Patrick Beverley acted like he won the NBA Championship after playing an instrumental role in the Minnesota Timberwolves’ win over the LA Clippers. However, anyone who has watched Beverley through his career knows that there was nothing surprising about his behavior, even if it caught people off guard.
The people that weren’t surprised by the behavior were the Clippers players Beverley called teammates until last season. While Beverley must have ruffled feathers with his post-game comments on the Clippers, it seems everyone knows that is what happens when you compete with Beverley. Considering PatBev was traded away from the Clippers, the win had a lot of meaning to him and it made headlines.
Paul George fully understands the reaction and spoke about it after the game.
Paul George on Pat Bev’s antics:
"It's all for show. It's for the crowd. I love it. I miss it, he doing it on our side. Because it's contagious."
(via @Farbod_E)
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) April 14, 2022
If Patrick Beverley is on your team, you are going to love him, while playing against him is going to be an annoying endeavor. George is fully aware of everything that Beverley brings to a team in terms of his voice, aggression, and commitment to playing defense. While the Timberwolves were led by D’Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards in the win over the Clippers, everyone can agree that Beverley is crucial to the team’s collective effort.
The celebration is being hated from all angles. While it definitely was over the top, it can be rationalized considering everything the game represented to Beverley. The Timberwolves are also a franchise that has been absent from the playoffs for years, so bringing them back and hopefully ushering in future success means something to him.
George on the other hand has to get ready to go through the New Orleans Pelicans for the final spot in the playoffs to go against the Phoenix Suns. Hopefully, Beverley’s behavior and disrespect serve as motivating fuel for the Clippers to clinch the final playoff spot in a year they were expected to not be competitive.
