ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins confronts Pat Beverley over Chris Paul criticism
May 26, 2022, 7:45 PM | Updated: May 27, 2022, 11:40 am
ESPN NBA analyst and 2008 champion Kendrick Perkins joined Thursday’s edition of First Take with a lot to get off his chest directed at Minnesota Timberwolves guard Patrick Beverley.
Beverley was back on the show, as he has been multiple times since the T-wolves were eliminated in the first round. The three-time All-Defense honoree has smeared Phoenix Suns point guard Chris Paul for his performance in the second round against the Dallas Mavericks, calling him a traffic cone on defense.
Perkins confronted Beverley about contradictions in his analysis.
Beverley, while criticizing Paul, said Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden, whom Beverley played with for five seasons in Houston, deserves a super max contract this offseason. Harden has faced scrutiny for his playoff shortcomings throughout his career, including this season.
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“I watched you come on here on Monday and I watched you sit up here and I watched you dismantle CP3,” Perkins said.
Beverley responded by asking Perkins if he lied.
“You didn’t tell a lie, but you didn’t tell the truth about James Harden, your homie,” Perkins said to that.
“When you come on here, when you come on TV and now you are taking yourself out of the basketball and you are coming on here to be an NBA analyst, homies don’t matter anymore. You gotta come on here and speak the truth, and you were telling a lie.”
Perkins accused Beverley of being partial and protecting his friend, while Stephen A. Smith cheekily grinned, sat back and took a sip of his coffee. He disagreed with Beverley about Harden, as well.
The T-wolves guard responded by giving Harden’s season averages of 21 points, 10.5 assists and 7.1 rebounds per game. Perkins jumped in by saying the regular season does not matter in this scenario because Paul was a Third-Team All-NBA player as a floor general for the league’s top team before the playoffs started.
The duo continued to jaw at each other throughout the segment, making for some good TV in the process.
