After missing out on what might have been his best chance at a Championship, the world is lamenting Chris Paul’s Game 7 loss. Jeremy Lin, who has played Paul up close plenty of times before, took to Twitter to express just how much he wants to see Paul earn a championship.
Dang….I really hope CP3 gets a championship before he retires. He deserves one 🏆 #legend
— Jeremy Lin (@JLin7) May 16, 2022
It was an innocent message, but Patrick Beverley took it upon himself to challenge it. In response, he posed a simple question:
What u mean deserve why does he deserves it more??
What u mean deserve why does he deserves it more?? https://t.co/Y0t0Sxbabu
— Patrick Beverley (@patbev21) May 16, 2022
On one hand, we can all appreciate Chris Paul’s career and all that he has brought to the game. As a 12x All-Star, 10x All-NBA player, and a guy many recognize as one of the very best guards in the game, CP3 is clearly dedicated to winning, and he has worked hard to win a title over the years.
This postseason, just one year after making a run to the Finals, this season was supposed to be the one that finally ends with a championship. Instead, it’s ending in failure again for Paul, with many believing that his age may have finally caught up with him:
“Chris is 37 now, he’s getting a little bit older,” argued Matt Barnes. “What troubles me is that he hasn’t even taken more than 10 shots in any of those last four games, but he is shooting 50% from the field and 54% from the 3-point line. So to me, that kind of tells me, as Pat was saying, is he tired? Are they just really wearing him down so he feels like his best move is to get his other guys involved?”
It remains to be seen how Phoenix will respond to the heart-crushing elimination. After such an unexpected ending, it seems nobody on the roster (or coaching staff) is safe from the “ax.”
And if Paul can’t win a title before the end of his career, it would be (partly) because of mistakes of his own. Does he really deserve to win if he can’t help his team close the series in the playoffs?
Some, like Beverley, would argue no.
