05/06/2008 - 14:53
Confidence, Focus and Birthdays
by Tyson Chandler

I'm very confident in my team and what we can accomplish right now. I think our focus right now is at an all-time high, and I think that's why we're seeing success on the court. During the season, we had a stretch where we had breakdowns and mishaps, but you really don't see that right now in the playoffs.

I think we understand who we're up against. We're up against the champs and in order to beat the champs, you gotta knock 'em out. It's like in boxing: In order to be the champs, you gotta beat the champs. That's what we're trying to do.

You'd be smiling, too, if your team was up 2-0 on the San Antonio Spurs and +35 with you on the floor in Game 2 (Getty Images).

NOT YOUR NORMAL LOCKER ROOM
It's funny. Our locker room has been consistent throughout the year. To be honest with you, even in the playoffs, we're excited after every win, but it's the same exact atmosphere as it was after a win during the regular season.

The characters in our locker room are a little different. There's a lot of practical jokes and pranks. There's more joking about a mistake or something funny that someone did during the game than there is cheering about the win. Like last night, we were giving Mo a hard time because when he got a steal, he was dribbling with his left hand and dribbled the ball over his head and like, threw it up. Luckily, he got fouled, but guys were imitating him after. It's just a lot of fun in the locker room.

I think that's our way and our team makeup. Every team can't do that. It's the way our team keeps ourselves grounded, and it kinda takes your mind off of everything. We do it before the games, just goofing around. I think that's the way we don't allow the pressure, the hype and all that to get to us. Because if you're that loose, joking around and dancing, and you're talking about people and going back and forth, you're not necessarily thinking about, "Oh man, there's 20,000 people out there ... the crowd and the media and this and that."

It's just us out there. We communicate with only each other. We're laughing with only each other. We're really all we got.

And the coaches may be worse than us. We always hear them busting up laughing in the coaches' locker room. The funny thing is, when they come out and we're still laughing and joking, Coach Scott always wants to be let in on the joke. He's always like, "What y'all talking about? What y'all laughing about?" We let him in and he's busting up laughing. He might throw his two cents in there and the coaches start going at each other.

I think he's seen from the beginning of the year that this is the makeup of this team, and that we take care of business on the court. But I think he understands it like, "OK, this is the way they stay loose, so I'm gonna let 'em be."

NO DAYDREAMING. STAY FOCUSED.
Whenever I start thinking ahead ... thinking Western Conference Finals, thinking celebrations, thinking championship, thinking maybes and thinking potential matchups, I always slap myself and go, "Hey, that's no good if you can't win the next game because you lost focus."

The only time I allowed myself to go ahead was before the playoffs started, when we had a meeting. Coach said he did it back in his era. The Lakers used to do it and he did it in New Jersey when they went to the Finals. They got together before the playoffs started, the wives and the players, and they just had a dinner.

We had our dinner and Coach made everybody stand up and talk about playoffs and just whatever they wanted to say. And at that moment, it became very serious to me how passionately guys want to win a ring. You know, you got guys at the end of their career, and they're like "This may be my last run" or "I only have a few left" or "This may be my best chance."

There were guys like Bonzi that really touched me. He stood up, addressed me, David and CP, and was like, "I want a ring." He was like, "You guys can take me there. This may be my last chance and I want some hardware. It lies on your shoulders and I just want y'all to go out there, play hard and just give us that opportunity to be there, to have a chance. I'm gonna do my part. We're all gonna do our part, but you guys take it up to another level. For a lot of us, this is our last chance."

And it really hit me, because I'm gonna be in that situation one day, where I'm coming to the end of my career. And I'm gonna need some young guys to help me win, and I hope they step up to the challenge like we're playing for them right now.

ALL ABOUT GAME 3
I really think we learned our lesson in Dallas about what it's gonna be like in that third game, and how it's gonna be the toughest. I know we understand that we're up against the champs and they're gonna come with it. They're gonna have their crowd, they're gonna be energized and all of a sudden, they're gonna have more energy than before and they're gonna be faster than before. They're gonna be more focused and they're gonna knock down shots.

We have to withstand that first punch. They're gonna try to jump on us in that first quarter. We have to match their energy and take that blow. And if we take that blow, we're gonna be alright.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CP AND SACHA MARIE
Today's CP's birthday and my daughter's birthday.

We gave CP a surprise dinner the day after Game 1. We went out to dinner and celebrated. And today, I'm actually gonna take my daughter to the zoo and CP's coming over too. So, it's gonna be a combination of birthdays and it may be the first time ever that CP has his birthday at the zoo with a two-year old. There will be two candles and he can share the birthday song with my daughter. Ha ha.

My wife and I were looking back and we can't believe she's two already. The funny thing is that when she was born, it was the day after we had just lost to the Miami Heat in the First Round. I flew home that night and we got home really late from Miami to Chicago. And my wife was having back labor in the middle of the night, so she was saying, "I can't take it. We need to go to the doctor."

She came in the room at like 5:30 in the morning. And I'm knocked out. I just finished up the series. The season is so long and once it's over, it hits you. When you're playing, you gut it out, but as soon as it's over, all of your aches and pains hit you.

So, I'm lying in bed asleep and she had been in another room with her mom helping her through the back labor, but she hadn't yet had contractions close enough to go. So, she comes in at 5:30 and is like, "C'mon babe. I can't take it anymore. It's time to go." And I'm like "Just try to go back to sleep."

She's like, "GET YOUR *** UP!" She starts screaming and I'm like, "OK, it's time to go! Let's get the bags!" I was knocked out and she's still mad at me to this day. She's like, "I can't believe you told me to go back to sleep. I was about to have your child."

I was so tired, and then I just hopped up and starting grabbing stuff. I didn't know what was going on. And then she didn't have the baby until 10:30 at night.

MY CONTRIBUTION TO CHRIS PAUL BLOG DAY
I just love how genuine CP is. It's just a combination of things over the last two years that make me really care for the dude like a brother.

Here's a story for you: My wife always teases him about "CP3". She doesn't call him Chris. She's like, "Hey CP3!" Just messing with him and giving him a hard time.

So, one time my wife was sick on the road, and he brought her a little note like "I hope you feel better, blah blah blah. Love, CP3"

It's just little things like that where he takes the time out. He could be a little arrogant prima donna, but he's not in any kind of way. For example: He's going to the zoo with my daughter today, on his birthday. How many NBA All-Stars live like that?

It's like, "So what? I'm not CP3. I'm Chris Paul, son of Charles Paul." And I love that about him.

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