Patrick Beverley is one of the league’s best instigators. His intensity on the defensive end is what’s kept him in the league and has endeared him to teammates.
It’s also led him to make plenty of enemies around the league, most notably Russell Westbrook after he suffered a knee injury on a play when Beverley went for the ball after Westbrook called timeout. In a league where players now typically choose not to say too much negatively about their opponents, Beverley is among the few that regularly creates bulletin board material with his critiques and assessments of other players.
When Lonzo Ball was selected second overall by the Lakers in 2017, he had the unfortunate honor of facing Beverley in his first ever game. The Clippers-Lakers rivalry has never really existed when both teams are good, but has heated up now that the Clippers are the good team after being L.A.’s laughing stock for years. Beverley took it upon himself to give Ball a rather miserable welcome to the league on his first night, and apparently his feelings for the young point guard haven’t changed since.
Beverley joined Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter on Wednesday night for some word association fun, and when asked what his first thought when Lonzo’s name came up, his answer was “easy.”
.@notthefakeSVP: "I say Lonzo Ball. You say what?"@patbev21: "Easy." pic.twitter.com/GaYHIc5zdd
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 14, 2019
This is the exact answer I’d expect from Beverley and indicates he’s not particularly fond of the Lakers guard. Lonzo, of course, has been on the shelf with a left ankle injury and will miss the remainder of the season, but if he was in need of any extra motivation for his comeback, he’ll have plenty in the form of Beverley’s blunt assessment of his game.
