A free agent target that the Chicago Bulls had at point guard last offseason is having an outstanding start to the 2019-20 campaign in LA.
The Chicago Bulls weren’t one of the 10 teams to compete in the action on the NBA on Christmas Day. There was still plenty of exciting action to follow for Bulls fans in those five games. And since the NBA Christmas Special sits amongst the most popular days of the regular season of all, every sincere basketball fan should be paying attention.
This year’s edition of the NBA Christmas Special featured a host of upsets and awesome outcomes. That included the double-digit underdog Golden State Warriors knocking off the Houston Rockets 116-104 and the New Orleans Pelicans capping the night by beating the Denver Nuggets on the road by the final score of 112-100.
However, maybe the most exciting action of the day saw the Los Angeles Clippers knock off the crosstown foe Lakers 111-106. The Clippers got a big night, with more than 30 points, from superstar forward Kawhi Leonard that pushed them to that five-point win over the divisional foe Lakers. Both superstar forward LeBron James and big man Anthony Davis didn’t have their best shooting nights on Christmas at the Staples Center.
One of the stronger defensive performances for the Clippers in that win over the Lakers yesterday came from veteran 6-foot-1 and 185 pound point guard and defensive stud Patrick Beverley. In the dying minutes of the fourth quarter, Beverley came away with a steal on LeBron that changed the pace of the game so that the Clippers could seal the victory.
Beverley came up with nine rebounds, one steal, and one block on Dec. 25. He was also an outstanding +26 when he was on the floor. It is the second game in a row where he was at least a +18 on the floor. And he was a net positive by double-digits on the floor in two of the last three games.
Moreover, Beverley extended his block streak to five games now. This is the type of defensive presence that head coach Jim Boylen and the Bulls would love to have in the Windy City.
Since Beverley is a Windy City native and was a free agent last offseason, there were a couple rumors going around that he could be targeted by the Bulls. But his price tag wound up being pretty high and he wasn’t the offensive force that the Bulls needed to fill their starting point guard role. That role went to the 6-foot-7 former Washington Wizards guard Tomas Satoransky.
However, the Bulls do get a strong defensive presence at the one from fourth-year point guard Kris Dunn. But Dunn doesn’t bring that same level of grit to the table as Beverley. Making key plays at moments like that on a championship contending team is exactly what the Clippers knew they were getting when they re-signed Beverley last offseason.