Los Angeles Lakers: No Patrick Beverley antics in the Conference Finals!

The Los Angeles Lakers’ loss on Christmas Night started a level of Patrick Beverley that bordered on delusional! 

It seems like forever since the Clippers played the Lakers in a much-hyped Christmas Day matchup that was on the NBA schedule. After the Lakers dropped their second game to their rivals, nobody was buying the Lake Show stock. Why?

• The Lakers had already gotten beaten soundly on opening night when Anthony Davis was contained and LeBron James disappeared in the 4th quarter.
• This loss counted as the 4th straight after playing a perceived soft schedule to start the season.
• Outside of Kyle Kuzma going crazy in the first half, it looked like the Clippers had a better roster, especially on the bench. (Rob Pelinka hadn’t done work yet!)

Then there was this…

With the Los Angeles Lakers down three points with under 10 seconds left, Patrick Beverley knocks the ball off LeBron’s hands to seal the win. This was the game when Beverley nominated himself for the NBA all-defensive first team. Three times.

At the time, the media believed the hype and was wondering if LeBron James would continue his slide down the ladder of great players. The Clippers flat out did not fear the Lakers and outplayed them to the tune of a 17-5 run to end the game. The Lakers needed to win this game to send a message. It didn’t happen.

Fast forward to three days before the NBA shutdown to a Sunday matchup between these two teams after Rob Pelinka had finished with the roster.

All eyes were on the Los Angeles Lakers to answer questions about their credibility playing two teams they hadn’t beaten. The Milwaukee Bucks and the Clippers.

The Lakers blew out the Bucks and LeBron blew away Beverley and the Clips. But Beverley was the focus after the game!