Victor Wembanyama had a fantastic rookie season while playing without a playmaker for long stretches. Now that Chris Paul is involved, expectations are high for a move into Wemby’s attack.

The enthusiasm is justified. Even at 39 years old, Paul is the best point guard Wemby has ever nurtured in his young career. The veteran has the tools and knowledge to do what Spurs failed to consistently do last season: put Wembanyama in a position to score.

Forget the Warriors version of Chris Paul

Paul is coming off one of the worst statistical seasons of his career, matching only his stint in Oklahoma City in assists per game and assist percentage. He also had his lowest scoring average since entering the league. The Warriors’ style of play, as well as the fact that they have to share playmaking duties with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, partially explains the poor year, but it’s understandable to be cautious about the impact this version of Paul may have. Many of those doubts disappear when you look at what Paul did two seasons ago when he ran the show in Phoenix and had a competent center to work with. The Spurs don’t need the superstar version of Paul. They just need the Suns version and there’s a good chance they can get it.

Paul’s goalscoring will stop the defense from worrying only about Wemby

When it comes to the two-man game against Wemby, the potential is tantalizing. There will be plenty of lobs and pocket passes, but there’s another factor that should keep the duo effective even when the easier plays aren’t available. In short: Paul can score. All of the Spurs point guards last season, including Tre Jones, simply didn’t pose much of a threat from mid-range, allowing the defense to attack Wemby with pick-and-rolls. Opponents liked to go under the screens and dare Jones (41 percent from mid-range, but only 34 total attempts, mostly floaters) and Jeremy Sochan (27 percent from mid-range) to hurt them. The Spurs had some midfield threats with Wemby in Devin Vassell and Malaki Branham running some pick-and-rolls, but they lacked the vision to consistently find the big man.

Paul combines the ability to make timely passes to the big man with a deadly jumper that has been the bane of drop coverage defenses for over a decade. In his final five years with the Warriors, he had his worst season shooting from beyond the arc only 159 shots from this distance and follow-up goals Only 44.7 percent of them. During his time with the Suns, he scored over 200 goals each season, and in one of them he hit over 50 percent of those looks. Even considering that Paul is generally slowing down as a scorer, even as a mid-range scoring threat, he is moving from elite to above average. If opponents decide to focus solely on Wembanyama, Paul should make them pay and eventually adapt, opening up passing windows that weren’t there last season.

Paul’s patience will earn Wemby deep post looks

Paul’s scoring ability makes him dangerous, but it’s the patience and precise passing skills he displays in the pick-and-roll that allows Wembanyma to get the kind of close-range shots near the basket that Nikola Jokic gets when he combined with Jamal Murray and Tim Duncan It used to be that Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili fooled him.

The pick-and-roll is straightforward to execute, and we’ll see plenty of that with Paul and Wemby, but Paul is also a master of the delayed pick-and-roll that transitions into a quick post-up. Essentially, the big man sets up a screen and rolls not necessarily to immediately catch and finish the ball, but to take a position near the basket to receive a pass. During his time in Phoenix, Paul consistently created opportunities for DeAndre Ayton and even backup greats Bismack Biyombo, Dario Saric and Jock Landale. As mentioned, the threat of his pull-up jumper prevents defenses from grabbing the paint. Then Paul waits a moment until the big man has the seal and makes a perfect pass. From there, the center can essentially launch a short hook or jumper that is hard to miss.

Imagine if Wembanyam was on the receiving end of these passes and simply shot over the defenders. He should be able to feast internally without putting any strain on his body trying to achieve his position at the post. The only way to prevent this is to give Paul the shot he can hit or help someone else early to prevent the pass or double team. Opponents will try to do this, especially when Jeremy Sochan is on the pitch, but if the spacing is appropriate, Paul will either find a way to pass inside or find open shooters while Wembanyama acts as the league’s best decoy.

Chris Paul struggled to showcase his entire arsenal last season as he was thrust into an unfamiliar role and had no quality centers to work with. Now he gets to share the floor with Wembanyama and Gregg Popovich has said he just wants him to be “Chris Paul.”

The stage is set for a bounce-back year for the veteran guard and a jump from Wembanyama, who should finally get the good looks he didn’t always have as a rookie.