The Los Angeles Lakers became the home for the pair, who had the most intense rivalry in modern sports history before the season began. LA has always been the home to controversies, top-class players, and championships. The two players who were colliding against one another were Russell Westbrook and Patrick Beverley. Although they now step on the court wearing the same Purple and Gold jersey, they have been enemies since 2013. The rivalry would have been endless if the Lakers did not pull them together.
The amount of hate Patrick Beverley received was immense after injuring Russell Westbrook in the 2013 playoffs. When beef between them started, Bev also got death threats from the fans. After the incident, both of them indulged in a never-ending feud, making them get back at each other whenever possible. The gaslighting was visible everywhere possible, on the court, shows, podcasts, or post-game. Both of them never backed down from an opportunity to mock each other. However, recent interviews and seeing them on the court show that the point guards are closer than ever.
Russell Westbrook And Patrick Beverley Are Explicit Friends?
The rivalry stood seven years old until finally breaking into a friendship Patric defines as explicit. In a recent appearance on Kevin Hart\’s show, Beverley explained how he moved past the differences. Apparently, both the point guards have the same strength and conditioning guy, and they both go at the same time. So Patrick says that he has excess to Russell Westbrook like nobody else on the team. The former Jazz player also states that he could tell him that other people just could not due to their personalities.
According to Patrick, he and Russell Westbrook have a dynamic bond, unlike other players on the team. However, this bonding has not shown any results when it comes to the game. The Lakers have been suffering since the departure of Anthony Davis to the sidelines. When it comes to defense, the Lakers are a leaking tap. And since there is a sharpshooter in the team, the Lakers are one of the worst three-point shooters in the league. When Russell and Patrick are compared side by side, Bev is nowhere close to Westbrook\’s level. If the team wants to play in the postseason, the point guards will have to play a much better game.
Ever since Anthony has left the court, the hopes of the postseason look shattered in the face of Lakers fans. LeBron James and Russell Westbrook are giving their all, but it is still not enough for them to return to winning ways. Following the losses, Pat believes that LA will need to provide a collective effort to improve the defense. Defense reaks so bad that the Lakers conceded 51 points in the third quarter against the Dallas Mavericks. Until Davis is out, LA\’s rotation will have to level up to avoid missing the playoffs second time in a row.
