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When the LA Lakers traded for Patrick Beverley in August, the hope was that the veteran would be able to provide some much-needed accountability. Last season, although the Big Three of LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook only played a handful of games together, their defense ranked 21st.
Time and time again, the team was left pointing the finger at one another after missed rotations, something a vocal leader like Beverley should have helped. Early on in the season, however, the defense improved, and it was the offense that struggled. As it turns out, there was plenty of tension behind the scenes as well.
On "The Pat Bev" podcast this week, Beverley reflected on the situation in LA. In addition to saying that the fans were quick to hound players for poor performances, Beverley shed light on the Lakers' locker room. The way he sees things, he wasn't able to make his voice heard the way it should have.
“Yeah, we should do this on defense. … ‘Nah, we cool. We cool. … Nah, we gotta rotate.’ … Bron, what you mean we gotta rotate? You ain’t even playing. … They don’t listen to me…. You gotta go through the first-year coach, the LeBron, the AD, the Russ, then it get to me. You don’t hear my s*** the way you should hear my s***.”
This seems to be a clarification of earlier comments Beverley made after landing with the Chicago Bulls in February (after being traded to and waived by the Orlando Magic). He said that the problems the team were going through weren't basketball-related. While many wondered what that meant at the time, the latest comments seem to be related in some capacity.
The inconsistency Patrick Beverley experienced in Los Angeles
As Beverley said at the time, the inconsistent vibes created a situation that led to inconsistent play for the Lakers. At times, they looked to be true championship contenders. However, at other times, like the beginning of the season (including a 2-10 start), they simply couldn't get wins.
As the team continued to slip in the standings, the focus shifted to LeBron James chasing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's all-time scoring record. Despite a remarkable stretch where the four-time champ turned back the clock and delivered superhuman performances, the team struggled.
With Anthony Davis injured, the team looked to be waving goodbye to the playoffs. However, several big moves have since turned things around to a degree for the Lakers (35-37). Although LeBron James remains on the sidelines with a foot injury, the duo of Anthony Davis and D'Angelo Russell has given the team a much-needed spark.
In the Western Conference standings, the Lakers find themselves just half a game outside of the play-in tournament. With just one game separating the seventh-place OKC Thunder (36-36) and the 11th-place Lakers, every game counts.
With two scheduled matchups with the Bulls before the end of the season, it's no secret that Patrick Beverley hopes to bounce the Lakers from playoff contention. As the regular season winds down, only time will tell whether the Lakers prove Beverley right in regards to the team's problems.
Guess the Lakers players!
