Clemenza wrote:Feel free to rip PG and his shooting but playing with an inadequate guard like Pat Bev as a fellow starter doesn't help anyone or anything team wise. His so called amazing defense is not negating how bad he is on offense. There's almost no threat of him scoring nor making an assist for the team at all on the offensive end. Mann looked better than him even in garbage time which is another crime all to itself. I trust Ty Lue and I hope Pat Bev proves me wrong but I have no clue as to why he's starting and getting the minutes he's receiving.
These games are not Game 7. Our record with him and his plus/minus [3rd best on the team] were excellent before Bev got hurt. He will get every chance to get back where he was. Not only that but we return last year's starting lineup now that Ibaka has fallen off and Zu has the job.
We are HURTING for continuity. At least the starting 5 has some. And despite Bev's struggles since the All-Star break, we are 7-1 in the games he's played in. He is NOT hurting us.
Don't underestimate Bev's effect on Kawhi and PG and the possibility that THEY play better with Bev out there doing his high-energy thing. There's something called chemistry, and it's real. Last year the KL-PG-Zubac-Morris-Beverley lineup was SECOND in net rating in the NBA!! That's reason enough to play this out with Beverley.
As a mid-second-rounder in his 2nd year, for T-Mann to even be at the fringe of a playoff rotation for a MAJOR contender is a helluvan accomplishment. But hasn't and probably never will match the player that Bev has been at his best--a 3-time All-Defensive Team [one 1st and two 2nds]. That's SPECIAL.
We know what Mann can do. The Clippers owe it to themselves to find out if Bev can recapture that special form--and admittedly, damn quick. But if not, we have Reggie at the top of his game as backup. Unless Ty needs to hit the panic button, Mann will pick up minutes at the back of the rotation, not the front.
Reggie had another ANOTHER excellent game tonight. Just keeping things in perspective.