The Smartest Player in the NBA Today
It’s not just that Chris Paul had the presence of mind to throw up a half-court shot when he knew he was going to be fouled with the game on the line last night. It’s that he plays with that same presence of mind at all times, manipulating defenders with his eyes on virtually every alley-oop, and always playing heady defense.
His half-court heave might have been the most high-profile smart play of the night, but no less important was when he poked the ball away from Tony Parker who was on his way to a lay-up at the cup. We couldn’t see what Gregg Popovich had to say after CP3 made that play, but after drawing the three-shot foul, he mouthed something different from “You’re the smartest player in the NBA today.” It looked more like “You’re such a f*cking assh*le.”
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March 30th, 2009 at 9:03 am
POPPI GEE says:
Let the hate begin!
Like I said before you don’t hear CP complaints till he beats one of those teams with crazy fans (Lakers, Spurs…ect.).
Dude just made a smart play. If it had been Parker that made the play today San An fans would have been saying that is why he is 1 of the top 2 guards in the L.
Give CP3 credit he just made Manu look silly and did the smart thing. If you wanna blame anyone then blame the refs.
March 30th, 2009 at 9:15 am
Cornelius says:
Pop was mouthing off to the refs not to CP3. Don’t get me wrong, i’m glad NO won, but in all fairness to Pop, CP3 was fouled twice before the refs blew the whistle on the third foul (Ginobili’s)… Although the first foul was when Tony Parker grabbed pulled his shirt while CP3 was running to get the ball, so if we were to play it by the rules, it should’ve been 2 free throws plus the ball at that point… Either way, NO deserved to win, and CP3 was indeed smart enough to force the refs to make a call which won the game for them.
March 30th, 2009 at 9:19 am
SJ says:
What is this shit? The clip starts just after the two fouls in the backcourt.
March 30th, 2009 at 9:21 am
doc says:
Exactly Gee.Tony was the ass bustee instead of the ass buster last night so they mad.That shit clear as day.He started shooting the damn ball before Manu fouled him.Go sit ya salty ass down somewhere Pop and hope u dont see CP3 in May again.WHOOOOOO!
March 30th, 2009 at 9:26 am
BxBaller says:
Good point Gee. If it was Ginobili, they would be saying the same thing, “Oh Ginobili is so crafty, etc, etc.”
March 30th, 2009 at 9:53 am
Gerard says:
We did see CP3 in May…and won. But you’re absolutely right, you can’t blame Paul for this, the refs gave it to him. Everybody takes that shot, they just happened to give it to him.
March 30th, 2009 at 9:56 am
Rafa23 says:
paul might get star treatment, but this one was just smart and obvious to call.
he was beginning to jump or even in the air when ginobili fouled him. it might be a crazy play and never gets called, but this one was clear. how is that NOT a shooting foul?
March 30th, 2009 at 10:30 am
djKianoosh says:
i hate cp3 cause he does all that crafty stuff (i’d love him if I were a hornets fan of course), like getting in front of defenders and making them run into him LOL but damn you’re right. he’s hands down the craftiest guy in the league right now.
oh, and yeah that was a clear foul, cause he was looking for it. but they should have called a foul 2 seconds before when Parker hacked him as he split the trap. so in a way he got lucky and then made the spurs pay with those free throws. otherwise it would have been a 3 point game with a couple seconds more on the clock, and then who knows? it was a good game though. looking forward for more of that in the playoffs…
March 30th, 2009 at 10:42 am
LakeShow84 says:
Thats funny because i was watching the game last night and even though i cant stand CP3 i would have to say his basketball IQ separates him from his nearest PG competitors.. usually only coaches can see the small things that an intelligent player will do but you can be a fan and watch the shit Paul does.. like the post said the man manipulates his defenders like no other.. Def one of the smartest players in the league at that level..
but i still dont like him lol..
March 30th, 2009 at 11:03 am
Mark says:
Appreciate the respectful hate versus zealous hate for a player. Always the same with folks judging for Kobe. Don’t have to like him, but come on. Kobe? The greatest all-around player in the game today?
CP has a ridiculously high basketball IQ. But as a Hornets fan, I wish it could be said of the rest of the squad.
March 30th, 2009 at 11:20 am
junior says:
Im sorry,
what happened in the postseason last year?
oh yea the spurs beat them
savvy play, but dont even talk about how the hornets own the spurs
get the fuck outta here with that
March 30th, 2009 at 11:21 am
Spliff 2 My Lou says:
Like in I said in the Smack comments earlier I think it most definitely was a shooting foul because CP3 was in the act of shooting. Smart play on his part. No controversy there. But I don’t know if that was actually a foul. That’s where San Antonio fans MIGHT have an argument.
March 30th, 2009 at 11:41 am
dmad says:
I hate Chris Paul. I think he flops too much, and is dirty. Example: When Duncan hit him with a screen at the start of the game, not only did he flop from the screen but going down he managed to hit Tony Parker.
I don’t even like the Spurs that much, CP3 just bugs the hell out of me.
March 30th, 2009 at 11:54 am
ticktock6 says:
If Spurs fans wanna whine about calls, there are a couple of Tim Duncan flops I could talk about from last night. He was the biggest player on the court. And someone knocks him down with a slap of the arm? Right. Last time Spurs played in New Orleans, I saw Ginobili flop on a jump ball. Hilarious. We could also talk about how I don’t think I’ve EVER seen a player get up in not one but two refs faces, walk across the lane while a player (CP) was lined up to take shots, and delay a game for as long as Finley did after that call without getting T-ed up. So even if the 3 shots was wrong, add the free throw the Hornets should have gotten there and it all works out the same.
Re: CP. What can you say? Other than what I usually do, which is to turn to the person sitting next to me and say, “He’s such a little shit. But he’s our little shit.” You have to respect his smarts because it seems like he picks up on nuances of the game, ways to subtly exploit the rules. Being that small, he needs those smarts to claw out an advantage. And honestly, he does get banged around an awful lot due to his size, with no calls, just because he’s so fearless in the lane, so when he gets a gift call, I just don’t care.
But I’m a Hornets fan.
March 30th, 2009 at 11:58 am
rodnets says:
Smart play by CP3, It should have been foul on parker earlier. Those refs suck ugly way.
So all you flop haters what do you have to say now?
Peace
March 30th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
that's whats up says:
I just hope the Spurs get the chance to knock the sorry-ass Hornets out again this year. Game 7 in NO was nice last year.
CP3 constantly pushes off and dribbles above his shoulder level. Any other court/league in America, or overseas, wouldn’t stand for that ish. He is truly treated differently
March 30th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
baron von faulk says:
THE BEST PART OF THIS BULLSHIT PLAY WAS HOW 2-3 MORE SECONDS RAN OFF THE CLOCK AFTER HE WAS FOULED BY GINOBILI.
Manu fouled with over 9 seconds and then it ends up at 7.1, yeah right! New Orleans put the voodoo hex on last night anyway to pull that one out.
The other bullshit part was that Parker CLEARLY fouled him in the backcourt when everybody in the arena knew the Spurs were going to foul (not shown in this clip, imagine that).
March 30th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
K Dizzle says:
CP3 just smarter than everybody else lol
March 30th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
QQ says:
Some of yall are sayin this is superstar treatment, but Im saying this is just being so damn savvy right here. CP3 plays with that cooler-than-cool demeanor. Always plays with his head. Kinda reminds me of John Stockton.
March 30th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
max says:
First the officials missed the foul by Parker and then they called a foul on ginobili when he barely even touched CP. Imagine a player chucking up a three like CP did during the game, would they EVER get a foul called and shoot three free throws?
March 30th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
E$ says:
CP3 does lame shit alot….He pushes off parker & then cries to the ref about his rubber band was grabbed. This is why D.Will is better, doesn’t result to flopping
March 30th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
K Dizzle says:
DWill’s better cuz CP won a game with some quick thinkin?Some of y’all are comedy. It’s like they say -Don’t blame the player, blame the game. Every player does that shit. I did that at a tourny this weekend. difference is the ref ALWAYS says that you got fouled before you went into your shootin motion and you get the rock sideline or if it’s bonus, you get the throws. Gettin salty at a player for pimpin the system and makin the refs do they job is ridiculous. DWill woulda done the same shit…
March 30th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
QQ says:
@ Dizzle
ONE HUNDRED PERCENT AGREED, playa. Listen to this shit, haters.
March 30th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
E$ says:
So if everyone does it, it’s cool…typical followers. Take that shit to Utah, they appreciate flop ball.
March 30th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
HalfCourtHeave says:
What? No love for the site that got you that video? A little credit for http://www.halfcourtheave.com wouldn’t hurt.
March 30th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Ian says:
ticktock
im a spurs fan and i dont say shit about flopping because my fav player does it alotttttt. now u being a hornets fan heres a link to the best flop ever.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TaRdBpxfrw best flop everrrrr not even divacs would break out this crap
dime got it right the smartest player in the nba was in that game but he doesnt play for the hornets.
March 30th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Mark says:
Ian, is that the clip of Robert Horry flopping in Utah from Boozer? Sure Horry’s incredibly smart, but sorry, I don’t think he was playing yesterday. Or at all, even.
March 30th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
kevin k says:
This to the same player that made an offensive foul on 4v1 fastbreak against the Lakers that cost the game…
I will take D-Will over CP3 any day.
March 30th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
Ian says:
mark ehhh ok?
March 30th, 2009 at 8:31 pm
Mo says:
I think Pop was calling the ref a f*cking a**hole.
March 30th, 2009 at 8:34 pm
Mo says:
Oh and the hate CP3 receives here must mean he’s doing something right. If he wasn’t sh*t then most of you haters wouldn’t care. Like Katt Williams said, if you have 20 haters you need to find a way to get 40 of dem muthaf*ckers. LMAO!
March 30th, 2009 at 9:14 pm
E$ says:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TaRdBpxfrw
Mo, he’s doing something right?