J.J. Barea dislikes only one NBA player

What’s beef?

Well, first, it’s NBA “beef” so don’t expect a caged mixed martial arts match. This feels more like Steve Austin slamming WWE chairman and CEO Vince MacMahon stone cold into a well-cushioned mat.

Either way, recently named All-Star reserve John Wall wasn’t thrilled about the Wizards’ 98-75 loss in Dallas. The guard finished with 11 points, 5 assists and 4 turnovers. But a brief dust-up with Mavs guard J.J. Barea ultimately developed into strong comments expressed after the game.

Here's a look back at what happened between John Wall and J.J. Barea in the second half of #WizMavs: pic.twitter.com/F4SHQinBad

— NBC Sports Wizards (@NBCSWizards) January 23, 2018

With a double-digit fourth quarter lead, it initially appeared as if Barea was jokingly reacting to a comment from Wall after earning an offensive foul. After a brief interrogation the typical NBA ‘war of words’ began until Barea was also assessed a technical foul.

John Wall called JJ Barea “just a little midget trying to get mad.” Barea responds by saying he finally has someone in the NBA he doesn’t like. “I don’t think his teammates like him, either.”

— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) January 23, 2018

“[Wall] was trying to be a tough guy but he’s not,” Barea told the Dallas Morning News following the win. “He wasn’t like that before, a couple years ago. He probably changed.

“So now I have somebody in the NBA that I don’t like. It’s my first. I don’t like him at all now. But I don’t think his teammates like him, either. So it’s nothing new for him.”

Shots fired.

Of course, Wall offered his own perspective on the exchange.

John Wall on the little dust-up between himself and J.J. Barea in the fourth quarter:

“It was cool to me, it was funny. Just a little midget trying to get mad. So, I paid him no mind.”

— Candace Buckner (@CandaceDBuckner) January 23, 2018

Maybe if Wall were a little mad, a little closer to tip-off, the Wizards wouldn’t have lost by 23 points to a team chasing its 17th win tonight against the Houston Rockets.