I think it's still relevant since the series ended like a day ago, so...
http://hoopsaddict.com/2008/05/21/lo...ng-chris-paul/
What is the difference between loving an NBA player one minute and hating him the next? Between rooting as hard as humanely possible for the guy one year and then cursing his name half a decade later?
Context.
Context is everything. As sports fans, we invest heavily in the games we watch and our opinions are formed, in large part, by the cir stances surrounding the contests. I know for an absolute fact that Derek Fisher is as fine as human beings come and that his family has been through the ringer and that he deserves my support … but he plays for the hated Lakers and I’m a huge Blazers fan and so I can’t bring myself to offer anything more than grudging respect. And speaking of the Lakers, I was the biggest Detroit Pistons fan alive in 2004 when the upstarts from the Motor City were jousting with L.A.’s ill-conceived All-Star laden squad … but last year I rooted for LeBron James and the Cavs to topple the Pistons like I was born and bred in Cleveland, Ohio.
Again, context is everything. Which is why I decided to take my sorrow over the New Orleans Hornets’ departure from the playoffs – and with it, the departure of my favorite player of 2008, Chris Paul – and turn it into a fun little exercise. I present to you a tale of shifting context: Loving and Hating Chris Paul.
April 19, 2008 - What a playoff debut! Chris Paul was insane tonight – 35 and 10 and a complete domination of Old Man Kidd. He got wherever he wanted on the floor and dominated the second half like few players I’ve seen in this decade. I love that Paul made the Mavs look like suckers for tanking to get the seventh seed and thereby draw the Hornets instead of the Lakers. Nice move, Dallas. Have a nice summer.
April 19, 2009 - Great playoff debut for Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Oden and the gang, but we sure ran into a buzzsaw tonight in the form of Chris Paul and the Hornets. I know we didn’t want to draw the eighth seed and play the Lakers in the first round, but man, “earning” the seventh spot just to get New Orleans isn’t much of a prize. David West and Tyson Chandler were tough, of course, but Paul just destroyed us. Steve Blake looked as old as Jason Kidd in that game. (Why didn’t we trade up to get Russell Westbrook again?) Is it already time to start thinking about the Draft?
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April 25, 2008 - Ouch, Paul and West didn’t show up at all for Game 3 in Dallas. I’m surprised the media is piling on like this though – it’s just one bad game!
April 25, 2009 - Ha! Welcome to the Rose Garden, Chris Paul. Yes, once upon a time we had the chance to draft you and when we didn’t, I nearly wept. Yes, I loved you and your phenom Hornets last year. But this time, we were down 0-2 and defending our home court. So take your 4-for-18 shooting performance and like it. Steve Blake might be terrible, but he figured out how to go under a screen. And Greg Oden won’t be in foul trouble every night, so he’s just waiting at the basket to pick off your floaters and lobs. Of course, you can do no wrong in the eyes of the media, so your brutal game has elicited surprisingly few responses.
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April 29, 2008 - Man, Chris Paul can really close out a series! 24-11-15 triple-double with no turnovers. That’s just flawless basketball. And how does a guy barely six-feet grab 11 boards in an elimination game? Heart, that’s how.
April 29, 2010 - Well, the Hornets might have closed us out again, but at least it went seven games this year. The thing that killed me is that we let Paul get all those long rebounds, which led to transition buckets. I mean, the guy racked up a triple-double, for crying out loud. He’s good and all, but those were lucky boards and if we secure those – like we should – its Rip City marching to the second round to play the Lakers.
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May 3, 2008 - Paul’s a bit of a gangster. Did you see the way he punked the Spurs when the score widened late in the fourth quarter? He put Parker on skates, turned Duncan around twice, and made a series of playground moves that even had Doug Collins marveling. I love that he’s got that edge to him – a little showmanship never hurt anyone. He didn’t even have a great game for his standards (17 and 13), but it’s all about closing and boy did he close.
May 3, 2011 - I’m getting pretty sick and tired of playing the Hornets. Everyone thought the Lakers and Blazers were headed for a glorious rivalry, but someone forget to tell New Orleans. They dumped us in the first round each of the last two years and even when we finally kick enough butt in the regular season to secure the third seed and beat Golden State in the first round, we just wind up in New Orleans yet again. And more to the point, I’m getting pretty sick of Chris Paul’s showboating whenever his team is ahead. He only had 17 and 13 tonight and was shut down by Stephen Curry for most of the game. But there he was, after his teammates built up the lead, using trick dribbles and going for “and-ones” to pad his stats. What a [profanity].
May 5, 2008 - Paul is just a beast. He does so many incredible things on a basketball court, but I think my favorite is when he gets into the defense with that hesitation dribble, stutter steps, and then bounces backward like he’s on a pogo stick. Once he elevates, again, going backwards, he has that little one-handed catapult that is all big man in a little body. Man I love that move. He makes Tim Duncan look stupid. Regularly. Another thing that stood out in this game is how strong his hands are on defense. He’s so tough on double-teams and in the passing lanes because he’s able to swipe for a ball with complete precision and then latch on to take it the other way. He might be the best at that I’ve ever seen. Oh, and he had 32 and 10 tonight and the Hornets crushed the Spurs for the second straight game.
May 5, 2011 - Paul is all gimmicks. Yes, he does a lot of incredible things on a basketball court, but he also gets by with some pretty lame moves. Basketball is about challenging the guy in front of you and accepting the challenge in return. But it seems like Paul is more intent on using trickery and borderline illegal moves to get his buckets. The move I really hate is the one where he gets into the defense off of an illegal pick by Chandler, carries the ball (or, as Hornets fans would call it, “stutter steps”), and then bounces backward like he’s George Costanza running from a grease fire. Once he is in full retreat mode, he tosses up this ugly little throw that somehow goes in. Come on, CP3, you’re better than that. (Thanks, Mark Jackson.) Man, I hate that move. He’s scared to challenge Greg Oden. The other thing that I’m growing tired of are all the “steals” he gets. I know he has a reputation for being preternaturally gifted at swiping the ball ever-so-precisely, but come on … you’re going to tell me he’s getting all ball? Every time? He might get away with more reaching fouls than any player I’ve ever seen. Oh, but he did have 32 and 10 tonight and the Hornets crushed us for the second straight game. I have to give him that.
May 8, 2008 - Unfortunately, the Spurs take Game 3, but Paul goes for 35 and nine and doesn’t back down even a little bit. I love that he’s so tenacious and even a little bit mean out there. He’s like Michael Jordan in that he has that malicious glint in his eye. Paul’s a nice guy off the court, but he’s got the toughness you need on it. We’ll be celebrating that toughness for years to come.
May 8, 2011 - We got Game 3, hallelujah. This, despite Paul going for 35 and nine. And he would have had a near triple-double if we counted little pushes and elbows as stats. That guy’s got a mean streak in him that the media never wants to talk about. He’s a little like Jordan in that way – just a bit of a punk out there on the court. Let’s not forget, he once punched Julius Hodge below the belt while in college. He’s cold-blooded, people.
May 11, 2008 - This was the most frustrating game of the year and not just because Robert Horry is a dirty cheap shot artist and the Spurs fans have no souls for celebrating such tactics. No, this was frustrating because CP3 was getting robbed left and right by the officials. He got called for multiple offensive fouls in the third quarter and they were all pretty terrible. The guy gets fouled every time he’s in the paint! And you’re going to call him for a bunch of dubious charges?
May 11, 2011 - Wow, we finally got a few calls and managed to hold serve at home. Now it’s 3-3 going back to N’Awlins. How about Paul finally getting called for an offensive foul? This guy initiates more contact than Roger Clemens backstage at a country western concert and yet he never gets called for anything. Everything is a leap into a defender and a push off to receive a pass. And we’re supposed to feel bad that he got called for a couple of sketchy charges? Sorry, no way. These refs just happened to have the guts to call a few on the golden boy point guard.
May 19, 2008 - The Spurs win yet again and I feel like I’m going to vomit. Not only have I grown miserably tired of their fouling, flopping, bush league cheap shots, Hack-a-Shaq tactics and loud rock music being played during key possession, but I really grew to like these Hornets. Paul is an amazing compe or and deserved to stay in the postseason for at least another round. I feel like I’m saying goodbye to my best friend on the last day of summer camp. Just melancholy. Goodbye, Chris! Oh well, the winner of this series was just fodder for the Lakers anyway.
May 19, 2011 - The Blazers win! The Blazers win! With unselfish play, great coaching, discipline, and timely shooting, Portland has replicated the good qualities of those old San Antonio teams (without all the flopping and whining of course) and finally ousted the Hornets from the playoffs. And good thing too, because I don’t think I could have taken more game watching Number Three in the turquoise uniform, running my team ragged. He’s an amazing player, but enough already. I feel like I’m saying goodbye to an old nemesis – some grudging respect, to be sure, but also immense relief. Bring on Jordan Farmar! So it’s goodbye, Chris, better luck next time. And I know this one stings, because the winner is sure to stomp all over the miserable Lakers and head to the Finals. Go Blazers!
Adam Hoff is the author of the NBA blog Section F Sports and the upcoming book
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Interesting article. Reminds me of something I read in the Portland Tribune or Oregonian some years back. Talked about how different things would have been in Portland and the NBA if the Trail Blazers had drafted a young shooting guard from North Carolina in 1984 instead of an injury prone big man from Kentucky.
Hey TlongII, you're the Blazers fan here. See if you can find that article.
Such imagination! Now I know why they are called the jailblazers. Give me some of that stuff they're smoking.
I hate Cp3, I hope when he plays us Childress posterizes him
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