Chris Paul may have gotten away with one. With 4:32 remaining in the first half of Wednesday’s Game 5 between the Suns and Pelicans, Paul, while attempting a pull-up jumper, delivered a kick right to Jose Alvarado’s you-know-where.
Alvarado has hounded Paul all series, pestering him up and down the court like a fly that won’t go away. That tactic has largely worked, harassing Paul to his breaking point. The veteran guard has lost his cool on multiple occasions, resorting to shoving, elbowing and even swatting Alvarado across the face on a layup attempt in Game 4.
Had Paul been caught in the act (somehow the foul eluded Wednesday’s officiating crew led by David Guthrie), he surely would have played the kick off as incidental contact, though his explanation wouldn’t have passed the sniff test given the animosity he’s shared with Alvarado throughout the series. Warriors forward Draymond Green, whose rugged stylings have made him a frequent target of referees, weighed in on social media, opining that if he had pulled a stunt like that, Guthrie would have thrown him out in a heartbeat.
Green is speaking from experience. You may recall Green did something similar to LeBron James during the 2016 NBA Finals and paid a hefty price for it, serving a one-game suspension that, in all likelihood, cost his team the series. Losing Paul to suspension would be catastrophic for the Suns, who lost their top scorer, Devin Booker, to a hamstring injury in Game 2.
Led by 22 points from Paul (he also dished out 11 assists to go with three steals), top-seeded Phoenix defended its home court Wednesday, taking back the series lead with a decisive Game 5 victory. The reigning Western Conference champs can advance to a second-round matchup with either Dallas or Utah (the Mavs lead the Jazz three games to two) with a win in New Orleans Thursday night.
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