Chris Paul Kicked Jose Alvarado in the Junk

The Phoenix Suns and New Orleans Pelicans are battling it out in one of the most intriguing series in the NBA postseason’s first round. With Devin Booker sidelined, the top-seeded Suns are vulnerable. That means they’re relying heavily on Chris Paul to carry them. On Tuesday night he pulled out all the stops, including a groin kick to a Pelicans defender.

With 4:36 left before halftime and the Suns leading 46-35, Paul drove to the free throw line while being hounded by Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado. Paul pulled up for a jumper from the left elbow and appeared to intentionally kick his right leg out, hitting Alvarado right in the junk.

Check this out:

Ouch.

It appears Paul pulled up, his leg hung there for a second, then he kicked it out. It definitely didn’t look like a natural motion and incidental contact.

I don’t want to get into judging motives here or anything, but that didn’t look good. Sort of like this action from Draymond Green back in 2016:

Same deal, not a great look for the guy doing the kicking.