New Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul had done it plenty of times before, had stepped out onto the Staples Center floor in L.A. with the dimmed lights and the sold-out crowd and went head-to-head against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.
But, this time, it felt a little different, he conceded afterward. It felt weird, unlike anything he’d ever experienced before.
“For a second there, it just didn’t feel the same,” Paul said Monday after making his Clippers preseason debut in a 114-95 win over the Lakers at the Staples Center. “It just feels like a new beginning.
“It feels like I’m a rookie again.”