Clippers' success started with CP3 in Game 1 win over defending champ Spurs
Chris Paul wore a black shirt with the phrase "Action" on it Sunday, and it was so fitting for the Clippers star point guard.
All of the action started with Paul in Game 1 of the Clippers' first-round Western Conference playoff series against the defending champion San Antonio Spurs, as it so often does.
Whether he was hitting jumpers from the baseline or driving the lane -- that happened early and often -- for floaters or layups or 3-pointers or passing to teammates, Paul had it going.
Paul is still searching for his first NBA championship, and he got off on the right foot Sunday, scoring 32 points on 13 of 20 shots and adding seven rebounds and six assists as the Clippers won 107-92 at Staples Center.
All season long, Doc Rivers and assistant coach Sam Cassell have preached to Paul about being more aggressive. Paul has been as of late, and his aggressiveness paid dividends as his teammates followed suit.
"It's very important. Me and Blake talked about (being aggressive) before the game," Paul said. "The team goes as we go, and we sort of feed off each other. Blake was so aggressive early, and when it opened up for me, and we both just played off one another, and other guys made shots.
"Jamal (Crawford) was huge and D.J. was big on the glass. It's one game. Got to get ready for Game 2."
If there's a sense of we-have-to-win-with-this-team-now, the 29-year-old Paul has not let on to that. He scoffs at the idea. Doc Rivers has said you can't define legacies in the middle of a player's career.
Jordan is a free agent this summer, and his presence defensively and with rebounding is critical for the Clippers.
But the biggest glue is Paul. And if he feels the pressure to win and win now, he's wearing it well.
"Luckily, it's not a one-on-one game," Paul said. "It's not about my sense of urgency. I think we, as a team, have a sense of urgency. It isn't just my fourth year here with the team. It's me, Blake (Griffin), and D.J.'s (DeAndre Jordan) fourth year together.
"Our team last year went through a lot together. Right now, we're just trying to take it one day at a time and worry about each game."
One week ago, Rivers said Paul was "on a mission" and that "he wasn't going to let us lose" in a game against the Nuggets, the last regular season game at Staples Center. The Clippers won that game, then won their regular season finale at Phoenix.
In that game, Griffin and Paul had an on-court, visible argument about the way the Clippers were playing despite a big lead.
Ever the perfectionist. Ever the competitor.
Paul seems on a mission this postseason.
"I think he's intense all the time," J.J. Redick said. "He's barking and demonstrative in February. That's what makes him great. Everybody tries to do something different in the playoffs? I'm going to do the same routine and be the same person. I necessarily don't think you take it up another level. I think you build habits the whole season. When you get to the playoffs, it's relying on those habits."
And when Griffin was hunched over at midcourt, Paul guided him back to the bench, arm around him. Those who figured there were chemistry problems -- early in the year and then again late with that on-court disagreement -- are looking at a moment in time, not the season's events and highs and lows.
It's not dislike. It's respect and admiration and the desire to win and will the Clippers past the second round of the postseason.
Paul isn't think about this postseason as a possible end to an era. He's simply thinking about winning.
Doc Rivers on Redick's postseason resume: 'J.J. is built like a playoff-type player'
Asked if he thinks about winning now because he doesn't know when he'll get the chance again, Paul said: "Only when y'all ask questions like that. When they throw the ball up, trying to figure out what play we're going to run, if I'm going to attack, if I'm going to pass. Do you think about that?"
Tony Parker, who tweaked his ankle early in the game, had 10 points on 4 of 11 shots. He played 28 minutes, while Paul played 37.
Paul even picked up his third foul in the first half and played with those three fouls in the second half and wasn't whistled for another one.
"I've been playing against Chris for a long time," Parker said. "We played in a playoff series against each other before (the Spurs won in 2012), and he just does a little bit of everything. Tonight, he got it going. His outside shots were going and we tried to take away lobs and stuff like that. Chris was a little open, and he made shots."
The question is if he can help the Clippers deliver the knockout punch in this series. The Clippers play at home again on Wednesday, with a chance to head to San Antonio with a 2-0 series lead.
Paul might not label this season as one of great urgency to win with this team, but he's delivering as though that's the case.
