LA Clippers coach Doc Rivers says he's "pretty sure" Patrick Beverley will play in Game 1 against the Denver Nuggets.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 After missing most of LA's first-round series the Dallas Mavericks,
00:03 it's looking more and more likely that Patrick Beverly will be good to go for Thursday's series opener against the Denver Nuggets.
00:09 On Wednesday, Clippers coach Dr. Rubenstowe reported there's a good chance
00:12 Beverly will play in game one, although he wouldn't say for sure just yet, saying,
00:17 "You'll see him this series for sure. I'm pretty sure tomorrow, but I can't guarantee that right now."
00:21 His presence will be especially important against Denver as well, as Jamal Murray has been one of the best,
00:28 if not the best, playoff performers so far this postseason.
00:31 At Denver's first-round series, the Utah Jazz, 23-year-old averaged 31.6 points,
00:37 5.6 rebounds, 6.3 assists while shooting a red-hot 53% in three-point range on 8.6 attempts per game.
00:45 Beverly won't always mess up on Murray as LA switches things a lot,
00:49 and you can't let him really afford because they have guys like PG and Kawhi to line up that can, you know,
00:53 handle guys like Murray as well as Patrick Beverly can.
00:57 But Beverly will have to take a bulk of that load,
00:59 so it's important that he is, you know, ready and good to go for this series.
01:02 If Beverly does play in game one, it's also worth questioning whether he'll get the start or not in that game.
01:07 He's missed five consecutive contests right now, hasn't played since roughly mid-August,
01:11 so there's a chance to come off the bench.
01:14 Let's clip Charlotte Lickett and back into things. If that does happen, look for Landry Schamatier to start his place once again.
01:19 He's been the main beneficiary of Beverly's absence. He started in the last four games, looked pretty well doing that as well.
01:25 But at the very least, we can at least take comfort in knowing that Beverly will be on the floor again before we know it.