Lakers News: Patrick Beverley Calls Guarding LeBron James ‘Not Hard At All’

Ron Gutterman
3 Min Read
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Lakers are coming off their most difficult weekend of the 2019-20 NBA season, taking on both the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Clippers.

However, with LeBron James‘ leadership and stellar defense, the Lakers managed to win both games by a combined 19 points. James sealed the Clippers game by targeting Lou Williams and Patrick Beverley on pick-and-roll switches, scoring 12 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter.

This offensive strategy was pure genius by James. He would make sure either Beverly or Williams switched onto him, then he’d drive to the basket. If no help came, it was a free layup and possibly a foul. If help did come, somebody would be wide open.

Despite this working to absolute perfection and the Lakers getting a 112-103 win, Beverley claims that guarding James when he demands those switches is ‘not hard at all,’ via according to Harrison Sanford of Inside the Green Room:

Beverley has always been a hard-nosed type of player who would never admit that another player has the upper hand on him, but the tape doesn’t lie. James had the upper hand all night long no matter who was guarding him, but had an extra easy time when being guarded by point guards.

Perhaps Beverley is still hanging on to Christmas Day when he blocked James’ last-second three-point attempt to tie the game and forced a turnover. But Round 3 was a completely different story in the way James was able to take over.

The Lakers and Clippers will face off one more time before the 2020 NBA playoffs on April 9. Both teams will be on the third night of a back-to-back-to-back situation but should be at full strength for the final matchup. The Lakers might clinch the Western Conference’s No. 1 spot by then, but might still take that game seriously as one final test.

Ron Gutterman is a Washington State University alum from Anaheim, California, and is currently a Staff Writer for LakersNation.com, RamsNewsWire.com, and RaidersNewsWire.com. He is also the lead editor for AngelsNation.com. With Lakers Nation, Rams News Wire, Raiders News Wire, and Angels Nation, Ron assists in news, game coverage, analysis, and hot takes via his Twitter account, @rongutterman24. Without a doubt, Ron's favorite Laker, and favorite athlete of all time, is Kobe Bryant. Ron began watching basketball when he was 6 years old, in 2005, when Bryant was dragging the likes of Smush Parker and Ronny Turiaf to playoff spots. Ron's all time favorite Lakers moment was Bryant's final game when he dropped 60 points. While the Lakers beating the Celtics in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, as Metta World Peace hit the game clinching three, will always be a top option, Bryant's final night takes the cake. Contact: ron@mediumlargela.com
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