Chris Paul Owns Your Soul

Before we get to the meat of this matter, I must make this declaration.

I have bandwagoned the New Orleans/Oklahoma City/Charlotte/Harlem Globetrotting Hornets for the 2008 NBA playoffs. The reasons are semi-irrelevant (The Best Xavier Power Forward Ever; a happy feel-good story for the NO; new blood in the West; getting to yell at Julian Wright; obviously CP3; blah blah blah), but I need to legitimize why I'm not like all the other annoying NBA bandwagoners:

A) 85% of my life from October-April is dedicated to college basketball
B) 14.5% of my life from October-April is dedicated to sleep, being rude, procrastinating, and baking
C) Only the remaining 0.5% is dedicated to the NBA...and this year, that time was spent looking at Memphis Grizzlies box scores (Gotta follow the 2 Philly peers of mine who haven't been shot dead yet!) and shaking my head at Kevin Durant's 95 shot per game average.

So obviously, I have no time to be bothered with the NBA, considering there is a lot more exciting basketball being played by people who generally care about the effort they put forth (unless their name happens to be William Henry Walker or Eric Gordon Junior). However, the NBA playoffs is where we eliminate much of the silliness and see what makes college basketball so beautiful - thus, the perfect time to latch onto a team and enjoy the ride.

So here I am, blissfully enjoying the Game 1 win of my newest fav team over Mark Cuban, spurned by CP3's 24 and 7 in the second half.

And I'm here to tell you that Chris Paul should be the NBA's 2008 MVP, and it isn't because I'm suddenly biased towards the Hornets.

Is yesterday's game the best reason? No, just more proof we'd only be giving the award to Kobe or KG to make up for years of them starring on otherwise average teams (Note: We omit LeBron from all discussions because the Cavs couldn't finish in the top 2 in the JV league)

Maybe we don't pity CP3 enough. I suppose spending your first 2 seasons playing with a displaced traveling circus isn't as bad as 75 straight first round exits and life without Shaq...at least to the general public. I can't get past the fact that the man has yet to have a regular home court since he was a Demon Deacon. Even a sideline reporter could tell you that playing 2 seasons worth of "road" games puts you at a disadvantage to the guys who get their 41 home games.

But you know how there's the ridiculous logic that Kobe's other Shaq-less Laker teams, and many of KG's T-Wolves teams weren't good because of their lackluster teammates? Let's evaluate the great talent surrounding CP3!

David West: Owns whatever part of your soul CP3 doesn't
Peja Stojakovic: Streak shooter who only has a high PPG because he can hit threes

And then...
Tyson Chandler. Jannergo Pargo. Morris Peterson. Bonzi Wells. Hilton Armstrong. Julian Wright. Rasual Butler. Should I even continue?

What do these guys have in common? The answers range from too much hype in college/high school, criminal records, and curly hair. But most importantly, these guys have spent their NBA careers being average to not-that-good.

Yet CP3 made this hapless group of scrubs look better than Kobe and KG's various supporting casts. He's made Tyson Chandler look smart for never attending college! He's resurrected Bonzi Wells' career! He single-handedly rebuilt every home in New Orleans from scratch!

Or he's done what people playing the hardest position in basketball should do - make their teammates better, while making smart decisions on their own. On their own, CP3's averages are pretty amazing - 21 PPG, nearly 12 assists and 3 steals per game. The elevated play of his teammates, all playing the best basketball of their sad ass careers, speaks to his abilities as a point guard. Just watching him for a few moments, you can see he just has what any great athletic point guard has - the ability to crash the lane, collapse defenders, and find his open shooters; careful handling (4.6/1 ASSIST TO TURNOVER RATIO!); pretty passes; etc etc insert stuff every great point guard does.

But what stands out most to me is what he does for himself. Yes, he is the team's leading scorer...and he does it on 48% shooting. He averages three 3pt FG attempts and 5 FT attempts per game. Hell, who else in the league, let alone out of point guards, maximizes the efficiency of their own offense as well as he does? Everyone throws around this term that a player "gets it"...but no really, CP3 GETS IT. He knows his role as a point guard, and he rarely does anything to jeopardize it. He jump starts an overall awesome offense. And when they really need a kick in the ass, like in Game 1 against the Mavs, he gets the right amount of selfishness in him to take over - 15 points in the 3rd quarter to come from behind 12. Oh, and he tacked on 5 assists. He still is a point guard, after all.

The cases are out there for Kobe (sorry, the Lakers wouldn't win the West without getting Gasol) and KG (....but he's playing with 2 potential future HOFers), but the fact is, Chris Paul has done what they never really did with the pile of crap he was handed. And in his first season actually playing in the city his team is affiliated with, he helped them tack on 17 more wins than the previous season, while dominating The Toughest Conference Evar most of the season.

And, the most important fact which hasn't been broken down...he plays on the same team as Julian Wright. Is it any coincidence that the Jayhawks LOST Mr. Wright, gained nothing more, and won the championship? Nothing more needs to be said!

Chris Paul owns your soul. He is your 2008 NBA MVP, and anything less will cause a riot to break out in my little Bmore apartment.



And...GO HORNETS!!