There is a lengthy piece of Chris Paul on SI today.
Paul probably the banana boat guy we talk the least about. Everyone knows Bron and Wade, Carmelo because of his college pedigree, being in NY for a long time and the famous wife gets a lot of attention, but CP3 is often in the cut.
He played with the LA B Team even if they were more successful, but now he has an opportunity for something great with the Rockets and doesn’t want to mess it up.
Here is he talking about his time in New Orleans and how it differed from his time with Clippers.
In six seasons with the Clippers, Paul always made the playoffs, always had a shot. But something was missing. The Clips did not roll a dozen deep. Group dinners were rare, and movie-night attendance waned. Says former Clippers forward Luc Mbah a Moute, “Guys just did their own thing.” The Clippers were older than the Hornets and L.A. more sprawling than New Orleans. “Some of it could have had to do with me,” says Paul. “You make time for what you want to make time for. But I do think the off-court stuff matters.” Before Golden State faced the resurgent Clips two years ago, coach Steve Kerr told his Dubs, “They don’t really love each other.”
Paul refers to many of the 2008 Hornets as “VCR friends,” because they can pause communication for six months and pick up where they left off. He made some VCR friends with the Clippers. Lob City—presided over by Paul, power forward Blake Griffin and center DeAndre Jordan—was a viable NBA municipality. But Paul sensed, from his bayou days, it could be more. Last April, in the 81st game of the season, L.A. obliterated the Rockets. During a dead ball, Houston star James Harden turned to Paul. “So,” Harden said, “what are you going to do?”
Paul was tailing Ariza, along with Harden and their bodyguards, in an effort to restrain him. No punches were thrown, but in the bedlam, one truth was exposed. The Lob City Clippers really didn’t love one another, and as much as injuries capsized them, so did disharmony.
The Rockets think they have the secret formula to beat the Warriors. We shall see.