The Great Hate Debate

Posted by Mallory Meyer on January 06, 2009

I don’t know about you, but I’m fed up with all the Deron Williams vs. Chris Paul drama. I’m so fed up with it that I’m going to contribute to it. Go figure. If you can’t bear to read one more word on the subject, I whole-heartedly understand and therefore excuse you from reading any further.

My intent is not to determine once and for all who is better. Ask the statisticians and so-called experts and they’ll say CP3. Ask any Jazz fan and they’ll say DW8. And if you ask me, I say…who cares because how could you really know anyway?

I guess what intrigues me most is the deep hatred Jazz fans have for Mr. Chris “I look like Carlton Banks” Paul. As far as I can see, Paul has never really given us any good reason to hate him. I mean the dude doesn’t even beat us. I used to laugh at all the Chris Paul hype because I only saw him play against the Jazz, and we all know that Deron makes him look like nothing more than a D-League All-Star in the head-to-head matchup. I was baffled that people were even putting them in the same league.

Then, finally, I watched Paul play against someone other than the Jazz. There was no denying that this kid is legit. Tear-drops and assists galore, emotional intensity, incredible leadership, and a cute little swagger to go with it. I jumped on the bandwagon. Don’t get me wrong, just because I like Chris Paul doesn’t mean I want him in Deron’s Utah Jazz uni. But what’s so wrong with liking the guy?

Have you ever tried to find dirt on ol’ CP3? Well, it’s virtually impossible. The guy is clean cut, does a lot of charity work in New Orleans, and loves to bowl. How can you hate a dorky little bowler? Then of course, there is the high school game that he scored exactly 61 points to honor his deceased grandfather–we’ve all heard about it and that’s one thing, but watching it? I’ll admit that I might have gotten a little choked up after that one. Tyson Chandler also brags in his blog about how Paul is one of the coolest people he knows– Paul and Tyson’s daughter share the same birthday and to celebrate, they all went to the zoo together! Chris Paul, at the zoo, on his birthday, celebrating with his teammate’s daughter–now that’s precious! Then add the fact that Deron and Chris are buddies. If you watched them in Nike’s Road to Redemption and throughout the Olympics over the summer you saw that their friendship is totally real. See, not even Deron hates him, so why must you?

If Deron asks me to hate Chris Paul, I will. But if it’s only fellow Jazz fans asking me to hate the Hornet, I won’t do it. At least not until he gives me a reason.

Hoping that reason doesn’t come Wednesday night,

–Mal

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Chance on January 06, 2009 said:

Mal- I must admit you do make a good point. I have to admit that it is hard to dislike him as a person, but I don’t know that I can ever bring myself to cheer for him.

Jenn Sokia on January 06, 2009 said:

I love Chris Paul..of course not like I love Deron Williams. I think he is an amazing player, and like you said, seems to be a fantastic person. I am so excited to see the game tomorrow. What an awesome match up it will be. I didn’t know Jazz fans hated him…what has been said? Maybe I have missed this not being in Utah.

Clint on January 07, 2009 said:

I don’t think any Jazz fans have openly spouted hatred for Paul. Dude straight kills it on the court, but we all know where our heart lies as Jazz fans.

snowtreemt on January 07, 2009 said:

Mal- I could not stop seeing Carlton on the court last night, watching the Laker/NO game! I was busting up laughing! While my heart will always put Deron first, there is no denying CP3’s got game! Hopefully tonight we will be able to keep our momentum and get another home game. We really need it!

Boondock Saint on January 07, 2009 said:

I agree whole heartedly Mal. I don’t think that loving the Jazz in anyway effects my appreciation of other talent and CP3 has got a whole lot of it. He hasn’t given us a reason to hate him unlike Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant plus add on top of it that the guy is a stud off the court. However, just like you and everyone else has pointed out….I think Deron is the right guy for us and we know where the loyalties lie,

Jazzfanperson on January 08, 2009 said:

Well, I don’t really hate Michael Jordan. You have to respect that he was probably the best player of the game of basketball ever.

Though I’m not a fan of Bryant.

shporq on January 08, 2009 said:

I’m sure Chris Paul is a nice person. That’s quite admirable that he does charity work. I’m not sure how going to the zoo makes a person more likable.

But the real reason for the hate is that league-wide Paul is considered better than Deron, which just isn’t true. Sure, he’s got a couple points, an assist and a half, a couple steals, and several rebounds over Deron. But you can’t ignore the fact that Deron’s team leads the league in assists, he has 2 PF’s that rebound over the best of them, and a stellar bench team backing him up.

Deron doesn’t need to take over every game the way Paul does. Deron can run his offense(which he does in a way that CP3 will never be able to), and when needed, will take over the ball game.

But we’ve been over all this. Chris Paul draws my ire by being lauded by the league. He gets it for making the all-star game when Deron doesn’t. He gets it for getting schooled by Deron in the skills challenge, so badly that nobody cheers for Deron’s record-setting victory. None of these things are his fault, granted. And I can’t exactly expect him to publicly state that DWill is his better and that everyone needs to recognize that. But I’ll still rag on Carlton all day, and I’ll laugh every time we play the Borenets because he looks like, as you say, D-League All-Star.

Aaron on January 08, 2009 said:

Mal you made a CP3 out of me!

Mal on January 08, 2009 said:

Shporq–thanks for saving me the trouble of having to explain the Jazz fan hatred of Chris Paul to Jenn and Clint. And by the way, what Jazz circles are you two running around in that you have never heard any of this hatred before?

And Michael Jordan’s push-off on Flyin Bryon Russell is totally reason enough to hate him. (I’m with you 100% Boondock.)

And Aaron–I made a “CP3″ out of you? If somehow I turned you into a clone of CP3 himself, do tell me where you live and hang out.

Jenn Sokia on January 08, 2009 said:

Mal- I have heard a lot of the debate between Williams and Paul regarding who is better, etc…I just never heard “hate,” I guess. I now get what you mean. I still think it is a very close competition though, but we all know who wins!

McCall Meyer on January 08, 2009 said:

“cute little swagger”…. couldn’t agree more

Aaron on January 11, 2009 said:

Mal you meant what I knew!

canadajazz on January 13, 2009 said:

The point is, Chris Paul and Deron Williams are both more of what the NBA needs these days. They’re both fun to watch, both make their teammates better, and both have the utmost in class.
Have to say, though, watching Deron beat Indiana last night, he’s sure the guy I want running the point in the last 3 minutes of a tight game.

tomb on January 13, 2009 said:

I love the Jazz. When CP3 playes the Jazz I hate him…..The same as Derrick Fisher when we play them…When the game is over I Love them…..

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