3 Scorching bold predictions for Patrick Beverley on the Lakers
By Jason Reed
2. Patrick Beverley and LeBron James are one of the best two-man combos in the league in net rating
During the Los Angeles Lakers’ 2019-20 championship season, which two-man lineup on the team do you think ranked first in net rating among all two-man lineups in the entire NBA?
No, it’s not LeBron James and Anthony Davis, although that is not a bad guess. It was LeBron James and Alex Caruso.
James and Caruso ranked first in the league in net rating for two-man lineups during the 2019-20 season and followed that up with another solid year, ranking 13th in the NBA for the 2020-21 season. Both years Caruso and LeBron were the best two-man lineup on the Lakers.
Patrick Beverley might not be as good as Alex Caruso at this point in their respective careers, but the player mold is very similar. He is a great defensive point guard who does not need the ball to succeed and can hit off-ball threes offensively. We already know that meshes well with LeBron James as the proof is in the pudding.
Beverley will probably get more minutes than Caruso did and because he is a slightly worse version of Caruso at this point, the net rating is not going to be as high. However, as long as LeBron stays healthy and Beverley does not fall off a cliff, the Lakers probably have a top-15 NBA duo on their hands.