Chris Paul isn't worried about the Warriors' poor shooting performance in the 2023-24 NBA season-opening loss to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday at Chase Center. He's experienced much worse before. Much, much worse.
In speaking to reporters after the game, Paul was asked about Golden State's tough shooting night in which it shot 35.6 percent from the field and 23.3 percent from 3-point range. The 19-year NBA veteran has experienced his fair share of poor shooting performances, but one in particular always will supersede the next.
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"Yeah, I ain't really worried about the shooting. I've been on a team that missed 27 straight threes," Paul said with a chuckle. "I don't think that's going to be the case over here. Knock on wood.
"With the shooters that we've got and guys being unselfish and passing up shots, I'll live with the shots we've got every night."
Paul is referencing Game 7 of the 2018 Western Conference Finals in which his Houston Rockets missed an astounding 27 straight shots from the 3-point line and finished the game with a horrendous 7 for 44 mark (15.9 percent) from distance. Their opponent? None other than the Warriors, who went on to win the game and advance to the NBA Finals where they would sweep the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Although Paul was inactive for Games 6 and 7 of that series with a hamstring injury, he never will forget just how badly the Rockets shot from beyond the arc.
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And that is why, no matter how much his current team might struggle on any given night, Paul almost always will have experienced worse before.