in-bound it after out of bounds plays? Which players loaf back on defense that he can exploit with hit-aheads? How do different point guards defend different scenarios offensively? He looks for any advantage he can find so he can exploit it. All he cares about is winning.

Paul works overtime to keep himself in shape and fight off the nagging injuries that come with playing in the league as long as he’s played. I could tell at that luncheon that he understood what his role with the Rockets was going to be and he needed to be as ready as possible to fulfill that role in an attempt to fulfill this team’s potential in the postseason. Paul stepped into a situation where James Harden was the established alpha, but Paul has been able to establish himself as a leader as well without stepping on Harden’s toes.

Altering his role

Paul has been able to acquiesce to Harden for most of the season, but he’s proven to be ready to pick up the slack at a moment’s notice whenever Harden has faltered. That selflessness combined with readiness is an extremely rare trait for a star to possess and it takes a special player who is obsessed with winning to be able to pack and unpack his ego as needed for his team to succeed.

Paul’s performance in eliminating the Jazz from the playoffs was a microcosm of his presence this season. Sure, Harden has had a tremendous  year and should win his first ever MVP, but there was Paul ready to hit the accelerator when needed. In the second half with the game slipping away, all that preparation, all that work to keep his body right, and all that mental toughness manifested themselves in a game to remember.

In a way, he has been the Clyde Drexler to Harden’s Hakeem Olajuwon. Drexler played his role in the background, but when it was time to step up, he could take over different games which helped push the Rockets to a championship in 1994-1995. Chris Paul’s importance as a secondary ball-handler and primary scorer was on display in Game 5, but his preparation, will to win, and leadership ability could end up having a long-lasting impact on James Harden.

Netflix recommendation

One of my favorite things that has happened over the past six years is the proliferation of stand-up comedian specials on Netflix. You guys all know how bossy Netflix is. You can’t open up Netflix without it telling you about five new shows that they are sure you will like. Now I’m not saying that Netflix doesn’t have a feel for what I like because it does. Netflix recommended John Mulaney’s Kid Gorgeous to me and now I’m recommending it to you. I’ve always loved Mulaney’s comedy but this one had me laughing out loud with my headphones on while eating a beef shawarma plate and watching on my ipad. High praise.

 

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Stefon Diggs faces his former team on Sunday. Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Getty Images.

Josh Allen has never said a bad word about Stefon Diggs. As the Buffalo Bills prepare to face their former star receiver in a visit to Houston on Sunday, he insists the two went their separate ways on good terms.

And the quarterback wasn’t changing his stance a week ago, not wanting to ruffle any feathers when asked about the early season success the Bills have enjoyed with their spread-the-ball motto on offense.

He later explained that he spoke out after reading comments on social media in which people were attempting to twist the “everybody eats” motto into something being directed at Diggs.

Allen understands why Buffalo facing Diggs for the first time since a blockbuster trade sent him to Houston this offseason is a big deal. He raved about his former teammate.

“I’ve got a lot of love for him. I still do,” Allen said. “The things that he did for me in my career, and the things that he did in a Buffalo Bill uniform won’t be forgotten anytime soon, especially from me … (but) going into Year 7, I understand the business, and the aspect of what this league is, and again, I’m just trying to focus on what we got going on in this building.”

Diggs, a four-time Pro Bowler, is second on the Texans with 25 receptions for 233 yards. He has two receiving touchdowns and had the first rushing score of his career last week against the Jaguars. He spent the last four seasons in Buffalo, where he had more than 1,100 yards receiving each year, highlighted by an NFL-leading and career-high 1,535 yards in 2020.

He didn’t address Allen directly this week when talking about his time in Buffalo. Diggs did say his tenure with the Bills was “amazing” but that he’s solely focused on his future now and not interested in rehashing the past.

“A lot of other people are going to feel a way or have a lot to say about X, Y, Z, and I’m not mad at it,” he said Wednesday. “Football is a very emotional sport. I go in there and wear my heart on my sleeve, and I won’t stop, but for me, I block out the noise.”

“Nobody is going to run the routes but me,” he continued. “Nobody is going to watch the tape but me. I try not to get back into the back and forth about the opinions or how people feel. I’ve got a job to do; I try to get it done.”

Diggs has helped the Texans to a 3-1 start and Allen hasn’t missed a beat without him. The Bills also are 3-1, though they’re looking to bounce back after a 35-10 loss to the Ravens last week.

Texans coach DeMeco Ryans certainly knew how talented Diggs was when he arrived in Houston but said he has been pleasantly surprised to see his passion for the game.

“He loves football … you see it in the way he practices, the way he plays the game,” Ryans said. “He loves ball, he plays with effort and that is all you want.”

The blame game

Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady was still kicking himself for calling a trick play that backfired, squelching any chance of a Buffalo rally in the loss to Baltimore.

After opening the second half with a TD to cut the deficit to 21-10, the Bills faced second-and-7 at the Baltimore 44, when receiver Curtis Samuel took a direct snap and pitched the ball to Allen. The Ravens weren’t fooled and forced a fumble, which led to a TD six plays later.

“I probably can’t say it on Zoom,” Brady said when asked to sum up the call in one word. “There’s no excuses. I can give the justification of why it was on the call sheet, but at the end of the day, the timing was not what it should’ve been and it was costly.”

Nico’s start

While much of the focus this week has been on Diggs facing his former team, the star of Houston’s offense so far this season has been another receiver. Nico Collins had a career-high 12 catches for 151 yards and a touchdown against the Jaguars for his third 100-yard game this season. He leads the NFL with 489 yards receiving and is the first player in franchise history with more than 450 yards receiving though the first four games.

“He’s a strong, physical, fast, and big receiver,” Ryans said. “That’s an easy target for C.J. (Stroud) and Nico has showed up every time that we needed him.”

Feeding Samuel

In the Bills’ “everybody eats” motto on offense, Samuel has had difficulty finding a regular place at the table. The eighth-year player who enjoyed his best season in Carolina under Brady as the Panthers coordinator in 2020 has been limited to eight catches for 48 yards. More curious is Samuel has been on the field for only 68 of a total of 230 offensive snaps.

“We’d love to get him going and whether or not Khalil is in or out this week,” Allen said, referring to receiver Khalil Shakir, who is nursing a right ankle injury. “So we’re going to be calling on his number, and he is going to have to step up, make some plays, which we’ve got no doubt in his ability.”

Update: Shakir has been ruled out (ankle) for Sunday's game.

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