“You have offended my brother.Now you must pay.”
This week we’ve been following the Rafer Alston vs. David West quasi-feud. A quick rundown: During Tuesday’s Rockets/Celtics game, an interview with Skip aired on TNT where he talked about the Rockets being disrespected and no one giving them credit for winning games without Yao Ming, instead focusing on who their opponents didn’t have in the lineup. Skip went on to specifically call out David West, who was hurt the last time the Hornets and Rockets had played. “He’s not a superstar,” Rafer said about West.
Well, the Hornets and Rockets were slated to play the following night, and like we said in Smack, West was going to go extra-hard ’cause of Rafer’s words. And what happened? West put up 23 points and 11 boards and the Hornets won in a blowout.
And then Chris Paul and Byron Scott got involved.
ESPN’s John Hollinger quoted Scott after the game: “[West] really was looking forward to this game. No matter what Rafer Alston thinks, I think David proved his point as well,” Scott said.
Then this from Chris Paul: “Tracy McGrady is a great player. If I was Rafer Alston, I’d probably ride his coattails, too. I feel like you can make a statement with the way you play. But some guys like Rafer Alston like to run their mouth … that just added fuel to our fire tonight. D-West, that’s my guy. For [Rafer] to say he’s not a star, I mean let’s see what All-Star Game he’s played in. He had a tough time out there trying to stay in front of me, and that was the plan. When you got somebody like Rafer Alston, who thinks they’re a lot better than they really are, you gotta test them.”
Deee-zam. Now, if you’re kind of surprised to hear such venom coming from Choir Boy Chris, don’t get it mixed up; he’s a killer on the court and — while also one of the nicest guys in the League off the court — he’s still wildly competitive, has a nasty streak, and is very loyal to his guys.
So what’s next? Houston and New Orleans don’t play again in the regular season, but currently holding the #2 (N.O.) and #3 (Houston) seeds in the West, could be in line for a second-round postseason matchup. Or maybe Skip should extend an invitation for CP to come through Rucker Park this summer and settle it on the blacktop.
March 21st, 2008 at 11:39 am
Aaron says:
First
First Deshawn and now Skip. This basketball beef is getting out of hand.
March 21st, 2008 at 11:43 am
YOUNGFED says:
CB3 would destroy Skip even though I love skip to death.
March 21st, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Stan says:
Rafer has gotten much better than when he first broke into the league, but even at this point, he coulden’t even hold CP3’s jockstrap. I don’t even know why he felt like he needed to call out DWest. Just dumb.
This beef stuff is great, I think. Makes for much more interesting sub-plots to the actual game!
March 21st, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Njagge says:
No lie, I just found a level of respect I never thought id have for Chris Paul off the court. Especially after that whole dick stomping incident in college that got him suspended. I thought that was mega gay of him
March 21st, 2008 at 1:05 pm
rootsradical says:
i think skip’s words were taken out of context. he said “he’s a star on his team but he’s not a superstar” and i agree with him 100%. Skip can get out of hand at times and Chris Paul would shit on him but come on man, its skip. you have to love the guy.
March 21st, 2008 at 1:07 pm
rangerjohn says:
i got no respect for cp3 other then he is a beast on the floor. as for rafer, did anyone ever accuse him of being the brains of the bunch in houston? he is a top what 50 point guard in the league right now, he is one of the worst decision makers as a starter in the last 10 yrs, and he is just plain annoying.
i dont think the rockets really want any part of ANY TEAM in the playoffs at this point.
March 21st, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Joel Grey says:
I’d watch it if i was Skip. This isn’t no AND1 bullshit. No double dribbles here, plus we know CP3 isn’t afraid to punch Skip in the gut.
March 21st, 2008 at 2:59 pm
Jah says:
I love basketball rivalries. Personal and team-based. So long as it doesn’t get completely “thugnificent”, I feel it’s good for the sport.
March 21st, 2008 at 3:10 pm
doc says:
A rivalry only if u as good as the other person.And the Rockets are not getting to no 2nd round,yall still selling that dream.
March 21st, 2008 at 4:20 pm
Jay says:
I like the idea of the Rucker Park, haha.
March 21st, 2008 at 4:36 pm
Brown says:
Skip can do all the talking he wants once the second round comes along and he’s sitting at home watching ball on his couch.
March 21st, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Jackass says:
wow CP3 is pissed!!! better watch out Skip. He had a tough time out there trying to stay in front of me, and that was the plan???? wow that is ice cold CP3…
March 21st, 2008 at 5:39 pm
mavs all the way says:
gotta love cp3. i must say i wasn’t that impressed,or i wasn’t impressed at all during his rookie year, but this is his break-out year/season. he’s become one of the league’s best and i am surprised,didn’t expect that from him…
and i think this whole lot of trash talking is cool, brings out more drama, adds a little more spice to the game. NBA:where drama happens…
March 21st, 2008 at 5:41 pm
mavs all the way says:
what was that about Njagge? the the whole dick stomping incident in college that got him suspended? what’s that about? please enlighten me,us..please……..
March 21st, 2008 at 6:17 pm
derrick says:
the hornets are taking this way too personal. if you saw rafer’s clip on tv, it was obvious he wasn’t calling out david west, he was just trying to make a comparison and show that playing without yao is totally different from playing without dwest.
March 21st, 2008 at 8:04 pm
bigdre says:
Brown, CP3 would also be at home watching the second round. I’m a CP3 fan, but I hate it that he just totally took it out of context and is just talking out of his ass.
March 21st, 2008 at 8:31 pm
yoda says:
i must say, skip has a point. everyone is finding excuse why houston is winning those games, injured this one, injured that one, while they lost franchise cornerstone and one of best centers in game atm. houston lost, what, no. 1 or 2 option on offense, while NO lost no. 2-4 guy, depending on his night, so skip has right to be upset about downgrading of rockets success. tho, it would be fun to see then playing some street ball, with and 1 rules.
March 22nd, 2008 at 12:34 am
word says:
damn chris is more sensitive than a bitch. fuck skip was just making a fucking point yao= superstar of a team west= not. its not like he said he was the superstar but chris seems to have caught extra emotional feelings off a statement he didn’t even understand. i still think chris is a huge bitch , softer than a marshmallow. not a player i like at all regardless of how good he is. he comes off mad childish and immature. he needs to change his demeanor if he wants to get any respect. bitch ass.
March 22nd, 2008 at 10:49 am
Celts Fan says:
Word, damn man, I get the exact opposite feel from CP3. He seems very introspective, not a guy that’s gonna go out there talking shit (but apparently is more than willing to come back at someone who starts it,) and above all, seems to be a really quality guy in the community. Love him or hate him as a player, it’s tough not to respect him as a man, especially one so young who already seems to “get it.”
To answer the question on the ball thing, CP3 was pissed one night and hit someone in the nuts during the ACC tournament his last year at Wake. This was the only thing that’s ever been a “question mark” about him, and he’s proven it was just a heat-of-the-moment lack of judgement and not something in his character teams have to worry about.
Rafer should’ve kept his mouth shut, but he was dead on. Yao’s a superstar, David is a star. There is a big difference. To bring it to LAL, Kobe’s a superstar, Bynum (or Lamar) is a star. You can win without a star, without your superstar, most teams just hope to hover around .500 without them and pick up where they left off when the superstar returns (which makes that Houston streak that much more impressive.) Things like this are what impress me about CP3 though. He put Rafer on blast a little more than I expected (“Tracy McGrady is a great player. If I was Rafer Alston, I’d probably ride his coattails, too.” “I mean let’s see what All-Star Game he’s played in. He had a tough time out there trying to stay in front of me, and that was the plan. When you got somebody like Rafer Alston, who thinks they’re a lot better than they really are, you gotta test them.” DAMN!) , but a leader has to stand up for his guys and CP3 just earned himself a whole lot of respect in the NO lockerroom and in the eyes of older vets. The guy’s turning into a hell of a leader.
March 22nd, 2008 at 10:58 am
ERIC says:
I’m a huge Skip to my Lou fan from the and1 mix tapes and still wish he would bust out some moves during garbage time. i agree that Skip didnt mean to call out DWest and was just making a comparison. but he also had to realize that everything that an opposing player says will be twisted and posted on the other teams white-board before the game.
while Chris may be a tad out of line, he’s going by the message that was probably given by Byron Scott (e.g. Rafer is talkin trash, lets give it to him). CP3 is just standing up for his boy, his enforcer. and he’s 21 or 22 so he’s still a kid and will hold grudges. but since he’s killin the league he can do that.
March 24th, 2008 at 8:58 am
K$ says:
Settle it at rucker on icy white wednesday