NBA journeyman Patrick Beverley put point guard Chris Paul on full furnace blast the morning after Paul’s Phoenix Suns suffered a crushing and humiliating defeat to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday, May 15, 2022.
Beverley, nicknamed “Pat Bev,” excoriated Paul on the heels of his Suns’ historic Game 7 collapse in the Western Conference semifinals, 123-90, after finishing the regular season as the No. 1 seed and the favorites to win the NBA championship.
The loss made Paul, aka “CP3,” vulnerable to scathing rebukes by fans and pundits alike because Paul has the most playoff series losses – five – of any player in NBA history after going up two games to zero. No other player has such a series defeats. Beverly, who has feuded with Paul for years, pounced on the opportunity to flame Paul on back-to-back ESPN morning sports shows, “Get Up” and “First Take.”
“Ain’t nobody worried about Chris Paul when you play the Phoenix Suns, nobody in the NBA. I’m just letting you know how the NBA players feel. He’s finessed the game to the point where he gets all of the petty calls, all the swipe-throughs at the end,” Beverley said of Paul on “Get Up.”
“I mean, [are] we going to be honest? You want me to be really honest? He should’ve fouled out. He should’ve fouled out the last game too. You see the replay against [Jalen Brunson], he hit him on the shoulder, hit him on the mouth, refs don’t call anything … He should’ve fouled out, he can’t guard. He literally can’t guard.”
Later, on “First Take,” Beverley took more gratuitous shots at Paul:
"CP can’t guard nobody man. Everybody in the NBA knows that. He’s a cone…Give him the Ben Simmons slander."
Pat Bev had A LOT to say about the Suns' loss and Chris Paul this morning 👀
➡️ https://t.co/3fsN932X0x pic.twitter.com/C5fVlkIrab
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) May 16, 2022
Pat Bev just now on ESPN:
"Do i go to bed at 10 pm the night before playing Chris Paul? .. Hell no.
But if i'm playing Steph Curry tomorrow, i'm going to bed at 8 o'clock. Telling my girl not to call me!"
— sam samolians (@SamoliansSam) May 16, 2022
Several of Paul’s NBA contemporaries were outraged that a career bench player like Beverley would take cheap shots at Paul who’s an 11-time All-Star and is certain to go into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot. Portland Trailblazers’ point guard Damian Lillard was one of the first to defend Paul and lambast Beverley:
Bra on TV acting like his word law. Speaking on private convos and praying on mfs downfall. This weird behavior smh 🤷🏽♂️ … I ain’t got a horse in the race https://t.co/F6Cln8BBst
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) May 16, 2022
During ESPN’s afternoon show, “NBA Today,” former NBA player Matt Barnes blistered Beverley for being a role player who took unsolicited shots at an NBA icon like Paul:
Matt Barnes for TV MVP:pic.twitter.com/w3H7Mn6ZP1
— 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧' 𝐍𝐁𝐀 (@_Talkin_NBA) May 16, 2022
Listen to Beverley’s scorching assessment of Paul in full on both ESPN morning shows, “Get Up” and “First Take.”
