NBA News 2013: Chris Paul doesn't focus on the what ifs

Los Angeles Clippers vs. Dallas Mavericks (Photo credit: sarahr691)

The what-might-have-beens don't enter Chris Paul's mind anymore.

As his Clippers prepare for the latest Los Angeles turf war on Friday night at Staples Center against the Lakers team to which he was almost traded back in December of 2011, the point guard who has transformed one of the worst organizations in professional sports into a legitimate title contender wouldn't have it any other way.

"Never, ever – ever, ever," he told USA TODAY Sports emphatically on Wednesday night when asked how often he wonders what life with the Lakers might have been like before commissioner David Stern vetoed the deal with New Orleans back then for those infamous "basketball reasons." "

And why would he?

Even with the Clippers' losses at Denver and Golden State that followed their franchise-record 17-game winning streak, they have the league's second-best record (25-8) and are nine games ahead of this Lakers team that so many expected to dominate this season. And while Kobe Bryant responded to the latest Lakers loss by declaring that age was to blame for their woes – "We're old as (expletive)," he told reporters after they fell to Philadelphia on Tuesday night – Paul has continued this improbable push to turn the Clippers into champions.

"You can't back up any talk in January or December or nothing like that," Paul said of the matchup with the Lakers.

The game itself will come with some consequence, though, even if Clippers forward Blake Griffin said it was "just like any other game." The Clippers, who beat the Lakers without Steve Nash on Nov. 2, don't want to lose a third game in a row. The Lakers, whose fans so often point to the title count between the two organizations (16 to zero) as their ultimate defense, need a win like this to keep momentum moving forward after winning six of their last eight games.

"It's a big deal for us," said reserve small forward Lamar Odom, the longtime Laker who was traded to the Clippers during the summer. "What's most fun is to be here and to really see the change in (expectations), as far people expecting us to come out and play at a high level. That's fun."

Said reserve small forward Matt Barnes, who signed the Clippers in the summer after spending his last two seasons with the Lakers: "Any time you play an old team, and it's the talk of the town – Lakers-Clippers - it's going to be a fun one."

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2013/01/03/los-angeles-lakers-vs-los-angeles-clippers-chris-paul/1807855/

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NBA News 2012: Chris Paul boosts Clippers in OT for 3-1 series lead vs. Grizzlies

Los Angeles Clippers logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Los Angeles Clippers' 10-point lead late in regulation had evaporated, and Blake Griffin stood helplessly at their bench with hands on hips after fouling out in overtime. A building full of red-shirted fans sat nervously, dreading another disaster for a franchise with more than its share.

Except Chris Paul wasn't around for any of the Clippers' bad times.

While everybody else worried, he calmly shepherded his club out of another perilous spot and onto the brink of something big.

Paul scored eight of his 27 points in a dynamic overtime performance, and the Clippers moved to the verge of their second playoff series victory in 36 years with a 101-97 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night, taking a 3-1 series lead.

"It's fun, it's exciting," said Paul, who atoned for his inability to score at the regulation buzzer.

"The worst mistake I probably made in the game was not getting the shot at the end of regulation," he added. "If I was at home watching it on TV, I'd be talking so bad about me. But you've got to get through it. The [best] thing about it is that I have teammates that have confidence in me. Everything that we do is a team win."

Maybe so, but the Clippers were ever so grateful to rely on their All-Star point guard.

Griffin had 30 points and seven assists before fouling out with 2:26 left in overtime for the Clippers, who blew an 84-74 lead over the final 4½ minutes of regulation before Paul took charge in the overtime. He played with the same intensity he showed late in regulation, heedlessly flinging himself over the front row of chairs in an attempt to save a loose ball.

"He's a great player, and that's what great players do," Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said.

Game 5 is Wednesday night in Memphis, with Game 6 back at Staples Center on Friday if necessary.

After Paul hit consecutive jumpers to put the Clippers ahead 99-93 with 44 seconds left, Mike Conley's layup with 8.1 seconds left trimmed the Clippers' lead back to two points. But after Mo Williams hit two free throws with 7.2 seconds left and Rudy Gay missed a meaningless 3-pointer, Griffin and Paul embraced while another frenzied sellout crowd of long-suffering Clippers fans roared.

"Chris is always intense," Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said. "That's what makes him special. Chris is so good, not only at making plays for himself, but making the right play. That's what makes him a star."

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=320507012

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NBA News 2011: Lakers talk freely about what went wrong in loss to Kings

Image via Wikipedia
Let's get this straight.

The Lakers lose to the lowly Sacramento Kings at Staples Center on Friday night and the media get blamed for the loss?

"Yeah, I'm blaming this on you guys," Lamar Odom said after the Lakers dropped a 100-95 decision to the Kings. "You guys are jumping to the Boston game."

Odom was joking.

But the media did begin asking about the Lakers playing the Boston Celtics on Sunday, many ignoring the Kings (11-33) in the process.

Still, the Lakers had put a gag order in place, saying no one was allowed to talk about the Celtics until after the Lakers finished off the Kings.

Lakers co-captain Derek Fisher was the one who said no one could talk about the Celtics.

All the good it did.

Again, Odom was asked if he really was going to lay blame for the Lakers' inexplicable loss to the Kings on the media.

"Yep," Odom said, half-smiling. "I'm blaming it on you."

http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-sp-lakers-web-20110130,0,6476639.story

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NBA News 2011: Lakers looking to make a run in the near future

Image by bridgetds via Flickr
In Lakers Coach Phil Jackson's eyes, his team has been too inconsistent in its last six games.

There was the loss to the lowly Sacramento Kings on Friday night. There was the loss to a Dallas Mavericks team that had lost six games in a row. And there was the loss to the Clippers in which the Lakers blew a big lead.

Also in that six-game stretch were victories over Utah, Denver and Oklahoma City, three probable playoff teams.

Save on daily L.A. Times deals powered by Groupon.

That leaves the Lakers with a 33-14 record, three games behind last season's pace after 47 games.

They will try to recapture some consistency Sunday at Staples Center against the Boston Celtics in a rematch of the NBA Finals.

"We've been up and down," Jackson said after practice Saturday. "We had a little run. I thought maybe we could make another little run in this homestand, but we're struggling a little bit."

Jackson said "we know why" the Lakers have been struggling.

"We're turning the ball over at inopportune moments," Jackson said. "We're not executing our offense very well. Transition defense, as a result, is not very good."

Maybe, it was suggested to Jackson, his team has slipped some in its play because the Lakers are coming off consecutive championships.

"We know that," Jackson said. "We know that sustaining that pace is going to be difficult. We know we have to get back on it, though. We have to get back on that horse and get going."

It won't be an easy ride for the Lakers.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-sp-0130-lakers-season-20110130,0,4352792.story

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NBA News 2010: Five players earning $5M or less to watch on Xmas

Image by Getty Images via @daylife
Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum, LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade. When the Heat and Lakers take the floor Saturday afternoon at Staples Center, these will be the rock stars. The guys most likely to suck up camera time, be the focus of fancy graphics packages, and so on. They're also the guys for whom Christmas comes not just on Dec. 25, but every time a paycheck lands in their bank accounts. (Unless, of course, they insist on being handed a giant sack of cash on payday. Which, at least once, would actually be pretty cool.)

Don't confuse money with influence. Each team's roster sports players in, at least by NBA standards, a different category financially, but could still make a major impact on the result of Saturday's game. Below are five guys, each earning $5 million or less, able to make or break all the work done by the headliners:

LAKERS

Matt Barnes ($1,765,000)

Shannon Brown ($2,149,200)

HEAT

Mike Miller ($5 million)

James Jones ($1,146,337)

Joel Anthony ($3.3 million)

http://espn.go.com/blog/los-angeles/lakers/post/_/id/13788/bargain-hunting-five-players-earning-5-mil-or-less-to-watch-on-x-mas#more

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NBA News 2010: Thibodeau saw Kobe Bryant's potential

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LOS ANGELES -- It was about 16 years ago in Saint Joseph's gym in Philadelphia, where a talented high school player first met an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers.

"He was crucial. He was with me when I was 16 or 17 years old," Bryant said Sunday night at Staples Center, after leading the Lakers to a 117-89 win over the Golden State Warriors. "Just doing drills and just working on ballhandling and just teaching me the game. He was there from Day 1."

Bryant generated a national buzz while at Lower Merion High School in a Philadelphia suburb. He scrimmaged against NBA players at the invitation of former 76ers coach John Lucas, who was friends with Kobe's father Joe "Jellybean" Bryant, a former player and coach. The Charlotte Hornets drafted Bryant out of high school in 1996 and traded him to the Lakers for Vlade Divac.

"You could just tell [that Bryant was special]. The way he would study everything. [It was] amazing for a high school kid."

The pair grew close fairly quickly. Thibodeau spent extra time drilling Bryant whenever he could, and he could tell almost from the outset that Bryant had the chance to be special. Bryant had a quality that most players his age don't exhibit.

"His drive," Thibodeau said. "He was so driven.

"He was a high school kid, and if he had a day off from school he'd be in the gym from eight in the morning till eight at night. And he was trying to play against the pros and watch everything and lift weights."

Having been around basketball most of his life, Thibodeau knew what he was seeing.

"You knew his talent," Thibodeau continued. "In high school, when he was playing against pros he looked like he belonged with them. You knew he was going to be special. But I think his drive is what really separates him when you combine that drive and intelligence with his talent. It's the top of the line."

Bryant was too young to know anything about Thibodeau's future head coaching prospects. He was just happy a man in Thibodeau's position took a liking to his game and his ability.

"When I was in high school I really didn't know what the hell was going on," Bryant said. "I just knew he was this really nice man who was very knowledgeable about the game and was willing to teach me things. Seeing him [as an assistant with the Boston Celtics], and in Houston before that, you knew that his time was going to come."

http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/nba/news/story?id=5839022&campaign=rss&source=NBAHeadlines

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NBA News 2010: One by one at ring ceremony, the Lakers show they are a team

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So it began with Phil Jackson cracking a sweet joke about Luke Walton, handing him his ring, then stepping aside to let the players take over.

Walton praised Odom's worth ethic. Odom talked about playing with Artest since they were children. Artest called Bynum a "warrior."

Bynum spoke of Gasol as a leader. Gasol shouted about Vujacic sinking two of the biggest free throws in Lakers history. Vujacic talked about Brown's energetic impact.

Brown referred to Fisher as the team president. Fisher referred to Bryant as the best player in the NBA. And Bryant referred to Buss as the best owner in team sports history.

Each of the hugs that followed the introductions were long, heartfelt, more real than a starting lineup chest bump or fist tap, filled with such emotion that it seemed some of the Lakers' players' eyes grew wet.

For the record, I have seen Bryant in hundreds of on-court embraces, but never have I seen him joyfully hug someone like he hugged Fisher.

"The fans saw the players as they had never seen them,'' said Harris. "The players let us all in.''

Immediately after the hugging stopped, friends were texting me that it was the best ring ceremony they have ever seen.

"What a team,'' wrote neighbor Sam. "Call me a homer. I love 'em.''

"Now that was a class ceremony,'' wrote buddy Barry, who lives in Dallas and hates the Lakers. "Compared to the Heat and Celtics, the Lakers looked like a bunch of choir boys.''

When the ceremony ended, Artest took the microphone and presided over the unveiling of the championship banner, pointing to the Staples Center wall where the yellow victory flag would supposedly unfurl.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-sp-plaschke-lakers-20101027,0,3814885.column?page=1

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Boxing News 2010: Shane Mosley, Sergio Mora fight to draw

Image by Puma Booma via Flickr

LOS ANGELES -- Sugar Shane Mosley wanted a victory that would earn him another big-money fight. Sergio Mora wanted to re-establish himself as an elite boxer.

Neither left Staples Center satisfied after their 12-round draw Saturday night.

The junior middleweight bout was an anticlimactic end to a solid card that featured spectacular knockout wins by Victor Ortiz, Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and Daniel Ponce De Leon.

In a sometimes dull fight, the 39-year-old Mosley (46-6-1, 39 KOs) didn't get redemption for his one-sided loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in May, and Mora (22-1-2, 6 KOs) fell short of his biggest victory.

Both fighters were booed by the crowd, which chanted "Canelo! Canelo!" -- the nickname of the rising 20-year-old Mexican star -- during the main event.

"We both fought hard," Mosley said. "It was good fight, a good decision."

The fight was very difficult to score, with judge Kermit Bayless calling it 115-113 for Mora, David Denkin giving Mosley a 116-112 edge, and Lou Moret ruling it even at 114-114. The scores at press row were equally divided, from a six-point victory for Mosley to a four-point win for Mora.

Mosley had an edge in the CompuBox punchstats, landing 161 of 522 punches to 93 of 508 for Mora.

Mora, who held the 154-pound title in 2008, said he actually let up because he thought he was winning the fight down the stretch.

"I should've listened to my corner," he said. "They were telling me that it was a close fight. I thought I was winning, so I didn't fight as hard because I have respect for Shane. I didn't want to hurt him."

Mosley was the aggressor from the beginning, but had a difficult time landing clean punches because Mora is a standout defensive fighter. The former 154-pound titleholder consistently danced out of harm's way or tied up Mosley when he got inside.

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=5590908

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Boxing News 2010: Sergio Mora penalized for weight

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LOS ANGELES -- Former junior middleweight titlist Sergio Mora was three pounds overweight for his Saturday night fight against former champ Shane Mosley at Staples Center and was penalized 20 percent of his purse by the California State Athletic Commission at Friday's weigh-in.

Mora, who was 157 pounds, will forfeit $57,000 of his official $285,000 purse, and the fight will go on as scheduled. The money will be added to Mosley's $1 million guarantee, according to George Dodd, the executive officer of the commission.

Mosley was right on the junior middleweight limit of 154 pounds for the 12-round bout, which headlines Golden Boy Promotions' Mexican bicentennial card (HBO PPV, 9 p.m. ET, $44.95).

Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer said Mora told him he was surprised to be overweight because he had weighed himself earlier on another scale at his hotel and was on weight. Schaefer said Mora believed the official scale was off. Mora might be right because Carlos Baldomir and Vivian Harris, both of whom are on the televised undercard, also were overweight.

http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/news/story?id=5585584

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NBA News 2010: What Will Be the Highest Rated Regular-Season Game This Season?

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

The Lakers' first matchup against the Celtics on Sunday, January 30, should also end up bringing in a massive number of NBA fans, as most Celtics fans still won't have wiped the salty taste from Game 7 out of their mouth by that point. 

But at this point, my money for the highest ratest game comes on Christmas Day at 5 p.m. ET, as the Heat take on the Lakers at Staples Center. The NBA gave its fans the best possible present it could: a potential preview of the NBA Finals, six months early.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/441970-nba-2010-11-the-100-biggest-questions-facing-the-nba-this-season#page/7

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NBA News 2010: Lakers come to their own defense

Image by afagen via FlickrKobe Bryant is Finals MVP and Lakers rally to win second consecutive title while ending Game 7 woes against Celtics.
It started nine months ago on a quiet day in El Segundo, aspirations of a 16th NBA championship a distant possibility, but it ended with finality for the Lakers, in a victory against their hated rivals amid a blizzard of purple-and-gold confetti.
It wasn't pretty, the teams enmeshed in a slow-speed chase to be the first to 80 points, but redemption arrived for the Lakers, an entire arena, 12 players and a 64-year-old coach who exhaled as one after the Lakers fended off the Boston Celtics, 83-79, Thursday in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
Kobe Bryant had 23 points on a rough shooting night, but the only number he cared about was his fifth championship ring, tying Lakers luminary Magic Johnson and moving to within one of Michael Jordan.
"This one's by far the sweetest," Bryant said in front of a still-standing Staples Center crowd that, on this night, had no desire to leave early and beat traffic.
His reasoning was simple. He and his teammates overcame so many injuries and, at times, ineffectiveness to make this championship anything but tops on his list. Not to mention that it came against the Celtics.
When it was over, after the Lakers had clinched their second consecutive championship, Bryant jumped into the arms of Ron Artest, who carried the team in the first half, and was quickly joined by Sasha Vujacic and Lamar Odom on the court.
Jackson made it a point to embrace 14-year veteran Derek Fisher, who made a stand in the playoffs after a subpar regular season. Pau Gasol wept openly, finishing with 19 points and 18 rebounds, shedding whatever tatters of the "soft" label remained.

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jun/18/sports/la-sp-lakers-celtics-20100618

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NBA News 2010: Title hopes slipping? Lakers lose Game 5

Image via WikipediaCome Sunday night, the Lakers had no fight to support their talk.
They lost the tie-breaking Game 5 of the NBA Finals to the Celtics, 92-86, with Boston's 56.3 percent field-goal shooting the best anyone has hung on the Lakers this postseason.
No opponent had even shot as much as 50 percent in 20 previous playoff games, actually.
"We need to protect each other," Lakers forward Pau Gasol said of the disappointing defense, which offset a dynamic individual show by Kobe Bryant. He had 38 points to account for 44 percent of the team's scoring. With four assists, he had twice as many of those as any teammate.
That stilted offensive production was just another way the Lakers failed to play as a team. Their 86 points were still the fewest the Lakers have scored all postseason.
It leaves the Lakers trailing in a series for the first time in the playoffs. What once looked so promising for the Lakers considering Jackson is 47-0 when his team wins Game 1 has become a profound challenge.
A road team has faced a tie-breaking Game 5 with the safety net of home Games 6 and 7 eight previous times; the winner of Game 5 has won seven those eight series. Overall, the winner of the tie-breaking Game 5 has gone on to win 19 of 25 NBA Finals.
"They've still got to win one more," Lakers forward Lamar Odom said, "and they have to do it on our home court."
The Lakers opened the playoffs 9-0 at home before losing Game 2 to the Celtics and have won 84 percent of their home playoff games (72-14) since Staples Center opened in 2000. Since the start of the 2008 NBA playoffs, the Lakers are 29-4 at Staples in the postseason.
Said Boston's Rajon Rondo: "We play better on the road anyway."
Celtics coach Doc Rivers reiterated before this game that Boston probably needed to overcome one stellar Bryant scoring game to win the series. He wound up as prophetic as Jackson, as Bryant made 13 of 27 field-goal attempts despite going 4-for-12 in the first half on a twisted ankle.
Bryant scored the last four points of the first half for the Lakers – and then the first 19 of the second half. The elapsed time where no other Laker scored? The last 3:59 of the first half and the first 9:44 of the second half. That's a mind-boggling 13:43 of game time, an entire quarter and then another 1:43 of the next.
Boston's Paul Pierce scored 27 points on 12-of-21 shooting. Garnett was key with 18 points, 10 rebounds, five steals, three assists and two blocks.
The only other Laker to reach 12 points was Pau Gasol, but he shot just 5 of 12 from the field. The Lakers were outscored in the paint, 46-32.
Bryant, though, refused to dwell on it. When asked about his confidence level heading home, he laughed and said sarcastically: "I'm not very confident at all."
"That's Kobe," Garnett said. "He's got a lot of confidence. I've got confidence that my team can go out there and get a win. So we'll see."
http://www.ocregister.com/sports/lakers-253226-game-home.html

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NBA News 2010: Lakers defeat the Celtics, 102-89, in Game 1 of NBA Finals

Image via WikipediaKobe Bryant scores 30 points, Pau Gasol holds down the middle with 23 points and 14 rebounds and Ron Artest adds 15 points in the victory over Boston, which is led by Paul Pierce's 24 points and nine rebounds.
Well, that's probably quite the overstatement but when you realize that Lakers Coach Phil Jackson is 47-0 when his team has won the first game of a series, then it's not great news for fans of the Boston Celtics.
The Lakers' 102-89 victory over the Celtics in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night at Staples Center was not easy as the margin. Then again, after the third quarter it wasn't that difficult. In the end the Lakers were able to win because of their ability to get the ball into the middle and, even more importantly, let Kobe Bryant shoot the ball.
Jackson dismissed the streak as any good coach would do.
"I wish I felt that way (confident)," Jackson said. "We have to play this out. We have a lot of work ahead of us. But ultimately it's important but then the next game becomes the most important. But the first game sets the action and that is important."
In Game 1 of the Finals, Bryant had his fifth straight game of 30 points or more. He finished Thurday's game with 30 points on 10-of-22 shooting from the field while making nine of 10 free throws.
The game was close through the first quarter, although the Lakers at one point had a six-point lead they seemed unwilling to keep. But with less than five minutes to play in the second quarter the Lakers went on a 11-4 streak to build an 11-point lead with less than a minute to play in the half.

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jun/03/sports/la-spw-lakers-celtics-game1

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