His defense hasn't been as great as advertised so far. I mean he is still great at pressuring the ball and all that but it seems lately he is losing his man on D much more. Also on top of the he is getting caught in screens just like Lin has. So I'm beginning to wonder if he's still not 100% Hes still playing good defense but if he happens to be 100% then I think we may have overrated his Defense quite a bit. If this is the case then I don't find it surprising since we have never seen Bev play extended minutes like this.
I doubt he's hurt anymore. He's hitting the three ball more often, always running and gunning. Although he's a great defender but people are overrating his defense. He is not the god of defense he's just a hard worker who gets the offensive boards, steals and blocks. He brings great spirit to the team. Gotta love him.
It's a matter of Bev adjusting to starter minutes and starter opposition. Give him time, it's hard to make the step up to consistent starter and maintain effectiveness.
The problem is you guys expect 1 on 1 shut down defense on a PG. Keep wishing. It won't happen. The PG is the fastest player on the team and initiates a lot of offense using screens. It takes a team defense to shut down team offense. You can't just tell a player "fight through the screen" and expect that to work all the time, especially with a small PG against a PF or a C. Bev gets burned occasionally 1 on 1, but it happens. He's playing against starting PGs instead of 2nd team PGs.
saying bevs defence has been poor is a little bit harsh when you look at the stats, he has a defensive ratiing of under 100 being a starter coming back from injury.
Beverley is not the type of player to use injury as an excuse, he refuses to even mention it so we won't know if he's playing hurt or not. What I love about Beverley is you can see and feel the defensive impact everytime he is on the floor. He seems to always be in the right place for a 50/50 ball, OR, putback, steal, etc. He reminds me a bit of a cleaner, someone who will clean up our mess/mistake. I especially love him in the 4Q and wish we can see him close out games more. His hustling on defense doesn't just disrupt opposing offense, it also sometimes creates extra possessions. He's the best defensive PG I've seen so far this season and I watch a lot of NBA. Even if there's a drop in Bev's D (b/c of adjustment) he's still our best defensive guard.
I thought he did as well as could be expected on lawson who is a top-tier pg - one of the fastest pg who was on fire tonight. Lin wasn't bad either. But Beverly harasses the guard a bit more and takes more time off the clock - that's his big +
Several reasons that many people on this board cited prior to the season starting. 1) Teams have scouted him so they know what he brings on the defensive end and how to get around him 2) He is playing against starting PG's so increased competition 3) Fans tend to overrate there own players it is human 4) He is probably still adjusting to being a full time starter 5) its one thing to come off the bench as a defensive spark and another thing to be a starter. There will be a lot of drop off from the former to the latter.
I said it last year and will say it again- Bev plays some good pressure D at times but also loses his man a ton and doesn't fight through picks any better than Lin. Also, Bev gambles and drifts off his man so that he can try to guard part of the paint too. Sometimes that results in him getting a steal off a guy driving through the paint... but more often than not, it results in his man being left wide open and draining an open shot. Bev D is great in spurts but overrated when looking at the entire game.
i doubt he's 100%, but he's toughing it out like Parsons/Harden practically everyone else with the flu, no issue.
people don't realize that to defend the PnR it has to commitment not just by the PG. It's almost like if we expect one guy to cover for both the roller and the ball handler. Then again, it's the toughest play to defend and why it's been around since jesus and the dinosaurs. I would love to see us do it to them more than we do.
Quit making excuses for Bev. He was never the elite defensive player the board made him out to be. He also came back too early because he didn't want to lose his "starting" job to a hot Lin. Of course we all know starting is not important.
I think you're being a bit harsh there. Beverly is a fantastic defender, though perhaps not elite, he's still one of the best defenders on the team. I think what people need to realise regarding both Beverly and Lin is that you can't expect the PG to get screened and then always recover if there's no help from the big. That's a team defense thing that the coaching staff need to work on. It's the same with Harden, when he gets screened. Though I do feel like pulling my hair out when he just gives up on plays, but he's playing hurt so you have to take that into account as well.
Perhaps he's still adjusting or perhaps it's just extremely difficult to sustain such high energy thru extended minutes. In that pre-season game where he owned Jrue Holiday and eventually fouled him out, Beverley looked a tad gassed and asked to be sub out (if I remember correctly). As much as everyone loves Beverley, the sample size on him is still quite small. Guess we'll just have to wait and see how he does as the season goes on.
