Patrick Beverly has recently been traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, and there is no doubt that this was a good acquisition for the team. Beverley is well-known for his perimeter defense and leadership. He has not missed the playoffs when healthy, and it is clear that Patrick Beverley is an elite role player that contributes to winning.
Rob Pelinka has recently made a statement on Patrick Beverley’s addition. He stated that the team is “thrilled” to have the point guard and noted that Patrick Beverley’s playstyle will “fit in nicely with the other pieces of our roster”.
Pelinka: “We are thrilled to add Patrick Beverley’s toughness and competitive spirit to our team. We’re confident that Patrick’s ‘3-and-D’ style will fit in nicely with the other pieces of our roster and align perfectly with Coach Ham’s philosophy of hard work and smart play.” https://t.co/cYkE5cYkcB
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) August 25, 2022
Pelinka: “We are thrilled to add Patrick Beverley’s toughness and competitive spirit to our team. We’re confident that Patrick’s ‘3-and-D’ style will fit in nicely with the other pieces of our roster and align perfectly with Coach Ham’s philosophy of hard work and smart play.”
There is no doubt that defense was one of the problems for the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2021-22 season. In fact, at one point, LeBron James admitted that the team was struggling defensively, adding that the team “lost a lot of games because our defense was broken”.
“We’re a Frank Vogel team and that obviously starts with defending, starts with the point of attack, starts with the point guard position. Then obviously, this league is a huge pick and roll league, bigs being able to help the guards out, protect the guards, the guards getting back in front of the ball, the bigs getting back to be big on big so we can rebound the ball when shots go up. Obviously, it’s been challenging for us this year defensively. We’ve had a lot of breakdowns and lost a lot of games because our defense has broken. It’s also been because our offense at times, too. Your offense can help your defense. If you’re taking bad shots or you’re turning the ball over or you take a good shot and it’s a long rebound and you’re not getting back, that can affect your defense as well.”
Hopefully, Patrick Beverley’s addition will help with some of those defensive issues. It is clear that Rob Pelinka believes that he can play a complementary role and help the roster improve.
The Los Angeles Lakers have modified their roster heavily this summer around LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Hopefully, those changes will prove fruitful, and perhaps we’ll see the team make it back to the playoffs after a disappointing season.
