The NBA Is Soft And The Patrick Beverley Situation Proves It
Maybe I was too blind to see it. Maybe I was letting my love of the game of basketball blur my vision on the matter. But it has to be said: the NBA has become soft. Charmin Soft. Insert the bears wiping their butt. This week while appearing on ESPN shows, Patrick Beverley went scorched earth on all things Chris Paul, and I loved it. Dave Portnoy even took notice, offering Beverley a blank check to pick up a podcast on Barstool. Who doesn’t love a fiery competitor who loves to talk shit?
I guess most of the NBA.
When did this league become so soft? Back in the 80s and 90s, you had guys practically tackling players while they drive to the basket and they didn’t get calls. You had players talking shit constantly and even throwing hands on the court. Now, if you so much as look at someone for more than 5 seconds you are getting a T. Nowadays, I guess you can’t even talk shit anymore either because the league frowns upon that.
One of the first people to speak out against this was Matt Barnes. Full quote via nypost.com:
“There’s a thin line between being critical and disrespecting,” said Barnes, who played 14 NBA seasons and won a championship with the Warriors in 2017. “And I feel like what Pat Beverley did today to Chris Paul, was completely disrespectful and out of the line.
“Patrick Beverley’s talking like he’s that guy. You’re not that guy. Plain and simple. Chris Paul played terrible this year & his numbers are still better than your career numbers have ever been… Pat Bev and I were similar-type role players and they don’t talk when we go. They’re going to talk about CP3 when he’s done. I just think the direct we saw today on the ESPN shows needs to be checked because he was way out of pocket… All he needed was the red clown nose because he was talking like a clown… I know no one else is gonna tell him that so I’m gonna tell him that.”
Next came Portland Trail Blazers star guard Damian Lillard. He would comment on the matter, calling Beverley’s behavior “weird” in a tweet. Beverley would go on to lump in Clippers forward Paul George, claiming George feels the same way he does.
“Bra on TV acting like his word law,” Lillard wrote. “Speaking on private convos and praying on mfs downfall. This weird behavior smh … I ain’t got a horse in the race.”
Then comes Isaiah Thomas. Thomas finished the year last year with the Hornets. He wrote on Twitter “Year, that was corny.”
Naturally, ESPN had Patrick Beverley back on shows the next day and gave him a chance to reply to comments being made.
“But Matt Barnes was also an NBA player also, so for him to make comments supporting his opinion about Chris Paul, I respect, I totally do. But you go up there and tell your NBA brother, you go up there and tell the whole world that [James Harden] doesn’t deserve his money when you were just in the NBA, I don’t know eight, nine, 10 years ago,” Beverley said.
“What if someone said that to you? You’d be ready to fight. But now since you’re not in the league no more, it’s OK for you to talk about this man not getting the money that he’s worked his entire life to deserve? Like, I don’t understand it. Like, who raised you guys? Like, how come you’re able to speak about somebody getting cooked, but then when it’s your NBA brother, the same league that you played in, the same way that you take care of your family, all of a sudden he doesn’t deserve this? Like, no one did that to you. I just don’t understand it.”
What happened? When did this league become so unwatchable? All these guys are so worried about everyone else’s feelings and don’t want to say anything bad about anyone. I want the old NBA back. I want guys badmouthing each other every chance they get. I want hard fouls, establish the paint belongs to you. These guys are mad that Beverley is a throwback kind of player and he’s an outlier in the league. Let’s be honest, though. We will never see that again. This is the future of the NBA and as a fan, I have to admit I am concerned.
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