The Best Point Guard In The NBA
March 25, 2009 – 9:09 am by Jimmy Shapiro
Here at Sports Radio Interviews we just had our two month birthday. Yippee, yeah for us, whatever that means. Seriously, it’s been a blast and truly a lot more work than I anticipated. So over the next few months we’ll be hiring a few more writers and having some guest postings.
Our first guest posting is from Tas Melas. He’s an NBA junkie like myself and currently he co-hosts The Basketball Jones NBA podcast, is an editor at Yardbarker.com, liveblogs at TheScore.com and writes a column for SlowBreaker.com. If that’s not enough, he’s also working on a cure for teenage acne and halitosis. Tas’ first post is on the sickest point guard in the NBA, Chris Paul. Here goes:
The Hornets’ Chris Paul has taken a back seat in MVP talks to LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Dwyane Wade, but this is likely a one-time aberration. CP3 will be involved in those discussions for years to come, as he was last year. There remain a few bright people out there, including Jeff Van Gundy, who feel Paul should be included in that discourse even this season. Still, despite all the pug he’s received as: “The League’s Best Point Guard,” he remains undervalued by fans and media alike. The man has flirted with the rare quadruple-double, he runs his team like few others and last year’s impressive 2nd round run was only his first trip to the playoffs. Like the special players in the game, the guy has a switch he knows how to utilize. He’s also one of a handful of players who is worth the price of admission all on his own. And this story about his grandfather has made me like him even more.
CP3 joined Tirico & Van Pelt on ESPN Radio to talk about Wake Forest’s early exit from the tourney, the reason he became the player he is today, the thing that brings the best out of him, and why he loves that the Tyson Chandler deal was rescinded.
On his disappointment with Wake Forest’s first round exit:
“I don’t wanna talk about it…Towards the end of the season they weren’t playing their best, but I was hoping, you know, come tournament time they would turn it around, ’cause they really had a special team. They had a team, I felt, if they played the way they could have, they could have made a run at this championship, but Cleveland State does it again.”
More Chris Paul quotes and the full interview after the jump.
On how he developed as a player:
“It’s been a growing process. My first two years in the NBA were tough, especially at the the point guard spot, but I think, you know, last season is where I came into my own where I started to gain more and more confidence and my teammates, most of all, gained trust in me.”
On the challenge of being on a a very good team and what makes him tick:
“We definitely have a bulls eye on our chest now. The thing is that I think that makes the game more exciting; that makes it a lot funner. I know when I came in as a rookie I couldn’t wait to play against Steve Nash. I was like, man, I gotta see what this guy is all about . You know, same thing in my 2nd year in the league – I think, that’s what our team is facing now, and myself, every night I know I’m gonna get the opposing point guard’s best shot. And, that’s what brings out the best in me.”
On what Tyson Chandler means to him on the floor:
“I was excited when TC came back, ’cause like I tell people all the time, everyone always talks about how much of a better player I make Tyson Chandler – he makes me an even better player also. He gets some of those bigger defenders off my back ’cause they don’t wanna get dunked on!”
Listen to Chris Paul on ESPN Radio (17:22 into podcast)
Tags: basketball interviews, Chris Paul, ESPN Radio, NBA, New Orleans Hornets, sports radio interviews, Tyson Chandler
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