Getty Lou Williams, left, and Clippers guard Patrick Beverley
For the past five seasons, whenever Clippers guard Patrick Beverley needed an ear to talk to or a bit of advice, he knew where he could turn: teammate Lou Williams. Going back to their time in Houston in 2016-17, through their trade together to the Clippers, Williams and Beverley have been a tight duo on and off the floor.
So when Williams was shipped off to Atlanta at the trade deadline for Rajon Rondo, Beverley took it hard. He addressed that after Tuesday’s game against the Blazers, his first game back from a knee injury since March 11. Without getting too specific Beverley talked about his bond with Williams:
He’s my big brother. He’s the only person on the team that really kind of helped me calm down when I lose my sh** sometimes. I don’t know, that’s a tough one. That’s a tough one. Been playing with him the last five, six years, we have been in the trenches together. Not just with basketball, but life, on and off the court. I don’t want to get too deep into that but he has definitely been a big part of my success on and off the court. Maturing on and off the court. My dog.
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Beverley Praises New Clippers Cousins, Rondo
Beverley, the team’s defensive anchor on the perimeter, played 20 minutes in his return, scoring eight points and rejoining the starting lineup. He is averaging 8.3 points and shooting a career-high 41.9% from the 3-point line but, at the same time, he is averaging a career-low 2.1 assists.
That is a reflection of the Clippers putting the ball into the hands of stars Paul George and Kawhi Leonard more often. Beverley is not a natural point guard and has, in his career, averaged just 3.4 assists.
That was one reason the Clippers dealt away Williams–to bring in a pure point guard, Rajon Rondo. In their first game together, Rondo played 15 minutes off the bench behind Beverley. At the same time, another new Clipper, DeMarcus Cousins, was making his debut for L.A.
“I think (Cousins) brings rebounding, toughness, big body, can help (Ivica Zubac) through the practices,” Beverley said. “Tough mindset, winning mentality. Obviously, Rondo, proven winner. The couple days he’s been here so far, the week he’s been here, he’s helped me a lot, showing me things from a natural point guard that I might not have seen, so he’s definitely been a great help, a leader. That winning mentality. Fortunate to have those two for sure.”
Beverley Says Trainers Told Him He Works Too Hard
With Rondo and Cousins aboard and Beverley back in the lineup, the Clippers are nearing full strength. Serge Ibaka remains out with a back injury that is shrouded in some mystery — he is not yet doing 5-on-5 work and it remains unclear when he will return to the lineup.
As for keeping Beverley’s knee healthy through the rest of the season, he said he would need to go lighter on the workouts through the spring and summer. After leaving Arkansas back in 2008, Beverley signed with a second-division Ukrainian team, before moving on to teams in Greece and Russia. He is 32 now, but those stints may have added some wear and tear to his body.
“They told me I worked too hard,” Beverley said. “Anyone knows my career, I was playing overseas four or five years, two practices a day. Lotta miles, lotta miles. I gotta listen to the training staff, we have a great one here. They tell me I am working too hard so, I gotta kind of dim it down a little bit.”