Beverley challenges Clippers' starters to play harder after 9th straight loss
Patrick Beverley is pissed off, and he's not holding back.
The Clippers combo guard returned from a five-game absence Monday, only to fail to get his new club back on track as Los Angeles fell 107-85 to the New York Knicks.
Beverley, 29 was the only starter to finish with a positive net rating, while the other four combined for minus-70. He ripped them for their lackluster effort.
"We just got to play harder," the two-time All-Defensive player told reporters postgame, as quoted by LA Times' Broderick Turner. "That's it. We just got to play harder. You get rid of the mistakes by playing hard. We're not playing hard; the first unit, not the whole team. I challenged the first unit to play harder."
Though the Clippers have dropped nine straight, Beverley said it "feels like 100 losses." He vowed to turn the ship around and indicated his group must build on their maturity and effort.
"We too cool. We too cool. We come in this game, we come on the court like people are supposed to back down because of the name on the back of our jerseys and that's not the case. The only thing people are looking at is the name on the front of our jersey, and that's nine losses in a row," said Beverley, who hasn't missed the playoffs in his previous five seasons.
"They don't give a ... about what you've done in the past or your stats or anything. Teams out here are trying to beat our ... and they are beating our ... ."
Since opening the campaign with four consecutive victories, L.A. has lost 11 of 12 and now ranks in the bottom 10 in defensive rating. Injuries have decimated the Clippers' starting lineup, with Danilo Gallinari, Milos Teodosic, and Beverley all missing time, making it even more difficult for the club to forge an identity in the post-Chris Paul era.
Beverley, who joined L.A. in the Pau deal, is averaging 12.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.7 steals in 11 games. He and the Clips will try to to snap their skid Wednesday against the Atlanta Hawks.