Has there ever been a more irrelevant player to make more headlines than Patrick Beverley? The 11-year guard was up to the only tricks he knows again Tuesday night, getting ejected for having his teammate’s back by violently pushing Deandre Ayton from behind.
This is like the 15 millionth time Beverley has instigated shit because he’s fucking irrelevant otherwise. Recently seen jumping on the scorer’s table in Minnesota because he was on the floor when the T-Wolves eked out a couple of play-in games, or spouting whatever self-aggrandizing take comes to mind on ESPN, Pat Bev’s highlight reel rarely, if ever, features actual basketball.
This year has been especially bad for a plethora of reasons, most notably guaranteeing the Lakers would make the playoffs before the season as if anyone in the Staples Center will be overjoyed with a postseason appearance. He’s averaging 4 points per outing while shooting 26 percent from the field and 23 percent from deep, and the Lakers are 5-11 and more or less the laughing stock of most NBA fans’ feeds.
The incident Tuesday overshadowed a 31, 21, 2, 5, and 5 night out of Anthony Davis in a game that, until the Beverley shove, wasn’t another embarrassment for the Lakers. Predictably, instead of talking about AD’s recent resurgence after the contest, it was all about a guy who finished 0-for from the field, with a plus-minus of -15 in 29 minutes of what could loosely be termed basketball.
Of course, Beverley’s teammates and coach defended him after the game, and the only person I believe did it in earnest was Russell Westbrook. Davis’ defense of the cheap shot is tepid at best.
I don’t think that explanation is going to get Beverley out of a suspension, and he definitely should be sat down for multiple games. I appreciate Devin Booker telling Bev to say it to his face after the game, yet we know that’s not how Bev works. The smallest guy on the court body-checking the biggest guy on the other team, then walking around like he set a tone despite no chance of physical recourse and his squad trailing by double digits, is quintessential Patick Beverley, and definitely isn’t a fucking vibe.
It’s a jackass venting frustration and looking for attention that he can’t get via on-court play. His career arc is rapidly headed for a studio chair, and he knows screaming like a lunatic in a suit — not an NBA uniform — won’t get him the requisite reaction needed to satisfy his ego.
I’d like to say I can’t wait for Beverley to be out of the NBA, but you know we’ll be hearing from him long after the Lakers cut, trade, or move on from him — and that might be more insufferable than his monthly tantrum.
