Reggie Jackson: Patrick Beverley Yelled Outside Hotel Rooms at 2 in the Morning
LA Clippers guard Patrick Beverley has an unbreakable spirit.
As the team arrived in Orlando and was subject to a 48-hour quarantine period, Beverley was checking up on his teammates and making sure they were all good as they settled into their rooms.
Reggie Jackson, one of the newest members of the roster, recalled Beverley's actions during Friday's Zoom press conference:
"We're all locked up now in quarantine, can't leave your room, but it's probably 2:00 a.m. and all we get is a 'Yoooo! Yoooo!' Everybody is like, what is going on. Bev is just yelling through walls, making sure everybody is good. It's the first day, he's just checking, everybody opening their doors saying what's up, looked at each other, and that made, I guess, the first part of the 24 hours of lockdown even better, just knowing that your teammates were there with you.
"That's just something very simple, but the guy is constant energy, a lot of intangibles... He's great with the team."
As funny and unusual as the story sounds, it's perfectly on-brand for Beverley. The 32-year-old guard spends a lot of his time checking on his teammates both on- and off-court, and he'll do just about anything to keep their energy high and minds right.
It's difficult to measure exactly how important his presence is for the team, but the Clippers generally play much better basketball when Beverley is active. So far this season, LA has gone 37-11 when he plays and 7-9 when he's out. Last year, they lost all four games that he missed and went 13-16 when he came off the bench, compared to the team's 35-14 record in his 49 starts.
As Jackson says, Beverley's quarantine shouting isn't anything major — but it was an action that brought the team together during a time when they had to be apart.
It pays to have a teammate like that, and the Clippers are going to need him to maintain that energy if they want to win the title. The NBA champion won't be decided for another three months, and it won't be easy to stay focused.
