Clippers starting point guard Patrick Beverley left the NBA’s Orlando campus tonight to deal with “an emergency personal matter,” according to Malika Andrews of ESPN. Andrews notes that Beverley, who practiced with the Clippers this morning, plans to rejoin the club at some point during the league’s season restart.
Last week, bench big man Montrezl Harrell also departed the Disney World campus to tend to an emergency. The Clippers play their first seeding game on July 30 against their fellow Staples Center residents, the Lakers.
Losing Beverley, a pesky defensive specialist, for any extended period of time would be a significant blow for the Clippers, the No. 2 seed in the West with a 44-20 record. The 32-year-old boasts a slash line of 7.9 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 3.7 APG for the season. He is connecting on 37.9% of his 4.1 three-point attempts a night. Beverley is in the first season of a three-year, $40MM contract he signed with Los Angeles last summer.
Sharpshooting Sixth Man of the Year candidate Lou Williams could fill in for Beverley as a temporary starter. New waiver wire addition Reggie Jackson could provide additional support. Andrews speculates that Jackson could start ahead of Williams, who is more of a defensive liability. Led by 2019 Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard and six-time All-Star Paul George, the Clippers, along with the Lakers and Bucks, are widely viewed as a top contender for a title when the 2019/20 season resumes.
If a player is away from the Disney campus for seven or more days, he will have to test negative for COVID-19 for seven consecutive days before touching down again in Orlando. If the player is off-site for fewer than seven days, he must test negative for each of those days. The player would then quarantine for four days upon returning. If Beverley isn’t tested regularly for the novel coronavirus while away, he may need to quarantine for 10-to-14 days.
Seems to be a lot of family emergencies in the NBA.
I was thinking the same thing. I think the term “emergency” is going to be stretched quite a bit until the season ends. About as much as the word “sick” is stretched by a kid that doesn’t like school.
He’s the Clippers 3rd most important starter, and a key part of their defense. Even though he doesn’t provide the same scoring that Lou Williams gives to their second unit, losing Beverley for an extended period of time could really hurt the Clippers.
You’re talking about the deepest team in the NBA. Bev might be the 3rd most important starter but he’s the 5th best player on the team sitting behind Lou Will and Trez. I think the Clips will be alright.
Montrezl and Lou score more than Beverley, but that doesn’t mean they’re better players. There’s a reason they both come off the bench, their defense isn’t even close to what Beverley gives them in the starting five.
If Pat can manage to not foul out you mean. And with PG and Kawhi starting for you, defense isn’t overvalued
Pretty apparent what these “emergencies” are…
Reggie Jackson seems to have leaned into his role as a shooter with his new team. He could make’m all pay for being given up on
So many emergencies….