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BEVERLEY BRINGS DEFENSIVE MIND TO CLIPPERS

"We've been big fans of Pat for a long time," said Lawrence Frank, the Clippers' executive vice president of basketball operations. "He's an instigator (and) agitator but sometimes what gets lost in that (is) extremely talented. It seems like every time the bar is raised, he meets it. Size is irrelevant. You look at the rebounds and assists and his size. He shoots a high percentage from 3. He's first-team all defense, but we think there's a complete game with it."

"We have some dog in us, that's how we play the game," Dekker said of the recently traded Houston contingent. "We have a chip on our shoulder. . The way we got here was playing hard and playing scrappy, getting in scuffles on the court. That's what we do. Last year, in Houston, with the second unit when they threw Pat with us, Trez and a couple other guys, when we went on the court, we always said: 'Let's bring the dog out. Let's do what we do and do what we do best, that's making them work and make them hate us.' That's what we did. Our second unit was one of the best in the league, we thought. That's what we're going to bring to LA."

"I'm put in a situation where I'm truly blessed to see what the limit is with me," Beverley said. "I understand coach will push me. It's going to be fun. My mindset is all about winning. I'm a really black-and-white guy. There's no grey area. I'm coming to win basketball games. I didn't come here to look good doing it."

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Clippers' Patrick Beverley is ready to succeed Chris Paul, with an accent on winning

I don’t come here to look good doing it. At the end the day, a win is a win, a loss is a loss. We’re going to have more wins than losses for sure this year.”

Rivers said he knew exactly what he wanted from this group.

“Hard-working, competitive, playing hard, tough-minded players,” Rivers said. “And I think when I look around, that’s what we have.”

The Clippers have nine new players on their 14-man roster.

If you believe Beverley, the transition won’t be difficult because “this team has a chip on its shoulder.”

“Of course we’re counted out,” Beverley said. “I’ve been used to that. Like I keep telling everybody, it won’t be easy. It’s going to be extremely hard.”

He also became a good three-point shooter, making 38.2% of his shots.

“It’s overlooked because of the players that were around me,” said Beverley, who averaged 9.5 points and 4.2 assists last season while playing with James Harden, Trevor Ariza and Ryan Anderson. “But I lay my hat on defense. That’s what got me into this game.”

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