In the morning after the embarrassing loss to Dallas, Chris Paul had to sit at home and watch as his name was being slandered by fans, the media, and even his own colleagues.
The worst of the criticism came from Patrick Beverley, who took to the airwaves of ESPN to spread his negative view about CP3:
“Ain’t nobody worried about Chris Paul when they play the Phoenix Suns,” said Beverley. “I’m just letting you know how NBA players feel. He’s finessed the game to a point where he gets all the petty calls, all the swipe throughs at the end. We gonna be honest? He should have fouled out. The last game too. You see the replay against Brunson, hit him on the shoulder, hit him on the mouth, ref don’t call anything. If that’s me, ‘Oh, review it. Oh, Flagrant 1.’ If that’s him, they don’t call it. So let’s not get it twisted man. He can’t guard.”
It was a shocking statement from Pat and an especially harsh critique of one of the best point guards in the game. But even amid all the hate and criticism that came his way, there were some who stood up for Paul.
On ‘NBA Today’ Monday afternoon, Matt Barnes called out Beverley for his comments, insisting that they were completely over the line:
“There’s a thin line between being critical and disrespecting,” Barnes said. “And I feel like what Pat Beverley did today to Chris Paul was completely disrespectful and out of the line. And Pat Beverley talking like he’s that guy. You’re not that guy, plain and simple. Chris Paul was playing terrible and his numbers are still better than your career numbers have ever been. I just think you have to understand, Chris is a 12x All-Star, 7x first team All-Defense, he’ll be a Hall-of-Famer. Pat Bev and I are similar type role players. They don’t talk about us when we go. They’re gonna talk about CP3 when he’s done and I just think the disrespect we saw earlier today on ESPN show needs to be checked cause that was way out of pocket.”
.@Matt_Barnes22 was not a fan of Patrick Beverley's criticism of Chris Paul:
"There's a thin line between being critical and disrespecting. And I feel like what Pat Beverley did today to Chris Paul, was completely disrespectful and out of the line." pic.twitter.com/3q2xmJLrB8
— ESPN (@espn) May 16, 2022
Beverley doesn’t have a lot of experience speaking on television. As an analyst, it seems he hasn’t yet figured out what’s okay to say and what is not.
More than that, Beverley is speaking as if he’s someone who has competed at the highest level. He has never been to the Finals, has never been voted an All-Star, and has never faced the kind of pressure CP3 does almost every game.
So, while Bev may have no problem talking trash about his competitors, he leaves himself particularly vulnerable to slander of his own — and Matt Barnes took it upon himself to seize the opportunity.
