New teams and jerseys for former OKC Thunder superstar Russell Westbrook doesn’t quell his beef with nemesis Patrick Beverley
The jersey may have changed but the feelings remain as strong as ever. With the LA Clippers traveling to play the Houston Rockets for the first time this season it meant former OKC Thunder superstars Russell Westbrook and Paul George would be on opposing sides of the court and it was possible this would be the night PG13 returned to game action.
In truth, to witness Paul George in a Clippers jersey probably won’t have the same impact on Thunder Nation as seeing Westbrook in Rockets red. It’s not that the fan base won’t miss PG13, but he was only with the team for two seasons whereas Westbrook spent all 10 years of his career with the organization.
Speaking of history, the fan base will always feel a certain way about Patrick Beverley since our playoff run in 2013 was cut short when the pesky point guard committed what can only be deemed a dirty and senseless act. The result was Westbrook tore his meniscus and was lost for the remainder of the postseason and with it, so too were the hopes of the Thunder returning to the NBA Finals.
Fast forward to 3:00 of the following video for Westbrook’s take:
Prior to this incident, Westbrook had never missed a game, not in his amateur years or his pro career. This is why this incident became such a big deal because it was entirely unnecessary — it didn’t occur within the flow of the game it happened after the whistle.
It’s the equivalent of punching someone in the stomach and telling them to prepare so they can brace for the hit or getting blindsided by the punch. But, that’s part and parcel of his game. It’s not solely based on x’s and o’s. Rather, he takes as much pride in getting in people’s heads and doing non-basketball plays in order to throw his opponents off. And, the more you let it bother you the more he’s going to turn up the volume.
Paul George did not play in Houston but there was Beverley front and center. For Westbrook, the night must’ve offered a great deal of satisfaction. First, because Beverley wouldn’t be guarding him as he was assigned to James Harden. Moreover, the beard went off for 47 points on the Clippers and PatBev fouled out of the game.
As annoying as the Clippers point guard is most teams would love to have him on their side. But, that’s the thing, when a player with his resume is unsuccessful in throwing off the opponent they end up looking desperate and their actions become comical. When this happens it can serve to give the opposing team confidence and momentum and ultimate work to a disadvantage for the pest’s team.
Russell Westbrook: “Pat Bev trick y’all, man, like he playing defense. He don’t guard nobody, man. He just running around, doing nothing.” Made sure to note that James Harden scored 47 tonight.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) November 14, 2019
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The Brodie, of course, took great pleasure in the course of events waving bye to Pat when he fouled out and answered a postgame question about his nemesis basically stating what Beverley does isn’t defense – it’s just running around (the implication being Pat looks like a fool). Russ cited the 47 points Harden scored as backup. In reality, most of those points were not amassed when Beverley was Harden’s key defender — but we’re talking semantics now and you know Russ wasn’t letting that opportunity slide by.
Moving forward the presumption is George will now play this evening in New Orleans although he might wait to suit up on Saturday versus the Hawks at Staples Center in front of his home crowd. The other question is will Leonard sit for the game versus the Pelcians? The loss to the Rockets no doubt makes both of these decisions more pressing as a win might’ve given the Clippers more options.
When it comes to PatBev and the OKC Thunder the irony is he doesn’t typically mess with Chris Paul and since Shai Gilgeous-Alexander began his career playing beside Beverley he has a different relationship with the young star.
As for the events of last night, what did you think of Westbrook’s postgame comments? And how will you feel when Paul George takes to the court some time in the next few days? Let us know in the comments section.