 |
| Photo courtesy of interaksyon.com |
When
Paul Lee was discovered to have a tear in his meniscus and anterior cruciate
ligament (ACL), the reverberations of that injury was felt not just by his PBA
team, the Rain Or Shine Elasto Painters, but also by the Gilas national team.
Fortunately
for Gilas, this injury will not have a major impact in their preparations for
next year’s Olympic qualifiers. Unfortunately for the Elasto Painters, this
injury will define their campaign in the Smart Bro PBA Philippine Cup.
Here
are the four aspects where the Elasto Painters will feel Lee’s absence:
Playmaking
Paul
Lee is, in simple words, a playmaker. He makes good things happen, whether with
good passing, strong drives to the rim, kick outs to open shooters, hitting
open shots to keep the defenses honest, or controlling the tempo of the game to
better suit the Rain Or Shine game plan.
He’s
the focal point and engine of the Rain or Shine offense, which means that when
Paul Lee is in the zone, he can almost singlehandedly destroy opposing defenses.
The
fact that he can do it in so many ways, not just by scoring a ton, makes him
especially hard to replace. Just consider his stats from last year’s PBA
season: 15.5ppg, 4.5rpg, and 3.3 apg. Those are major numbers for someone who
plays just 27 minutes a game.
