Russell Westbrook Didn't Let Facts Get in the Way of a Good Patrick Beverley Burn
The Houston Rockets rode 47 James Harden points to an important victory over the Los Angeles Clippers Wednesday night. Afterward, Russell Westbrook had some thoughts on the performance of Patrick Beverley, a guy he probably shouldn't be trusted to assess neutrally.
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— AT&T SportsNet SW (@ATTSportsNetSW) November 14, 2019
Russell Westbrook talks the defense of Pat Beverley after James Harden went for 47 POINTS against the Clippers. #Rockets win 102-93@HoustonRockets I #OneMission pic.twitter.com/v0C10Sy49H
Beverley prides himself on defense and is pretty in-your-face about it. He's the guy at the YMCA open run who necessitates an employee intervention after repeated incidents. And, Global Brain stuff here, getting under opponents' skin is advantageous to his goals.
So it makes sense that Westbrook took the opportunity to zing him. The only problem is that the facts aren't in his corner.
Per @ESPNStatsInfo, James Harden was 0-of-6 with four turnovers when defended by Patrick Beverley tonight. Harden was spectacular overall (47 points, 12-26 FG), but the facts don't support Russell Westbrook's opinion that Beverley is an overrated defender.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) November 14, 2019
Beverley opted not to take the bait when asked about Westbrook's critique. Perhaps because he knew he'd been on Harden like Saran Wrap on some holiday cookies.
The Clippers and Rockets are legit contenders in the West and will butt heads many more times this season with much on the line. If this is where the war of words is in mid-November, it portends spicy things down the road.