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His stats rarely jumped off the page and he came off the bench throughout the entire Olympics, but Chris Paul emerged as a perhaps underrated factor in USA Basketballs run to a gold medal. The Americans capped off their perfect trip to the Summer Games by holding off Spain, 118-107, early this morning.
Paul (25 minutes), who again played more than fellow floor generals Jason Kidd (12 minutes) and Deron Williams (17 minutes), finished with 13 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals vs. Spain. The 6-footer went 2-for-5 from the field and 9-for-10 from the foul line.
CP3 will have about a month to rest prior to players officially reporting to New Orleans for media day on Friday, Sept. 26 (although in the past couple years, many Hornets players have come to town a week or two early to work out with teammates). Byron Scott was mentioned several times during the offseason that he will monitor Paul closely during training camp and preseason, which includes a seven-day trip overseas. It wouldnt be surprising if we dont see a lot of Paul during the seven-game exhibition schedule, but as Scott has also mentioned in the past, its difficult to keep Paul out of practices. He wants to be on the floor as much as possible.
