"We're a fourth or fifth seed" - Patrick Beverley says the Bulls would have finished higher if he had joined sooner
Back on February 21, Patrick Beverley signed with the Chicago Bulls after getting traded from the LA Lakers to the Orlando Magic. Pat Bev and the Magic agreed on a contract buyout, which made the tenacious player available for the Bulls to acquire. While Beverley expected to make the playoffs with Chicago, things turned out to be otherwise.
The Chicago Bulls were one of the teams that participated in the 2023 Play-In Tournament. The Bulls won their first game against the Toronto Raptors to move on to battle for the 8th seed. Ultimately, they ended up losing to the Miami Heat and Patrick Beverley's season came to a close on April 14.
Now with a lot of free time on his hands, Pat Bev has focused on creating content for his podcast. He recently opened up about his status with the Chicago Bulls. Apparently, Beverley couldn't accept defeat and stated that Chicago would've been a better team if he arrived sooner.
He said on his podcast:
"I think if I'm there from the beginning of the year we're a fourth or fifth seed."
"I think if I'm there from the beginning of the year we're a fourth or fifth seed."
- Patrick Beverley talking about the Bulls' past season on his podcast
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Could Patrick Beverley have turned the Chicago Bulls' season around?
Patrick Beverley is one of those NBA players who specialize in defense and affects his opponents mentally in-game. He isn't exactly known to be a great offensive player, but he can knock down some shots on a good night.
While his defensive efforts can definitely help teams protect the perimeter and the paint, one can wonder if Beverley is truly impactful on the court.
Before the 2022-23 season commenced, Pat Bev claimed that he would help the LA Lakers become a better team. Now playing for the Chicago Bulls, he also recently claimed that his current team would've been in a better spot if he signed with them at the beginning of the year.
Looking into Beverley's stats, he averaged 6.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists in the regular season. Compared to his previous years, this is the worst year of his career since the 2012-13 season.
The most efficient we've ever seen Beverley was when he was playing for the LA Clippers in the 2017-18 season, wherein he averaged 12.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.7 steals per game.
Compared to his previous figures, Patrick Beverley barely made an impact this season. In fact, the Lakers seemingly became a better team after getting rid of him in the second half of the season as they stand on the brink of reaching the Western Conference Finals with a 3-1 lead in their series vs the Warriors.