Patrick Beverley certainly wasted no time jumping on the wagon slandering Chris Paul after Phoenix’s 7 loss to Dallas. Pat Bev made a very early appearance on ESPN, hurling one shot after another at longtime rival CP3. These days, it seems like we hear the phrase “keep it real” all too often, but Beverley did just that. He didn’t hold back when it came to breaking Paul.
As we all know, Beverley never loses his word, whether he’s on the field, on Twitter or on television. Beverley joins ESPN’s Stand up with Mike Greenberg, Stephen A. Smith and JJ Reddick on Monday morning and deliver his analysis of what we witnessed the night before. Pat Bev claimed Paul was supposed to be benched in a clip because the Sun wasn’t getting anything from him.
It’s hard to refute Beverley’s point of view because Paul was passive the whole game. He managed to hit eight shots in game 7 and seven in game 6. Although Paul isn’t known as a dominant scorer, he’s known for warming up and taking over when necessary. We have seen that side of Paul last year in the knockout round many times. It looked like Paul was out of stock after his second game against the Mavs, as he turned 37 that same day. May 6th has come and gone and taken away Chris’ game in the process.
Being a talking head was the perfect fit for Beverley after his NBA career ended. He has been exactly that during his entire stint in the league. Although Beverley is known for his solid defense, often picking up the ball all the way, Pat Bev’s most valuable asset is his mouth. He is endowed with the ability to coordinate and is not afraid to let his voice ring in the ears of his opponents.
The 94-foot tall man even claimed that no one in the NBA broke a sweat in the face of Paul, leading up to the game against the Suns. I’m not sure how true that is because Paul is so well respected throughout the league. This time a year ago, Paul’s name had entered the conversation of the greatest point defenders of all time with the likes of Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas and Stephen Curry. A year later, he’s trashed on national television by a cruise lineman who won’t even receive an invitation to visit the Hall of Fame when he’s finished playing.
We have to realize this rivalry between Beverley and Paul goes back many years, even before the NBA. Beverley is a guest on Reddick’s podcast, The Old Man & the Threeduring the regular season, and he explained how beef starts from his point of view.
“You know Chris, so people don’t understand. Me and Chris, what we’ve been through since high school,” Beverley said. “A lot of people don’t understand the plot, but me and Chris, we definitely understand the plot. I was invited to the LeBron James camp, the big Nike LeBron James camp, when we were in college… Chris Paul was there. I kill him. Destroyed him… Then I saw him in the NBA, so of course, that energy goes to the NBA. “
So this is not a grudge that has arisen over the past few years. Knowing all this, it’s no surprise that Beverley pushed Paul in the back in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals after last season. Not that he was right to do it, but I get it. Paul is not a clean person, and Beverly wants to make sure everyone understands this. CP3 has had more than one incident that put his sportsmanship into question. And they often revolve around targeting opposing players below the waist.
Pat even used one of Paul’s summoning cards during his rant, lowering CP3’s defense. Paul was one of nine All-Defense picks. So, who’s to say if this is just talkative rivalry or if Pat Bev really believes this? In the past, Beverly has had defensive powers of her own, most notably by Russell Westbrook a few years ago when he said Stupid Beverley people and doesn’t really protect anyone. So while Beverley is certainly interesting with what he has to say, I’m not so sure about that last part. But after Paul’s last 5 games, it was difficult to convince Beverley.
