Is Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul getting suspended for his dirty play on Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James?
Many fans are clamoring for it.
The controversial act in question occurred with nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game. Following a missed free throw, James went up for a rebound – only to be undercut by Paul.
Video of the sequence speaks for itself:
James was able to continue on, but clearly what transpired on that play hurt his shoulder.
After the outing, Lakers head coach Frank Vogel called out Paul’s “dangerous” play.
“My view was overly aggressive box out, a dangerous play where ’Bron was in the air and got uppercut,” he said.
Paul, for his part, refused to take any responsibility for what happened.
“I don’t know anything about that,” he said after the outing.
“I have absolutely nothing to say about that. We’re just playing basketball and competing.”
Fans were less forgiving.
That was dirty by Chris Paul. He’s never going to change
— GoldenKnightⒸ (@GoldenKnightGFX) May 23, 2021
Chris Paul is a dirty cunt. Period. But he fits right in next to Jae Crowder cause they have the same dirty tricks https://t.co/iIfQJ4BF6l
— BJ Metta (@bj_metta) May 24, 2021
We were all rooting for Chris Paul to be healthy and then he does that dirty shit? Sheesh.
— Lewis Kay (@lewiskay) May 23, 2021
YALL WONDER WHY I HATE CHRIS PAUL AND CROWDER.. ALWAYS LOWKEY DIRTY
— Pepper Potts (@cocoapixi) May 23, 2021
The onus will now fall on the league to review and make a decision on Paul’s actions.
That’s one way to get over a loss. https://t.co/17jpFpu2Ej
— Game 7 (@game7__) May 23, 2021
Earlier this season, fans witnessed one player literally fracture another player’s arm and walk away unpunished. With that fresh in the memory, it’s hard to foresee a scenario where Paul gets truly penalized.
That coupled with James walking away unscathed after his own indiscretions this past week makes it feel like the NBA will simply opt out from handing down any sort of punishments whatsoever.
All that being said – Paul’s play was objectively dangerous. And if the league actually cared about discouraging risky maneuvers and promoting player safety, they’d levy some sort of punishment in this instance.
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