An Ironic Chris Paul Day
In the spirit of Kobe Bryant Blog Day, celebrated on March 11 of this year, At The Hive has proclaimed today Chris Paul Day. And in the spirit of sportsmanship, Respect Kobe is participating. I do have to say that I find the context of this day to honor Chris Paul less than ideal, for the following reasons:
In the end, I wish this had been done by Hardwood Paroxysm, as Kobe Bryant Blog Day was, and later (or earlier) in the year. But it is what it is, and I won’t let that get in the way of a prime opportunity to express my admiration for the New Best Point Guard in the NBA. So, with that, a note to my Lakers fan readers: Please put aside any indignation at the timing and source of this web-event, and join me in recognizing the greatness that already is the young Chris Paul. And don’t worry, Kobe fans — I’ll be getting to Kobe’s first MVP Award, which was officially announced today, very soon. Chris Paul: Evidence that Carlton Can Ball This first part is painfully obvious, so let’s get it out of the way right now: I love Chris Paul. He is simply incredible. That sound you sometimes hear when watching Hornets games? That’s my mind blowing (from halfway across the country). He has accomplished things few point guards have ever managed in the history of the game, and he’s one of several factors that have breathed new life into the NBA during this season. But one day, either before or after a Lakers game that my wife was watching with me, I turned on a Hornets game (probably because I was tracking them closely, in hopes that the Lakers could take over the #1 spot in the West by season’s end). Can you guess my wife’s first comment when I pointed Paul out to her? “He looks like Carlton Banks from Fresh Prince.” I must say, I laughed a lot. Not only because it’s a funny comment, but because it’s true! (My wife has a knack for that: She quickly pointed out that, with the scraggly hair and scruffy beard, it’s virtually impossible to tell if Pau Gasol is extremely angry or extremely happy/excited. Pay attention when you watch the next Lakers game, and you’ll see that it’s true.) Apparently, my wife is not the first to have had this thought regarding Chris Paul. Check out the video to the right. Could Chris Paul be the real life incarnation of Carlton Banks? Of course, this comparison goes a little further than simple look-alikes (Question: Since they’re both celebrities, which one would be considered the “look-alike”?) The fact is that the Chris Paul-Carlton Banks comparison runs deeper than strikingly similar head shots. If you’ve watched much Fresh Prince, you may recall the episode in which Will joins his school basketball team — and completely dominates. I was able to find a YouTube clip of Will playing basketball, but what I wasn’t able to find on YouTube was Carlton playing. So I’ll be operating from memory here, and forgive me if it’s a bit fuzzy. As I recall it, Will starred from the moment he joined his school team. And why not? He was tall, athletic, and obviously quite “cool” (in a quirky sort of way, at times). And let’s not forget that it was a basketball-related incident that sent him to Bel Air. But at a certain point, if my memory isn’t making things up, we suddenly discovered that Carlton can play basketball, too. I forget the circumstances under which the team came to rely on him — perhaps Will was injured? — but Carlton was shockingly good. He was hitting his shots, blowing by his defenders. And in the end, he was as heroic on the court as Will had been. Of course, Bel Air Academy won whatever game or tournament they were playing. There’s a parallel to be found here. Kobe Bryant is Will Smith — highly skilled and completely dominant, to the surprise of absolutely no one. Much like Will in the video to the left, Kobe does amazing things on the court on a regular basis. But somehow, nobody’s surprised (at least, not any more). Probably because we’ve become used to it, we now expect it. After all, in this season, when Bryant was second in scoring average to LeBron James, with an average of over 28 points per game, while also averaging very respectable assists and high rebounds for a guard, many have gone as far as to say that it hasn’t been an individually (read: statistically) dominant season for Kobe. And that’s fine, it’s just a reflection of what we’ve come to expect from him. Chris Paul, on the other hand, is Carlton — short, and an unlikely candidate for basketball superstardom, let alone the New Best Point Guard in the league and a strong contender for MVP. Why, only 7 months ago the debate regarding which was better, Chris Paul or Deron Wiliams, was in full swing — and leaning towards Williams. Outside of Utah, that conversation died long ago. And much like Carlton Banks, Chris Paul has stepped up, to the surprise of all. And he’s fantastic. He’s accomplishing feats in his third year that few other players have done in their entire careers — feats that have rarely occurred in the entire history of NBA basketball. For more on that, I refer you to an excellent article over at Hoops State of Mind, which discusses the historical significance of what Chris Paul has accomplished this year (you’ll have to scroll down about one-third of the way — Dannie discusses Chris Paul right after Kobe Bryant). In the opinions of many, he’s saving basketball not only in New Orleans — which is fantastic and a joy to see, in and of itself — but across the country. He certainly is one of the key factors in the buzz that has drawn many back to NBA basketball this season. His contributions to his team are nearly immeasurable. But suffice it to say that he is leading the league in the number of points to which he directly contributes to his team, either by assisting or by scoring on his own. Of course, I could go on and on about his accomplishments, even just in this one season. But what is most striking, to me, is his youth. He’s only 22 years old! He’s just getting started. And quite frankly, after the season that he has had, I’m not at all convinced that LeBron James will be carrying the torch as the NBA’s best player once Kobe Bryant passes it on. I think Chris Paul will be right in there. Is he this year’s MVP? No. He’s a fantastic candidate, and a respectable choice for all who chose to go with him over Kobe Bryant, but he’s not the MVP. Nine years out of ten, a season like he has had would be enough for a landslide MVP decision. But not this year. Paul’s season was definitely, emphatically MVP worthy. Bryant’s was just a bit more so. And that should not in any way detract from what Chris Paul has accomplished this year. Period. This may not be Chris Paul’s year to win it all, but it is certainly the year of his arrival. And while I’m predicting the Lakers over the Hornets in the Conference Finals (the Spurs can’t handle the Hornets), let’s just take a moment to be astounded at Chris Paul. For all he already is. And for all he will become. He promises to dominate NBA basketball in a way that perhaps only one other point guard ever has. And for the time being? He’s living proof that you should never underestimate the Carlton Bankses of this world! |
Filed Under Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, MVP, Playoffs, Statistics, Western Conference |
Josh, thanks for the shout out. Well deserved for Kobe today. I especially like all of the comments he made regarding winning the award. About it being a team award and he couldn’t have won it without his teammates "so we won." And that if it wasn’t he would have won it when he was scoring 40 a night. Well said.
A great comparision to the fresh prince of Bel-Air, I watched it alot growing up anyway wasn’t expecting an article on Chris Paul but it was well deserved because he does deserve great recognition and he is leading his team to big playoff wins. And of course it will be Lakers over Hornets because of Kobe and thats the difference, Kobe is just unstoppable and I’m glad he finally has an MVP under his belt, all I wonder is if he will recieve another MVP awrd.
Great article, Josh. I am never dissappointed, even on this day.
That said, CP3 is an amazing point guard and I hate him in the same way that I hated Michael Jordan and hate Lebron James. I hate them because, despite the fact that they’re challengers regarded by many to be just as good or better than my beloved Lakers, I MUST watch these players when they take the court. I hate them, but love what they do and how they play the game. Some people say they would never take Kobe on their team because they don’t like him at all. And that is a horrible mindset. I am not a CP3 fan…but having him as a PG on my team is a fantasy that I love to imagine. I can only hope (again, in spite of myself) that Chris Paul will be around for a long time to come, and that I will have the privelege of rooting against him and his amazing antics for years to come. Thank you, Chris Paul, for everything.
Happydaze
hey josh, have you seen this?
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/21807-Why-Kobe-Bryant-Should-Give-the-MVP-to-Chris-Paul-
i find it horribly written and very flawed in its reasoning.
@random:
Shocking.
@Krolik1157,
Actually, I agree with randomfan on this one. Not necessarily that the article is “horribly written” — it could be better, for sure, but there is much worse out there. But the logic is completely flawed.
First, it’s based on the idea that statistics determine the MVP. Now, I know you and I disagree on this point — you actually agree that statistics should determine the MVP — but let’s look at this for a moment. A few things to consider:
Iverson and Anthony play together, which would lead to a healthy assumption that, statistically speaking, they could produce at higher levels if playing alone (though that does not necessarily mean they would win as much). Both of them put up numbers that are comparable to Kobe Bryant’s (Kobe’s are better, for sure — more assists than Anthony, but fewer rebounds, and more rebounds than Iverson, but fewer assists — but they’re all in the same range). Tracy McGrady, while a bit behind, is in the same neighborhood. But none of them were mentioned in the MVP discussion. (Okay, McGrady was, but not seriously, more just as a footnote.)
Or take Wilt Chamberlain, who put up dizzying numbers — not only in points, but also in rebounds. He even led the league in assists one year. While his numbers can’t really be compared to today because of the way the game has changed, they can be compared to Bill Russell’s, a contemporary of Chamberlain’s. Russell’s numbers were never nearly as gaudy as Chamberlain’s. If one were to take a look at their career statistics, the assumption would be that Chamberlain was in a class far above and beyond that in which Russell played. But the truth is that Russell dominated Chamberlain for most of his career — not only in head to head match-ups, but in career achievements — particularly in championships, of which he won 11 in 13 years (Chamberlain only won 2 championships).
Ask anyone who has any sense of basketball history, and the answer will always be that, despite Chamberlain’s statistics, Russell was the MVP of the two — and the better player.
I think that the examples above make the point pretty clearly, that statistics are not what make an MVP.
And while we’re on statistics, there was this:
I mean… really? Because hey, maybe it’s just me, but that kind of perspective doesn’t exactly say, “I know what I’m talking about, listen to me.” In fact, it pretty much says, “I’m pretty ignorant and like to exaggerate for effect, because it fits my purpose.” But maybe it’s just me… I mean, Chris Paul did completely dominate Kobe Bryant, statistically.
Meanwhile, the article linked above contradicts itself, first making the emphatic point that the MVP race on any given year is an enclosed entity, and completely unrelated to any previous years… and then turning around and making a case for CP3 based on Steve Nash’s previous MVP Awards.
He then talks about how much Chris Paul handles the ball, as compared to “scorers such as [Kobe]” that “were playing on the wing” — all of which leads me to believe he doesn’t actually watch Lakers games. Kobe handles the ball far more than your typical “wing” player. He is the one that directs, facilitates, and creates the offense. He’s Payton Manning out there, calling audibles. He directs his teammates, finding weaknesses in the defense and setting up the entire offense to exploit them. And then he delivers the offense, either by scoring or setting up his teammates.
Then he talks about Chris Paul’s steals, as compared to Kobe’s defense… and I know you know enough about basketball to know that steals do not equal defense. Case in point: The Nuggets led the league in steals this year. That about says it, right?
Meanwhile, the defensive +/- numbers show Paul to have the largest deficit of anyone on his team.
Of course, the author would likely dismiss all of this with a wave of his hand — oh wait, he does just that: “Your defense was more impressive, but not enough so to compensate for the vast performance discrepancy on the other end of the floor.”
Surely anyone who understands basketball well, and realizes that it’s a game played at both ends of the court, would recognize that individual and team defense that is at a First Team All-NBA level should be more than just a footnote. Defense is extremely important, and it’s an area that Kobe’s critics like to downplay, because it is one in which he excels so strongly.
Then there’s this:
What was the Lakers record last year? Wasn’t it… essentially .500? And I know that the critics will point to Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol, in which case I would point to West, Stojakovic, and Chandler. Last year, they almost never played on the court at the same time. This year, all 4 of them have played most of the games, and they’ve always had at least 3 of them on the court.
Meanwhile, ESPN.com polled 10 NBA contributors before the season started, and one of the things they asked was to predict they’re playoff seeding at the end of the year. The Hornets averaged in at 8.8. The Lakers averaged in at 8.4. That’s pretty much even. Both teams were expected to be struggling to make the playoffs, if at all. So when you look at Paul’s accomplishments, with regards to his team’s positioning compared to their pre-season expectations, keep in mind that Kobe and the Lakers have done pretty much the exact same thing — except they got the #1 seed, and are favored to win the West, possibly even the championship.
Meanwhile, it’s convenient the author completely fails to mention the injury/trade situation — i.e., that the Lakers have been racked with injuries, while at the same time rebuilding on the fly, in the middle of the season, and that despite all of that Kobe managed to keep them at the top of the Conference. It’s another case of making an argument using only the facts that help your position, and ignoring those that favor the other side.
What you have is two players, on two teams, that managed similar feats, overcoming similar low expectations — but Kobe did it despite much greater challenges, both from a personal perspective and a team perspective, and he came out on top.
Given all that, I’d say randomfan is correct — the article was logically flawed and obviously lopsided, though the writing was at least a little bit better than randomfan gives him credit for (comparatively speaking, of course).
Welcome to Kansas.
I enjoyed the breakdown of the article in the comments. As far as being "well-written," I hate the conversational tone. It’s too cutting and sarcastic for my taste (and I’m a sarcastic guy).
http://www.baltimoresun.com/services/newspaper/printedition/bal-sp.othervoices11may11,0,1297286.story
i am so sick and tired of people making kobe look like he was responsible for the shaq-kobe feud, and thinking that shaq is some innocent hero. i’m pretty sure anyone with a modicum of rationality can clearly see how equally "villainous" shaq is (in my opinion, maybe even more given how he likes to hide all his flaws with humor and never admits to any wrong doing). and i doubt shaq was "forced" out of la- shaq was just as ready to leave as kobe was, and buss was the one who made the decision to keep kobe over shaq (a decision everyone knows was the wiser choice) this writer has quite a distorted view on reality.
and people don’t even realize that kobe never publicly criticized bynum. he was having what he believed to be a private conversation. yet a group of deceptive youngsters decided to betray his trust and secretly record him, after which they hatched a plan to release it to the public only after they earned enough money from people who wanted to see it. i don’t think one can fault kobe here (except maybe for his discretion) for saying those words in "private" when i don’t doubt that all nba players speak controversial things that aren’t caught by videos. not to mention that almost everyone was in agreement with kobe’s opinions about bynum. everyone talks about the no-trade nowadays as if they knew all along bynum was going to be good, or that he was anything like he is this year. the fact is that all bynum had was potential, and a very poor and infamous work ethic that the coaches criticized. kwame had potential, but he never realized it. the same thing could have been true of bynum, except after all the chaos this summer, bynum finally worked hard to improve.
it’s appalling how he writes as if kobe were the only one who had any of the opinions he mentioned about bynum, kupchak, or buss.
i’m not an admirer of kobe’s personality, only his game. but to depict him as the sole villain when there are so many other "co-villains" involved- well, that just makes ian o’connor just as much of a villain himself.
Hey Josh can you please please PLEASE write an article about Kobe’s last game in Utah? The one where he hurt his back? I’ve been reading all sorts of garbage about Kobe’s "selfishness" in that game across the web. Apparently, Kobe is "not worthy of his MVP award" and "doesn’t change his spots". I guess they completely ignored the otherwise good game he had, with 33 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds.
I’d love to see an article to shut them up!
And Randomfan I agree with what you said, except for the last part. None of us really know Kobe as a person, so it’s not really fair to say you don’t like his personality. Other than that I agree whole-heartedly.
@laball: The Lakers win with Kobe and they lose with Kobe. The Lakers offense in overtime was painful to watch. They shut down their ball movement and everything stagnated. Honestly, it looked like the Lakers from two seasons ago and from the second half of last year. Kobe played quite well, I don’t fault him for his performance, and part of the blame for this can be placed on the other guys standing around and watching, but here’s the thing: Kobe shot the Lakers out of that game. It happens sometimes, but it’s true. He just missed. If he makes them, no one complains. I don’t mind the shots, he just needs to make them or pass the ball if he’s too hurt to serve as anything other than a decoy. Kobe was stellar, but we expect so much more from him that I can’t help but be disappointed.
@lalball81,
Unfortunately, I have a couple things in the works before I can write anything on this last game. And I have really struggled to find the time, what with moving in and job searching and all, to keep up to date on Respect Kobe. So I really need to get to those things that are already in the works.
That said…
@Kyle South
Click here for some perspective from an avid and vocal Kobe hater. (Scroll down to the Lakers-Jazz part.) Matt from HP is right, in that Kobe did what Kobe is supposed to do.
Here’s what I think lalball81 might be getting at…
First, this is nothing new. Kobe haters around the league have been in a suspended state of anticipation all season long, ready to pounce at the first sign of the “old Kobe.” Their inner monologue can be summed up as follows:
The only problem is that he never returned. In the next game, he scored 30 on 22 attempts (right at his season average), and a game later, he scored 17 while taking only 7 shots, and dished out double digit assists, making fools of the Nuggets (in Denver).
Later, without Gasol, he scored 53 against the Memphis, in a game the Lakers lost. But of course, no one pointed out that everyone else was shooting terribly from the field, while Kobe was shooting very high percentages. If his teammates had hit even 35% of their shots, the Lakers would have won.
Old Kobe was back, right? A chorus of “I Told You So” rang out. But in the next game, against Washington, Kobe dished out 13 assists and led the Lakers to victory.
The fact is, Kobe is a team player. He always has been. He was the primary distributor and the assist leader on the Shaq teams. His years of excessive shooting were by design and at the specific request of the coaching staff, not because he’s a selfish ball hog. So, when the critics pounce on one single game as evidence that a Kobe that never really existed is somehow back, they’re setting themselves up for disappointment.
Now, let’s look at the game more closely. First, this was not a game in which Kobe shot a terrible percentage throughout, and yet continued to shoot excessively. At one point, he was 7-for-14, keeping the Lakers in it when nothing else was really clicking. He missed most of the rest of his shots, but for a player like Kobe, it’s really not unreasonable for him to think that he can still get it going, especially when he was hot earlier.
Second, this is what Kobe does. This is what he’s supposed to do. Furthermore, on most nights the shots he was taking go in. Most of his shots were not bad shots. They just weren’t going in.
Look at it this way: In Game 3, I believe it was, the commentators relayed a story about Phil Jackson, as told by Brian Shaw. Phil Jackson used to yell at everyone. Veterans, rookies, Shaq, Shaw, everyone. But not Kobe. And one day, Shaw had had enough of it, and asked Phil, “Why do you yell at everyone and not Kobe? Why don’t you yell at him some?” And Jackson said, “Because he is in attack mode at all moments, 24×7, and I won’t take that away from him. It’s what is going to make him great.”
Here’s the thing: If you want the Kobe that can rip another team’s heart out in the final seconds of the game, the way Kobe has done to teams like Sacramento, Portland, Phoenix, and many others, then you have to accept that some nights, it’s not going to work out. You don’t get those great shots without the occasional miss. You don’t get games like the ones Kobe dropped on Dallas and Phoenix this year without occasionally having a game like Sunday’s.
Given that he was playing with an injury that would take most people out of the game — have we ever seen Kobe visibly show that much pain? — and that they were shots he usually would have made, I think it’s forgivable.
But it doesn’t stop there. Go back to Game 3. With 14 seconds left, Pau Gasol got a jump ball against Deron Williams. Easy, right? He put the ball right where it was supposed to be. Luke Walton bobbled what should have been an easy grab, and turned the ball over. Instead of cutting the lead to 2, maybe even 1, it was pushed to 5.
With 2 seconds left, the deficit was still 5 and it was a long shot, but not over yet. And Gasol threw away the inbounds pass.
Now back to Game 4. It was Kobe that got the Lakers back in the game, and sent it to overtime. In the final 4 minutes of regulation, he had 3 points and 5 assists, turning a 12-point deficit into a tie game by the end of regulation. True, he orchestrated this comeback mostly by passing, but this is because he caused the defense to key in on him, to collapse on him.
In overtime, they went away from that. The rest of the Lakers were hurting them too much, and Kobe’s back was an obvious issue. For the first time in this series, Kirilenko was able to stay in front of him, and if he did get by, Kirilenko was able to block him. They didn’t need to collapse on him anymore. The open shots for his teammates weren’t as readily available as they were at the end of the 4th.
So, with the memory of the previous game’s late-game gaffes still fresh in his mind, Kobe did what Kobe has always done. He took over. And he almost succeeded.
The reality was that his injury was too much for him. It’s never been that bad, that I can remember. Nothing has ever caused him to crumble to his knees on the court from the sheer pain. He wasn’t able to elevate. His shot was off, and his layups were blockable. But again, you can’t hold that against Kobe. Not when he has so successfully played through every type of injury and illness imaginable, throughout his entire career and even just in this season. Why shouldn’t he think that he could play through it and overcome it? He always has in the past.
Yes, the loss can probably be attributed to Kobe. But I don’t see how anyone can blame him, seeing as (a) this was something he has pulled off a hundred times in his career, and he had no reason to think this would be any different; and (b) his teammates had failed just as badly in the previous game.
But the bottom line is that the haters will be disappointed once again. They’re looking for the “Old Kobe” to return — a Kobe that, in reality, never existed — but in fact, tonight, he will do exactly what they don’t want him to do.
He’ll simply do whatever is needed.
Kyle South, I agree with what you said for the most part. It’s still nothing short of infuriating when Kobe’s most dedicated critics insist on looking for things like this. As Josh said, it’s as though they’ve just been waiting for a moment they could pounce on Kobe.
Josh, thanks for that post. I completely understand how busy you must be, so it’s no big deal if you can’t get to an article like the one I requested. It just kills me how ridiculous some sports writers can be, PROFESSIONAL ones! For an example, check Adande’s article on ESPN.com. He makes some valid points, but other parts I simply can’t read without wanting to hurl my lunch.
The sad part is, since it’s a "credible" source like ESPN, some readers will take their opinions as fact and spread it everywhere.
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Like I said: Whatever is needed.