It takes more than losing Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Patrick Beverley and Nicolas Batum to slow down the LA Clippers. Yesterday against Miami, we saw big minutes from Terance Mann and Amir Coffey, fresh from the G League, to fill in for the missing starters.
If there’s one thing we know for sure, it’s that our guys don’t have to be on the court to contribute to the team, and nobody exemplified that more yesterday than our stalwart point guard.
Patrick Beverley was a leader from the bench for the LA Clippers.
Bev has already laid claim to Terance Mann; in previous media sessions, he’s described Mann as “my rookie,” and Terance has credited Patrick Beverley with installing a “dog mentality” in him. Watch during timeouts, and you’ll see Bev giving Mann tips and advice in his own energetic way.
It’s not just Terance, though. Watch the end of this sequence, when the LA Clippers score after Coffey finds Ivica Zubac, who finds a cutting Mann. Who’s the first person off the bench? It’s Patrick Beverley, dapping up Zu and Amir.
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Pat doesn’t have to be on the floor for the LA Clippers to be a leader, and he showed that yesterday. It’s so beneficial for our young guys to have Beverley using his recovery time as a chance to be a loud voice (would Patrick Beverley be anything else?) giving advice and helping them improve.
It’s very on brand for Patrick Beverley, Mr. No Days Off for the LA Clippers, to find a way to add to winning basketball while he’s unable to play a single minute. It’s much easier to sell the youngsters on a culture of grinding and hard work when the vocal leader of the team is willing to do the exact same thing.
Bev is one of the most important players on the team for that exact reason. He may not be the best player on the LA Clippers (though he is criminally underrated in the eyes of the general basketball media), but he sets the tone and the culture of the team, and guys like Terance Mann and Amir Coffey are clearly feeding off the energy he puts out.
Look for Patrick Beverley to keep acting like another coach for the young guys while he rehabs his sore knee, and follow along on Clipperholics while we do the same!