The playoffs are getting real, and with all the pressure mounting on teams to win, the physicality has been a leading story through most semifinal games.
However, in the Phoenix Suns’ Game 4 road loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday, the tension mounted in the stands, with the recipients of the enmity being none other than the family of star point guard Chris Paul.
A Dallas Mavericks fan reportedly harassed and physically pushed Paul’s family during the game. Once the fan crossed the line of civility, the Mavericks kicked the accused attendee out of the game.
You can read Chris Paul's lips here, clear as day, saying "he put his hands on my mom, he put his hands on my mom."
Paul tweeted just a few minutes ago, taking issue with Dallas fans putting their hands on his family. pic.twitter.com/9DA0ZPqAEA
— Mike Leslie (@MikeLeslieWFAA) May 9, 2022
Coming For The Paul Family
“The Dallas Mavericks are aware of an incident between a fan and the family of Chris Paul,” the team said in a statement. “It was unacceptable behavior and will not be tolerated. The Mavericks, along with American Airlines Center, swiftly removed the fan from today’s game.”
Paul, beleaguered by foul trouble for the entirety of the game, picked up his fourth foul close to halftime and eventually his fifth with only 9:32 left in the third quarter.
After receiving his sixth foul, with only nine minutes left in the fourth quarter, Paul engaged security on the sidelines, motioning towards his family after fouling out. You could make out him saying, “he put his hands on my mom.”
VC: @DallasTexasTV pic.twitter.com/ApaH59JWQq
— Brayan🛸 (@brayyroq) May 9, 2022
An Escalating Problem
The negative interactions between players and fans during road games for opposing teams have escalated recently. Although rivalries abound throughout the league as new stars are born and competitiveness flares, the interactions have become more personal and even physical.
During the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets first-round series, the commentary was as much around Kyrie Irving’s battle with the fans as the once anointed championship-bound team was swept. After being berated throughout games 1 and 2 at the TD Garden Arena in Beantown, Irving flipped fans the bird.
The league eventually fined Irving $50,000 for “making obscene gestures” and “directing profane language” toward the Boston fans.
The Reggie Miller Effect
Fast-forward to the Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green, who has become the new equivalent of how the Indiana Pacers’ Reggie Miller was to the New York Knicks in the series against the Memphis Grizzlies.
A rough-and-tumble series that began with the first two games in Memphis saw Green receive all the hate from the crowd, even through injuries that sent him back to the locker room with a bloodied eye in Game 2.
Green took an elbow to the eye from Xavier Tillman, and after hearing the boos of the crowd, he delivered two middle fingers on his way off the court.
The league fined Green $25,000 for the incident.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQbWzXbyhMc
Making It Personal
“You gonna boo someone who was elbowed in the eye and face is running with blood, you should get flipped off,” Green said during the postgame press conference.
The boundary between entertainment and professionalism has been erased from Kevin Durant coming for random Twitter trolls that criticize his play and hairline to LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony having fans ejected for sideline disrespect.
The NBA fan base is increasingly making the game too personal.
