Checking In With Rookie Chris Paul: Fourth Installment
It certainly was an eventful Wednesday, February 1st for Hornets point guard Chris
Paul,
who was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for January – the
third
straight time he netted that honor. Also on Wednesday, the NBA
announced
that the 6-foot standout had been selected to play in the Rookie
Challenge
at All-Star weekend. Paul capped his outstanding day by registering 25
points and 13 assists in an exciting victory over Chicago.
Hornets.com’s Jim Eichenhofer – who has interviewed and profiled prominent NBA players including Yao Ming, Chauncey Billups, Chris Bosh and Pau Gasol for basketball magazines Inside Stuff, Hoop and SLAM – will be conducting regular question-and-answer sessions with Paul throughout the remainder of the 2005-06 season.
Eichenhofer chatted with Paul after Hornets practice last week.
Eichenhofer: It was announced Wednesday that you’ve been selected to play in the Rookie Challenge game. Are you looking forward to getting to play with some of the other rookies?
Paul: I’m excited. It’s definitely an honor, to get the opportunity to
play
in that game, and just to be a part of the entire All-Star Game
festivities.
It’s going to be a lot of fun to see a lot of the other rookies that I
don’t
get a chance to see very much.
Eichenhofer: Are you anxious to hear whether you will be on the Western Conference All-Star team?
Paul: That definitely would be a shock to me if I make that game. If I was to make it, it would be indescribable.
Eichenhofer: You recently played at Madison Square Garden for the first time as a pro, scoring 27 points in a Hornets victory. What was that experience like, getting to play in front of a few celebrities in such a storied arena?
Paul: Madison Square Garden is the mecca of basketball. It’s where everybody hopes to play someday. That game was a great win for our team – going on the road, winning in Madison Square Garden, it was a lot of fun.
Eichenhofer: Isiah Thomas was a player you admired as a youngster. He’s said many complimentary things about you this season after watching you play. Did you get a chance to speak with him when you were in New York?
Paul: I didn’t get a chance to talk to him, but I knew he was there at the game. Hopefully one of these days I will get an opportunity to catch up with him and maybe get a picture with him.
Eichenhofer: The Hornets have been trying to get over that .500 hump for the past month-plus. Now that you’ve surpassed .500, do you look at this big homestretch (the Hornets play 4 of their next 6 games in Oklahoma City) as a chance to move even further above that mark?
Paul: We love our home games. The fans here in Oklahoma City have really made this a homecourt advantage for us. Looking at the schedule, we do look at this as a great opportunity to get some wins at home to hopefully take us even more over .500. Now that we’re over .500, we’re going to try to stay there for the rest of the season.
Eichenhofer: How much do you pay attention to the other teams who are vying for eighth place in the Western Conference?
Paul: We pay a lot of attention to it. We watch NBA League Pass night in and night out, and we always want to see what’s going on.
Eichenhofer: During home games at the Ford Center, fans have sometimes spotted you interacting with your brother C.J. What do you guys say to each other?
Paul: My brother sits right down by the court, so if a guy makes a move on me, I know I can look over there and my brother’s going to be laughing. He’s always really loose and relaxed during games. He doesn’t give me advice or anything like that; I would never look over there and hear him tell me something pertaining to the game.
I got dunked on the other night by Andrew Bogut, and when I looked over there at my brother, I heard him make that (SportsCenter jingle) duh-duh-duh, duh-duh-duh sound (meaning Bogut’s dunk would be an ESPN highlight).
Hornets.com’s Jim Eichenhofer – who has interviewed and profiled prominent NBA players including Yao Ming, Chauncey Billups, Chris Bosh and Pau Gasol for basketball magazines Inside Stuff, Hoop and SLAM – will be conducting regular question-and-answer sessions with Paul throughout the remainder of the 2005-06 season.
Eichenhofer chatted with Paul after Hornets practice last week.
Eichenhofer: It was announced Wednesday that you’ve been selected to play in the Rookie Challenge game. Are you looking forward to getting to play with some of the other rookies?
Paul
|
Eichenhofer: Are you anxious to hear whether you will be on the Western Conference All-Star team?
Paul: That definitely would be a shock to me if I make that game. If I was to make it, it would be indescribable.
Eichenhofer: You recently played at Madison Square Garden for the first time as a pro, scoring 27 points in a Hornets victory. What was that experience like, getting to play in front of a few celebrities in such a storied arena?
Paul: Madison Square Garden is the mecca of basketball. It’s where everybody hopes to play someday. That game was a great win for our team – going on the road, winning in Madison Square Garden, it was a lot of fun.
Eichenhofer: Isiah Thomas was a player you admired as a youngster. He’s said many complimentary things about you this season after watching you play. Did you get a chance to speak with him when you were in New York?
Paul: I didn’t get a chance to talk to him, but I knew he was there at the game. Hopefully one of these days I will get an opportunity to catch up with him and maybe get a picture with him.
Eichenhofer: The Hornets have been trying to get over that .500 hump for the past month-plus. Now that you’ve surpassed .500, do you look at this big homestretch (the Hornets play 4 of their next 6 games in Oklahoma City) as a chance to move even further above that mark?
Paul: We love our home games. The fans here in Oklahoma City have really made this a homecourt advantage for us. Looking at the schedule, we do look at this as a great opportunity to get some wins at home to hopefully take us even more over .500. Now that we’re over .500, we’re going to try to stay there for the rest of the season.
Eichenhofer: How much do you pay attention to the other teams who are vying for eighth place in the Western Conference?
Paul: We pay a lot of attention to it. We watch NBA League Pass night in and night out, and we always want to see what’s going on.
Eichenhofer: During home games at the Ford Center, fans have sometimes spotted you interacting with your brother C.J. What do you guys say to each other?
Paul: My brother sits right down by the court, so if a guy makes a move on me, I know I can look over there and my brother’s going to be laughing. He’s always really loose and relaxed during games. He doesn’t give me advice or anything like that; I would never look over there and hear him tell me something pertaining to the game.
I got dunked on the other night by Andrew Bogut, and when I looked over there at my brother, I heard him make that (SportsCenter jingle) duh-duh-duh, duh-duh-duh sound (meaning Bogut’s dunk would be an ESPN highlight).
