Super Paul dominates Nets in NJ 84 - 82

This may be the final straw that forces me to buy the Hornets games on DirecTV just to see Chris Paul. This was just the most recent in what will be a LONG line of amazing performances by this man mountain. The smallest man on the court who makes the least amount of money carried this whole team. With 2 seconds left in the game, Chris Paul made a driving layup to put the Hornets in the lead by 2 points. His final line was a game high 27 points and 7 assists. He did make too many turnovers this game with 5. But he increased his 3 point percentage going 3 for 5. He still remains near the top of the league with 3 steals tonight too.

Wow I wish I had seen this game live. The Hornets were down because of a characteristically lackluster 3rd quarter where they got outscored 30 - 16. They trailed by nearly 10 points with as little as 5 or 6 minutes left. And then Super Paul came to the rescue. There is not another difference maker in the basketball world that can do what Chris Paul can do. He makes less than 1/3 of what the other players make who had off nights. I think they need to give him all a very nice Christmas present. Or at the least a nice dinner for this one.

I'm so excited that Paul is in the NBA. The NBA is lucky to have him. What an amazing talent. New Orleans better hope they are willing to ante up for his skills or someone else certainly will.

Box score.

Hornets thrash 76ers 93 - 72

Another stellar outing by Chris Paul as the leading scorer in addition to his 9 assists. The Hornets were so far ahead in this game that Chris did not even play most of the fourth quarter. He finished with 16 points and 3 steals on just 10 shots from the field and merely 30 minutes of play. If he played the whole game he would have scored 30 and gotten 15 assists.

However, I appreciate the coaches decision to sit Chris down to rest him. The only player that can beat Chris Paul is himself. If he is worn out in the beginning of the season, he will not be able to close out the season with a playoff berth. This season needs to be about pacing the success and peaking at the end of the season. If the Hornets rest Chris Paul as much as they can, they will be a threat to go deep into the playoffs.

Hopefully the Hornets will advance to the playoffs playing at their peak of the season. I don't see how Paul could play better or at a higher level than he is now, but he's certainly earning his paltry salary. He should be earning twice what he's getting.

Hornets vs. 76ers box score

Hornets fall to Defending Champs Spurs 97-85

Tim Duncan was in a class of mine when I was a senior and he was a freshman at WFU. I am as proud of Duncan as anyone could be. This was during the time that Houston was dominating with Hakeem 'The Dream' Olajuwon. I told Duncan that he was going to be the next Hakeem the Dream in class. He told me, 'No I'm not, I'm going to be the next Tim Duncan'. At that point you have to realize that Duncan was still very raw. He broke the record for blocks on the defensive end that year with around 130 which was amazing. But he really only got playing time because we did not have many players.

Anyway the rest is history. He's got 4 rings now and he'll likely end up with many more. He is so fundamentally sound and his bank shot can not be guarded. This game he was good for 24 pts and 12 rebounds. He was 11-14 shooting so he was efficient, and had 4 blocks. But as was his nature, the story was about 'Tony Parker' because Tony was the high scorer of the game with 27.

This blog is about Chris Paul though and I still believe he is the difference maker. But like Duncan can't be on a winning team without a Parker, Paul can't be on a winning team without dominant big talent. Duncan can not pass himself the ball, and Chris cannot be underneath to get the rebound on all of the shots.

Chris ended up with 7 assists and led the team with 18 points but did not get much help from the supporting cast. Peja 'the shooter' scored 2 points in 25 minutes. David West put in a solid performance. But I hope that Chris Paul will go to another team soon where his talent can be best used. Maybe he'll go to Boston, but that is probably wishful thinking.

Chris can't win by himself, but he'll give everything he's got. Tonight WFU had their first game with a tribute to Skip Prosser after his untimely death this summer. That possibly had an effect on Chris, but I can't really let him use that as an excuse. Chris played well, but the Spurs are just too good - especially with the big fundamental Tim Duncan. Chris could be on a team that would beat them, but he can't do it by himself.

Hornets are 4-2 and it is a long season. Maybe they'll win the next one.

CP3 dishes 12 assists in loss to Portland

I hope this doesn't mean that I am a jinx for Paul. Portland was winless until last night when they beat the Hornets 93 - 90. This was the Hornets' first back to back games of the season. The Hornets only scored 15 points in the third quarter which put them behind in a deficit they could not overcome. Late in the game the Hornets started to come back but they could not score at the right time and Portland made free throws.

After making a team record 10 three pointers the night before, Peja Stojakovic, could only muster 5 points in this game. David West had a great game for the Hornets scoring 34 points and getting 18 rebounds. Chris Paul added another 18 points. At 4-1, the Hornets are still one of the best in the NBA and are on pace to make the playoffs this year for the first time in many years. The playoffs are where the games really count. The regular season is just a warm up practice session until the playoff season begins. Hopefully they'll win the next time. They just can't get so far behind and expect to come back to win. Still though, it was another stellar performance by CP3.

Game summary and box score.

Chris Paul sets record with 21 assists vs. Lakers

My first post is a little late in this season. The Hornets are already 4-0 and have been dominating everyone they have played. Chris Paul broke a Hornet's record set by Muggsy Bogues by dishing out 21 assists in the victory. The headline is what everyone talks about. The big number is what everyone wants to read about. But the AMAZING thing has little to do with the number of assists that he got. The AMAZING thing was that he only had TWO turnovers. That's two mistakes in the whole game while handling the ball and delivering 21 assists.

He did have a bit of an off shooting night but he ended up with 19 points also. Chris just recently signed an extension to his contract. He's getting a little over 3 million now but he is worth at least twice that. By the end of the season that will be apparent. The final score of the Lakers game was 118 - 104 IN LA. Here is the stats line and story of that game. I feel honored to be able to blog Chris Paul's career, and hope to be able to meet him one day. Maybe I'll be able to get his games on TV sometime so I can see the master at work. Finally someone can make the game of basketball as beautiful as it can be.

Lakers Game Info Click Here.