
The court is his beat. STAPLES Center itself is under his watchful eye. Nary a pass nor dribble can be made without him dutifully serving and protecting. The crowd marches to his tune. The teams react to his every move. For Patrick Beverley, Wednesday night was just like any other night for the NBA’s most prideful player.
Behind Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 38 points, 16 rebounds, nine assists, two steals and two blocks, the Milwaukee Bucks managed to hold off the Los Angeles Clippers, 129–124. The Clippers, it should be mentioned, were without Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, two of the sport’s very best. Yet the team never wavered, never gave in, and fought until the last second.
Montrezl Harrell finished with a career-high 34 points, as well as 13 rebounds and five assists. Lou Williams started and, while he shot poorly, ended the night with 34 points, 11 assists and six rebounds. Landry Shamet reacquired his shooting form, knocking down four threes in the fourth quarter. But Beverley’s contributions might have been felt the most.
The veteran guard finished with 20 points on just nine field goal attempts. He also chipped in with 10 rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. Beverley, who came into the night just 4-of-31 from beyond the arc, hit three of his four long-range attempts. The little things always matter with Beverley, and all those little things added up to help keep the Clippers in the game.
As noted above, Beverley knocked down three three-point shots in this game. This is the last of those three, and it begins with him standing in the far corner as Lou Williams handles the ball. There are a couple of screens ran here with Montrezl Harrell and Patrick Patterson acting as screeners before then slipping them. The ball then hits Harrell at the top of the arc.
Beverley and Landry Shamet move in unison, both shifting to start their cutting action at the same exact time. As Shamet moves inside, Beverley shifts up the wing. Shamet then sets a very nice screen for Beverley that completely washes Khris Middleton out of the play. On top of that, Wesley Matthews doesn’t even bother to switch. The result is a wide open look for Beverley.
He has time to line it up. He does so. Then he fires. Nothing but net. Clippers end up cutting the deficit in half. Beverley has struggled with his shot all season, so maybe this is the start of him finally getting things going like they were over the final few months of last season. This is a positive sign.
Everyone knows that Beverley’s main calling card is his defense, and on several occasions on Wednesday night he made that quite apparent. None more so than this sequence right here. Giannis Antetokounmpo is dribbling the ball aggressively into the front court. He has the Clippers’ undivided attention.
As Antetokounmpo speeds across the time line, Eric Bledsoe is flanking him to his left. Brook Lopez and Wesley Matthews are the trailing players. In the near corner is where Khris Middleton is stationed should Antetokounmpo need to unload the ball, and that’s exactly what’s about to happen. The Clippers have formed a wall at the free throw line to deter a drive by the reigning MVP. It’s a solid strategy, except that Middleton is wide open.
If you look in the paint as Antetokounmpo goes to pass, you can see Beverley. His man is Middleton in the corner, but he has to play the role of rim protector against the hard-charging Greek Freak. The second Antetokounmpo commits to the pass, Beverley bolts to the corner. Rather than jump on the closeout, though, Beverley stays grounded and comes to a stop. Middleton goes to shoot. Beverley reads it perfectly and finally contests. He gets a fingernail on the shot and is credited with a block.
This is a crucial part of the game. Sure, the Clippers go on to lose regardless of the result of this play, but the sheer effort and determination of Beverley is admirable. He sets up shop in the paint to help on Antetokounmpo before then sprinting into a hard closeout where he then gets a block on the shot against a quality shooter. There’s nothing he won’t do to help a team win.
Some players think muck is their ally. They merely adopted it, whereas Patrick Beverley was born into it, molded by it. Mucky plays in basketball define a lot. The fifty-fifty balls or sloppy play that can determine who wants it more. But no one has ever wanted it more than Beverley. That’s especially true on this play.
It begins so innocently. Brook Lopez grabs a tough rebound in a three-point game nearly midway through the third quarter. Not too much to discern from that. Patrick Patterson tries to make his life tough right after the rebound by impeding him with pressure, but Lopez still has an outlet to Khris Middleton. The pass comes and Middleton tries to corral it. That’s when the muck starts.
Middleton can’t handle the pass and it’s loose on the floor. Middleton quickly tries to get down and get it, but he’s met by someone already there; someone already waiting. It’s, of course, Patrick Beverley. With one swipe of the left hand, Beverley pokes it away and then picks it up over Middleton’s sprawling body.
Never to be one to have that be the end of the hustle, Beverley races back to his feet and kicks it ahead to Lou Williams in the corner for the three. Brook Lopez does his best to close the distance, but it doesn’t matter. It’s in. The game is tied. Patrick Beverley has another one of his “muck moments.”
Life can be as simple as you want it to be. It can also be as hectic as you make it. Patrick Beverley survives somewhere in that middle ground between simple and hectic; the chaotic calmness, so to speak. And, in a way, it’s what has turned him into a cult hero for the Los Angeles Clippers and their fans.
Down by seven points with ten minutes to go, the ball is inbounded to Beverley at the left wing. As Williams clears out right underneath him, Beverley begins his drive. Donte DiVincenzo tries his best to wall off the drive, but it’s futile. As Beverley turns the corner on the drive, he knows he has what he wants.
Beverley gets into the paint and feels the contact. This empowers him to lean even more into it to get the foul call in his favor. The shot attempt goes up, the whistle sounds, and the ball goes through the hoop. With it, the deficit is cut down to four points after the made free throw. It’s the little things-the little subtleties that can be exploited, and Beverley knows just how to do it.
Hustle can’t be taught. Doing all the dirty work can’t be taught. Some players have that wired in. Beverley is one of those guys. The 31-year old has never endured a losing season in his career-not in college, not in Ukraine, not in Greece, not in Russia, and not in the NBA. Winning is all he knows. Losing isn’t something he enjoys.
Patrick Beverley is someone the entire fanbase of the Los Angeles Clippers rallies around and supports. The reason why is not hard to find. Beverley embodies what it means to be a Clipper-an overlooked, tough, hard-working person who has never given up. Nothing given, everything earned. That’s Beverley to his core. That’s who Clippers fans are to their core.
So while the Milwaukee Bucks certainly walked out of STAPLES Center with a victory on Wednesday evening, it was Beverley who once again reminded everyone of his immense value to a team that has two superstar difference makers waiting in the wings. It’s his team. Everyone else is just along for the ride. And what a damn ride it’s going to be.