Beverley becomes franchise’s 2nd face
It’s hard to picture the Rockets without Pat Beverley. He’s become just as much a part of their identity as his bearded teammate.
In the Rockets’ 4-1 series win over Oklahoma City in the first round of the postseason, Beverley stole the show repeatedly.
There were his Game 1 heroics.
His incident with the Thunder fan/owner’s son that resulted in a $25,000 fine and a passionate speech.
His pesky defense that prompted an entertaining exchange between him and Russell Westbrook.
His nonstop energy that fuels this Rockets team.
Beverley has been as fun to watch as any other player in the postseason. And now he will continue
to Round 2 of the playoffs for the first time in his career.
This is the fourth time Beverley has played postseason basketball with the Rockets, but he has never made it past the first round. The Rockets did in 2015, advancing to the Western Conference finals. Beverley spent that postseason at the end of the bench in street clothes, a cast around his wrist. In March of that year, he underwent season-ending wrist surgery.
There was a chance he would make it back if the Rockets advanced one more round. But the Warriors halted their season.
“I was around when we went to the Western Conference finals, but I never really knew how it felt,” Beverley said. “I’m so excited, so fortunate to be in this position.”
Needling Westbrook
Beverley sat at a podium in front of reporters on Tuesday night after the Rockets eliminated the Thunder to advance. He joked about the exchange he had with Westbrook during Game 5.
“(Russ) looked up and said, ‘No one can guard me. I got 40 points.’ I’m like, ‘That’s nice. You took 34 shots to get it,’ ” Beverley said, drawing laughs.
He got excited when talking about his team, grinned when he talked about the win, laughed and smirked through Westbrook questions. Then he got serious for a moment.
“No one in this league really took a chance on me,” Beverley said. “The Rockets did, and I owe them everything.”
Beverley was genuinely emotional over the win. The series had its ups and downs for fans, players and coaches. But no one went on that roller coaster more than Beverley.
His desire to win oozes out of him at every turn. He had to learn to balance that yearning with playing smart, keeping his head, and being the guy his team needed.
All in all, he handled it as well as anyone could.
Beverley was charged with the task of guarding the unguardable Westbrook, who was phenomenal in the series. He had three triple-doubles, scored 51 points in one game, and put on a clinic.
But Westbrook struggled in fourth quarters, visibly affected by Beverley’s defense on him.
Westbrook got his, but Beverley never let up, remained relentless and got under his skin.
He’s the kind of defender you want on your team in the postseason.
Staying composed
“There’s so much he does that isn’t on a box score,” coach Mike D’Antoni said. “His energy, his passion. He’s a competitor.”
He competed mightily for the Rockets, all while the state of Oklahoma loudly hated, heckled and trolled him.
He kept it together more than most would. And he learned along the way.
“I learned to take deep breaths,” Beverley said. “I think the team that is the calmest team settles in and plays their type of game.”
So when he went into the Thunder bench early Tuesday night and was slightly jabbed by Enes Kanter, Beverley took a deep breath and walked away, keeping his head.
When Westbrook was in his face as the two heated up near the end of the game, Beverley composed himself and walked away.
When a fan leaned over him and cussed at him and Beverley’s instincts might have been to react, he stood up and pointed him out to an official, then got back to the game. He was thinking ahead, looking at the bigger picture.
Beverley has been around the Rockets for five years. And if he wasn’t one of the first players to come to mind when you think about this team, he should be now.
His loyalty to the franchise is showing in every possession, every hustle play, every passionate yell he lets out in the middle of a tight game.
If the first round told us nothing else, it screamed loudly that Beverley is going to be a key part of the Rockets’ success moving forward this postseason.
When he says he owes the Rockets everything, he means it. He feels like he owes them every second he is on the court, so he gives every ounce of passion he has.
There’s not just one face to this team. Beverley’s a big part of the picture now.