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Marshall High School alum and 11-year NBA pro Patrick Beverley made his hotly anticipated debut for the Chicago Bulls on Friday night. And it went about as well as it possibly could have for both parties.
With Beverley starting at the point and playing 22 minutes, Chicago absolutely throttled a Brooklyn Nets team trying to hang on in the wake of the Kevin Durant trade, leading by as many as 50 points in a wire-to-wire win at the United Center. Meanwhile, Beverley logged eight points, five rebounds and four assists.
After the game, the 34-year-old — who was acquired following a post-trade deadline buyout — couldn’t contain his excitement over his new situation/old digs, tweeting: “What a night… I really play for the BULLS.”
Beverley was hardly the only one amped over his contributions to the win — which snapped a six-game losing streak — either.
Bulls Fans Rave Over Patrick Beverley & His Team’s Winning Performance
While there were definitely some fans angling for a Russell Westbrook signing or a John Wall move in the immediate aftermath of the deadline, Bulls Twitter was near-unanimous in its praise of Beverley after his first game with Chicago.
“Imo if we signed [Westbrook] instead of Patrick Beverley I don’t think [we see the] change of energy in this team like last night so Pat Bev was the better fit for us,” tweeted one impressed fan.
“Chicago making the playoffs don’t tweak on them,” declared a second supporter.
“Tumultuous season, lots of ups and downs, but [Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley] brought life back into the Bulls by bringing in Patrick Beverley,” opined a third fan. “He won’t/can’t fix everything, but the rest of the season just got a lot more interesting. On paper, the roster is the best it’s been since [Lonzo Ball] went out.”
“I would like any previous instance of me talking about Patrick Beverley to be expunged from the record,” added an apparent former detractor of Beverley. “I have one opinion now, and that’s he’s a Bull and that’s my guy, that’s my dawg, that’s all I have to say.”
Beverley’s Communication Was Key
It’s hard to argue with the results of Beverley’s first game at the helm for the Bulls. While his numbers were relatively unspectacular given the team’s 131-point production versus Brooklyn, he affected the proceedings in a palpable way whenever he was on the hardwood.
The Bulls outscored the nets by 24 points in Beverley’s minutes, and teammates and coaches alike spoke glowingly of the way in which the point guard’s communicative nature on and off the floor impacted the squad throughout the night.
“His talk is really uplifting and inspiring and positive. There’s not negativity. If he’s getting on players at all, it’s lifting them up,” said coach Billy Donovan, via NBC Sports Chicago. “Even for himself from an accountability standpoint, talking about a switch he messed up, he was like, ‘Zach (LaVine), I’ll be better.’
“That’s the kind of dialogue it is with him. The enthusiasm and energy comes across very positive.”
Added DeMar DeRozan: “He holds everybody accountable and competes at a high level. When you see a teammate with that type of mentality, you gotta follow behind it.”
The Bulls will be back in action on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. CT against the Washington Wizards.
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