Chris Paul again rises to the occasion for Clippers The theme all season long has been "Rise," as in lob the ball high in the air and watch Blake Griffin slam it home. As in rise behind Chris Paul and lift a franchise. Only the team jumped the gun a little and passed out red T-shirts for Game 4 that read, "Risen." It's Monday afternoon, a few hours before Game 4 for the Clippers and I'm on the telephone with C.J. Paul. Anyone who goes by their initials has to be a good guy. C.J. is Chris Paul's big brother by two years, his business manager and his best friend. "I think my parents sleep better at night because they know we're always together," C.J. says. I'm asking C.J. what it is like to sit in Staples Center and watch his kid brother decide the Clippers' fate, and he says he's not sitting. "I'm on my feet yelling all the time," he says, "and going crazy." Were you the guy standing in the front row Saturday who wouldn't sit down no matter how loudly I yelled for you to sit down? I ask. "That would be me," C.J. says, and really, how does anyone watch Chris Paul play and not jump to their feet? Yeah, Kobe Bryant is just the greatest and has been forever. And this is a Lakers' town, so Chris Paul will probably be a grandfather before there is any chance of the Clippers being mentioned in the same sentence as the Lakers. But how do you not root for the runt of the litter going Mighty Mouse on everyone to win the day? The other night he's roaring mad at Memphis' Marc Gasol, who is a foot taller and built like a bulldozer. Paul is so upset and competitive he yanked teammate Nick Young off the free-throw line so he could stand beside Gasol. Later he goes to the Clippers' bench and the Memphis fans are yelling, "Sit down, you little leprechaun." "Does that mean I'm lucky?" he says later with a grin. "No, it means you're a shrimp," I tell him. "I stand tall in my family," he fires back. More than that, he plays so much bigger than everyone else in a game that features giants.