Thursday, December 18, 2008

Nobody is immune to getting yelled at

Love Ian Thomsen's story on SI.com about how Hornets teammates Chris Paul and David West hold each other accountable -- even during a game.

The article describes how Paul "drove to the basket and made a shot as he was fouled. To the surprise of fellow All-Star David West, however, Paul couldn't complete the three-point play."

West let him know that missing free throws wasn't acceptable.

"I jumped his ass," said West. "But you expect during the course of a game, when you need every basket, you just expect guys to make shots. I barked at him."

To outsiders, the exchanges between Paul and West appear to be contentious. That's not the case, according to their coach, Byron Scott:

"A normal fan would say these guys don't get along. But they get along extremely well, because they both want the same thing. They both want to win. Nobody is immune to getting yelled at. The great thing about it, to be honest with you, is they police each other so much that it makes my job easier. I very rarely have to pull those guys out and start yelling at the team and things like that."