2013 NBA All-Star Weekend in Houston (2/15-2/17)

[mkwest]

Congrats to Chris for winning the MVP Award. Well deserved!

[donudon]

Awesome for CP3!! Now off to get MVP for the season!

[mkwest]

Awesome for CP3!! Now off to get MVP for the season!

That's not going to happen. His only hope for another MVP award this season is in the finals

[spudwebb]

Congrats on first ASG MVP.

[Angel strike1]

CP3 is soo nasty!!!

glad he is with us!!

[donudon]

Awesome for CP3!! Now off to get MVP for the season!

That's not going to happen. His only hope for another MVP award this season is in the finals

My homerism is making me optimistic

[Quake Griffin]

tack on something else for the franchise.

1st All Star MVP.
thank you Chris for taking away some and eventually taking away every diss that could ever be used against the Clippers.


oh except for.
"ROFL, remember how bad u guys were"

[mkwest]

Congrats on first ASG MVP.

Thanks

My homerism is making me optimistic

lol it's all good. I aim to be optimistic as well.

[mkwest]

Bosh is showing that he really has a nose for the ball.


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[mkwest]

They're already back on the plane and headed to Vegas.

[mkwest]

CHRIS PAUL’S MVP PERFORMANCE CARRIES WEST TO WIN

Paul scored 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting (4-for-5 from long range) with a game-high 15 assists and four steals and afterwards said the MVP was not something he set his sights on entering the sixth All-Star game of his eight-year career.

“It’s something that I’ve never done,” Paul said. “It’s something that I definitely didn’t come into the game trying to achieve or think would even be possible.”

Paul earned eight of a possible 12 votes with Kobe Bryant receiving two votes and Kevin Durant and LeBron James each receiving one. He is the first player in team history and second in franchise history to secure the award. Randy Smith won the 1978 All-Star MVP while playing for the Buffalo Braves.

“I told [Durant] early in the first quarter, I said, ‘Man, if they score anything just run. I’m going to get you the ball. You score. I just want to be the one to get it to you,’” Paul said. “Games like this it’s so up-tempo and fast-paced that a guy like me that’s a facilitator and gets it to other people, I enjoy games like this.

“You just want to play fast. I like to throw the lobs. I like to see guys hitting threes and when you’re out there on the court with all that firepower why not play fast. You’ve got [Durant] filling one of the lanes, you’ve got Blake, you’ve got [Kobe Byrant] on the wing. There’s nothing like it.”

Eric Patten, Clippers.com

Paul accomplishes rare All-Star feat for Clippers

"Wow. What a great honor. What a great honor," Sterling said. "Everybody in American relates to a small guy who can make it among the bigs."

Along with Blake Griffin, Paul has also turned the Clippers from punchline into a presence, as both players' faces were plastered all over Houston on larger-than-life posters.

So it somehow seemed natural that Sterling, who almost never speaks to the media, asked a couple of reporters one question about his team.

"Are you guys proud too?" he said.

With a giant smile on his face Sterling, his family, Paul's family and Clippers' president Andy Roeser celebrated Paul's triumph and what is hopefully the next step for a franchise that has rehabilitated its image and reputation.

"Everybody is so proud of him and so proud of being a Clipper," Sterling said. "It just gets better, better and better. "

Dan Woike, OC Register

GRIFFIN DAZZLES WITH DUNKS & CHEMISTRY WITH PAUL

“It’s great because there’s nobody on the court that I’m more familiar with than BG (Griffin),” Paul said. “I think we might have found something tonight that we can take into the second half of the season.”

The connection between Paul and Griffin was present throughout the weekend. They appeared even more connected than last year when Paul had been a member of the Clippers for just over two months. A year later, they are sharing more inside jokes and have an unspoken chemistry on the court.

Spurs All-Star Tony Parker noticed.

“Since they’ve been together from day one, they keep finding themselves,” Parker said. “They’re a great combination.”

As for Paul, he said that while he has a number of friends playing on both teams, there is something special about sharing All-Star Weekend with Griffin for a second time.

“Some of these guys are my closest friends like Melo (Carmelo Anthony), Bron (LeBron James), D-Wade (Dwyane Wade) and those guys, Russell Westbrook, KD (Durant), those guys I’m really, really close with,” Paul said. “To do it with them makes it that much more exciting. I think the best part of it though, is being here with Blake. That’s my guy. Out of all these guys here that’s my guy, that’s my teammate and we get to go through this stuff together.”

Eric Patten, Clippers.com

[mike3]

Great job Chris and Blake!!

Loved seeing them both rep Clippers so well, great duo, great guys!

[mkwest]

This one is for donudon and og15.

Don't Overlook Chris Paul For That Other MVP

More than anything, Paul's All-Star MVP performance should serve as a reminder that the best point guard in the league should also be more prominently mentioned in discussions for the regular-season version of the award.

This isn't a two-man race.

The difference is he had the NBA's undivided attention. Paul said he prepared for Sunday's game and broke down footage on certain players like he would any other night. He talked about how he has become a geek for the game. Midway through Sunday's game, Paul said he approached West coach Gregg Popovich and called out every set the East team would be running during the game.

"It's just awareness," Paul said of his maturation process as an elite point guard. "I watch basketball all day, every day. My son, my wife -- we sit there [and] I'm on this thing called Synergy day in and day out watching basketball. I was talking to [Popovich] and I could pretty much tell him the entire offense. I think as I get older, you have to start playing with your mind more than with all the athleticism."

"No doubt," Wade said. "With guys like LeBron and KD, who fill up the stat sheets, [Paul] does get overlooked. But not to us players. We know he's very -- he's the most valuable player on the Clippers. They're one of the best teams in the NBA, so it puts him right up there."

Michael Wallace, ESPN

[mkwest]

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[Quake Griffin]

strong lebron hate.

the #1 play of that game.
lulz.

i get it...lebron-kobe is the NBA right now.
still lame.

[mkwest]

Sterling overcome with franchise pride as Paul named All-Star MVP

“I’m just so proud,” Sterling said. “The smallest guy on the court, and everybody in America can relate to a small guy that can make it amongst the bigs, right?

“These are achievements that are rarely made. Everybody is so proud of him and so proud to be a Clipper. It just gets better and better and better.”

Sterling then paused before answering another question about Paul’s impact, remembering that the Clippers’ turnaround actually began one year earlier with Blake Griffin, who had 19 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot on Sunday.

“We have to give Blake some credit, too,” Sterling said. “That was the beginning.”

“There are some players that are selfish,” she said. “They want to score all the points and they don’t care about sharing the ball. But [Paul and Griffin] do. They do; they love to share. I love it. I’m just so proud of them. The whole team feels that way. It’s so much fun to watch.”

As the Sterlings prepared to leave the Toyota Center, Shelly smiled as she looked at her husband.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment my whole life,” she said. “Well, at least most of my life.”

Arash Markazi, ESPN Los Angeles

Chris Paul stands tall while Dwight Howard plays the All-Star fool

"As you get older, you have to start playing with your mind more than all the athleticism," Paul said. "I'm far away from dunking on people. That's not my game. So I have to play with my mind."

Griffin, who once looked constrained to a career as a mere provider of dunk highlights, has developed a level of seriousness about his game and preparation that has put loftier accomplishments within reach. As Paul kept feeding Griffin for dunks, you had a Synergy geek passing to a 23-year-old freak of nature who cares so much about nutrition and fitness that he has embarked on a 100-day Paleo Diet challenge with his manager, Atlanta-based Lorne Clark. For the uninitiated, that means he’s cut out sugar, processed foods, dairy and all grains except rice.

"It’s just kind of like a dedication thing," Griffin said. "I just wanted to see if I could do it."

Synergy addiction? Sugar boycotts? Who are these guys?

Ken Berger, CBS Sports

[mkwest]

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