"All the beef about Russ" - Patrick Beverley calls out Lakers coaching staff, suggests he and Russell Westbrook should have started together
Patrick Beverley and Russell Westbrook were teammates briefly last season, but things did not end well for them. The veteran guard recently opened up on some of the key issues inside the team.
Prior to the trade deadline, the 2023 LA Lakers were a team in disarray. Some of their issues stemmed from fit. Most notably, working Westbrook into their system.
When the Lakers first made the trade for Westbrook, many questioned his fit alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis. As things continued to trend in the wrong direction, the former MVP was quickly made to be the scapegoat.
In a flurry of moves at the deadline, Patrick Beverley and Westbrook both found themselves on new teams. They each eventually wound up in their hometowns, Chicago and LA.
While on Gilbert Arenas' podcast, Patrick Beverley opened up on what went wrong during his time at the Lakers. He feels that if the coaching staff started him and Westbrook together things might have gone better overall.
“They should’ve started me, Austin [Reaves], [Russell Westbrook], [LeBron James], and [Anthony Davis]...All the beef about Russ, maybe none of that happens," Beverley said.
"It’s ways that you have to operate your team without over-managing it, or over-coaching it. Sometimes you just have to put the dominoes out there.”
Could Patrick Beverley and Russell Westbrook work together in the same lineup?
While Patrick Beverley might have felt strongly about this, the LA Lakers made the right decision by not starting the two together. In fact, an arugment could be made that this projected lineup would have caused more issues on the court.
For starters, this group lacked the height to defend properly. Austin Reaves, Beverley and Westbrook are all 6-foot-5 or shorter. Pat Bev might have made three All-Defense teams, but this trio would have been a constant liability on defense.
The other major issue with this lineup is floor spacing. In theory, this lineup had three non-shooters. Reaves is really the only knockdown outside shooter of the bunch.
The LA Lakers are at their best when LeBron James and Anthony Davis are operating in the pick-and-roll. For this two-man game to work properly, they need proper spacing around them. Since Beverley and Westbrook are both poor outside shooters, defenses would have been able to easily collapse on them.
Beverley might feel strongly about this, but the Lakers issues can be pinpointed right to poor roster construction. Once a complementing supporting cast was put around the star duo, they went right back to being a top team in the Western Conference.