Patrick Beverley is one of the of more capable on-ball defenders in the Association. He’s got James Harden sharing the backcourt with him, or the husk of Ty Lawson, and that provides him ample time and energy to thwart the cavalcade of All-Star-caliber guards the Rockets face in the West. So it’s with great horror that we saw him get so thoroughly put on skates against Jamal Crawford in the open court during the second game of TNT’s Tuesday night doubleheader.
Yes, Beverley was sprinting back to a cherry-picking Crawford; and yes, Crawford simply dribbled against the grain of his momentum. Doesn’t matter. This was so mean, Beverley might’ve needed ice packs after the game.
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Sure, you could say he slipped, but on a night that saw the Clippers beat the Rockets by a score of 140-132, offense reigns supreme.
For the night, Crawford was actually pretty quiet, considering the game was played at a pace normally reserved for 1980s Kiki Vandeweghe and the Nuggets. He scored 17 points on 8-of-15 from the field along with five dimes in 36 minutes. None were more embarrassing to Beverley, though.
