Patrick Beverley Questions Raptors Toughness, Says Team Doesn't Have a 'Dog'
Patrick Beverley doesn’t seem to have much faith in the Toronto Raptors this year.
The 35-year-old Philadelphia 76ers guard suggested that Toronto’s roster doesn’t have a “dog” on the team, alleging the Raptors aren’t tough enough to scare anyone this season.
“Who’s the dog of that team,” Beverley wondered aloud on his podcast The Pat Bev Podcast with Rome.
Beverley said he wouldn’t be scared to see Pascal Siakam or O.G. Anunoby in a dark alley, suggesting Toronto doesn’t have a tough player to intimidate opposing teams.
“I’m not disrespecting anybody, but it’s nothing that I’m like afraid of,” he added.
Beverley is a notorious NBA irritant, known for his trash-talking and pesky style of defense.
That said, Toronto’s vocal leader this year appears to be Dennis Schröder who has come in to replace Fred VanVleet at the point guard spot. Toronto’s more veteran returning players, Siakam and Anunoby are more of the lead-by-example types. Schröder, conversely, appears to be more direct and blunt when it comes to his leadership style.
“We’re going in to take peoples’ head off,” Schröder said last week. “Every single game we want to play and that’s been my way.”
The Raptors won’t have to wait long to see Beverley this year. They’ll open the season with his two former teams Minnesota and Chicago before facing off against the Philadelphia 76ers, Beverley, and former Raptors coach Nick Nurse in the third game of the season on Saturday. This should only add to the budding rivalry between the two organizations.
