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Patrick Beverley, one of the NBA's best defensive point guards, blasted the defensive ability of nine-time All-Defensive team selection Chris Paul on Monday.
Paul drew criticism after a stunningly poor performance against the Dallas Mavericks in a 123-90 loss in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals.
The loudest jab came from Beverley, a fellow point guard, who criticized several parts of Paul's game.
During his appearance on ESPN's "Get Up!," the Minnesota Timberwolves guard said exactly how he felt about Paul's defense:
"CP can’t guard anybody, man. Everybody in the NBA know that. You know those cones in the summer that you dribble around? What does the cone do? Nothing. He’s a cone. ... "It’s just that y’all don't want to accept that. Give him the Ben Simmons slander."
Ben Simmons has received plenty of criticism from Stephen A. Smith, and Beverley wants the analyst to provide the same level of scrutiny for Paul.
Paul was below average in defense in the playoffs, especially over the last few games. His performance was worse than Beverley's showing during his one playoff series.
While the issue with how poorly Paul performed to end his playoff appearance, there may have been a reason Paul regressed over the last few games.
Patrick Beverley's criticism of nine-time All-Defensive selection Chris Paul is hard to justify
While Patrick Beverley is one of the NBA's top defensive point guards, his criticism of Chris Paul does not fit other analysts' data or opinions. Beverly is a three-time All-Defensive team selection in 10 seasons.
Beverley is unlikely to be held in the regard of a surefire future Hall of Famer like Chris Paul.
Paul is one of the NBA's top defensive guards today as well, according to several metrics. His collapse against the Dallas Mavericks in their Western Conference semifinals series may have been due to something other than his defensive ability. NBA insider Marc J. Spears reported that Paul had a quad injury on Sunday.
If the injury is the reason for Paul's performance, then Beverly's criticism looks even worse. Paul is one of the best defensive guards of this era, and his injuries seem to be the only thing limiting the Hall of Famer.
Poll : Is Patrick Beverly wrong for his take on Chris Paul?
Yes
No
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