What is with this crap about Paul not being able

[Admin]

to defend? What is the qualification for being able to defend? Can he hold his own in the post if a bigger PG backs him down? Probably not, but thats where team defense comes into play. How many times do we see big PGs back Lue down? Not very often and Lue isnt much bigger than Paul. Paul has exceptionally quick hands and plays the passing lanes very well. I would say he is on the level of JT when he was in college when it comes to defense. For those that forgot JT used to be a very good defender, until he decided to not care about it. If Paul has the desire to become a solid defender in the NBA he has all the talent required. Honestly I think that the problem is that with many of you guys being Tech and UNC fans you are biased against Paul. Being a Syracuse fan I have absolutely no bias towards anyone in the ACC and from my perspective Paul is hands down the top PG in the country.

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1. Chris paul, Wake Forest

The line: 6-1, 170, sophomore

The skinny: paul is a consensus top-three pick in the draft. Scouts believe he is the best point-guard prospect since Jason Kidd. Not just some of them. Everyone Insider talked to. It's easy to understand why scouts absolutely love him. He is T.J. Ford with a jumper. He's lightning quick, has unbelievable court vision, is a superb decision-maker and shoots the lights out from the field and the 3-point line. He pushes the ball relentlessly on offense and already is one of the best penetrators in the game.

His defense is also top-notch.

Teams wish paul was stronger, but given his age they believe that will come. paul continues to claim that he's returning to Wake for his junior season regardless of what the draft buzz is surrounding him. However, if his hometown Bobcats get the first pick in the draft and let him know he's their choice, he might have a tough time saying no. - ESPN Insider

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...also solid on the defensive end, earning ACC All-Defensive Team honors last season as a freshman - 2004

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Paul was named on 76 of the 121 ballots after averaging an ACC-best 2.4 steals while the Demon Deacons finished a game behind the league champ Tar Heels. - 2005

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Defensively, his greatest skill is his ability to anticipate. Similar to Allen Iverson, Paul plays the passing lanes with an intuitive skill, using his reflexes to deflect and steal any lazy pass that crosses his way. In addition to that, his speed and lateral quickness also makes him a solid on the ball defender. He keeps his hands low and ready to pick off passes, which often ignites the Wake Forest offense. - DraftCity

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[mrhonline]

Walt did a statistical study of how many more ppg opposing PG's averaged vs. Paul compared with their season average. The result was some 8 ppg...

To me, it's the same ol' argument - steals don't necessarily mean someone is a good defender.

For me, it's hard to tell about Paul's defense b/c of how up-and-down Wake Forest can be at times. Either way, it's certainly not likely to improve on the NBA level b/c of his lack of height.

[Diesel]

You guys will follow Walt's ill-draft logic.

he's the guy that said for 3 months how bad Chillz was... Now, he's changing his story...

He's campaigning for Bogut and against Paul... (why do you have to attack Paul in order to make Bogut look good).

Listen. Paul is not a media made guy. He will go into the NBA and will become an allstar.

He's got most of you realGM Hawks fans believing that Paul will come in the league too short (just like he had most of you saying that Chillz was too skinny).

Watch the future.

[mrhonline]

I don't need to defend Walt, he's more than capable of defending himself.

But, unlike you, he's also willing to admit he's wrong once in a while (e.g., Childress). And if you read much at RealGM before the season began, I was one of the main people arguing vs. Walt's statements about Childress...

Second, Paul IS too short and Childress IS too skinny. Are you arguing otherwise?

I think most of us agree that Childress needs to bulk up & improve his outside shot. Not much to argue with there.

Paul, by contrast, isn't going to magically grow three inches.

[DominiqueWilkins]

Everyday you come up with something that is just off the wall. It seems you come across as if you are just playing a video game or playing fantasy basketball with the Hawks team. You flip flop back and fourth all the time.

Do you have someone in your household who uses your name on Hawksquawk, because it seems like at times.

[Nicholasp27]

i fought walt against chill cause i knew chill would be good and walt was being biased

i was with him on dumping dawg

now i'm with him on paul's defense...paul may be good, but i would just rather risk our pick on deron or felton than paul due to his size and those stats on pts against...