Utah Jazz: Williams vs. Paul nothing personal

A day before the Utah Jazz were to host Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets and another chapter of the "Which Player Is Better?" book was to be written about an engaging star-powered NBA rivalry, Deron Williams tried to settle the debate once and for all.

Which player is better, you wonder?

Depends, of course, on whom you ask.

"Ronnie Price thinks Pistol Pete (Maravich) is better than Larry Bird," Williams said. "No way in hell is he better than Larry Bird, Larry the Legend. He was good, don't get me wrong, a former Jazzman, but (not better)."

There ya go. Glad that's finally settled. Sorry, Magic.

Oh, yeah ... and that other little rivalry? No, not the John Stockton vs. Isiah Thomas and/or Magic Johnson best pure point guard one. Rather, the one that used to be a hot topic, even this fall, before it was set on the backburner while Paul tore up the league and Williams quietly dealt with his severely sprained left ankle — yeah, that one.

Williams jokingly answered "Both teams played hard" a couple of times when that subject and tonight's Jazz-Hornets game was broached by reporters at practice Tuesday.

Williams continued his comedy routine when asked if he was offended by ESPN columnist Bill Simmons' much-ballyhooed statement early last fall about how purporting the Team USA teammates to be co-equals was as silly as comparing Pearl Jam and the Stone Temple Pilots.

His response was a smile and a claim that he didn't know the meaning of the comparison because he isn't familiar with those rock groups.

"I don't listen to either of them," Williams said with a slight grin. "Are they like neck and neck or are they here and there? So, basically what's that mean?"

When told it means Simmons (aka "The Sports Guy") considers Paul to be Pearl Jam and far superior — on the court, and probably in concert — Williams/Stone Temple Pilots didn't act too offended.

"Everybody's entitled to an opinion," he said. "That's OK. It doesn't bother me."

Kyle Korver also found no offense at Simmons' comparison.

"I'm a big fan of Stone Temple Pilots," he said. "There's nothing wrong with that."

Williams is clearly more bothered by questions about whether or not he gets more pumped to play his friend and rival.

"You ask me that every time," he said, "and every time I tell you 'No, it's just another game."'

Usually just another win for the Jazz, too.

While their stats don't bode as well for the Williams camp, one that does is the fact that the Jazz point guard is 8-2 in NBA matchups with his eternally linked rival.

Keeping that trend up will be a tough task, though. The Hornets took a 20-10 record into their game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night, thanks in large part to Paul, who was averaging 20.1 points on 50-percent shooting with 11.5 assists, 5.4 rebounds and 2.9 steals.

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