Way to go, Patrick Beverley. And way to go, all of you people.
After the Clippers' miraculous win over the Golden State Warriors in Game 2, which saw them make the biggest comeback in NBA playoffs history, Patrick Beverley was being championed as the Man Who Can Stop Kevin Durant.
Durant had been ejected from Game 1 following an altercation with Beverley, and then fouled out in a Game 2 performance which only saw him take eight shots, and hadn't been himself. Beverley, who is eight inches shorter than Durant, was doing the impossible. Everyone loved it. Everyone made a big old deal out of it.
And it went and ticked off Durant.
In Game 3, the Warriors steamrolled the Clippers, winning 132-105. It was only that close because the Warriors took their foot off the gas in the fourth. They were on pace for much of the game for 150 points, and the man most responsible was Kevin Durant.
Durant set the tone early, scoring the first three Warriors baskets and scoring 10 of their first 15 points (he had the assist on the other five points). A quick Warriors run later and all of a sudden it was 32-15 Warriors and the Clippers looked bewildered.
Durant finished with 38 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds despite not, by his standards, having a terribly great shooting night. (He finished 3 of 10 from deep.) The Warriors were +32 when he was on the floor, and now have a 2-1 lead.
What was that about Beverley being the Durant stopper?
I'm being somewhat facetious, of course. I don't think people crowing about Beverley actually motivated Kevin Durant all that much more than he is usually motivated, and Beverley's aggressive tactics and "bulldog" approach (to use Durant's phrasing in a surprisingly thoughtful interview he gave on the subject) ticked him off more than any tweets on the subject would.
But all season long one thing has been true: The best team at beating the Golden State Warriors is the Golden State Warriors. They have the most talented roster in the league, and that remains true after they lost DeMarcus Cousins to injury.
They have the best pure scorer in the league (Durant), the best pure shooter in the league (Stephen Curry), the second best pure shooter in the league (Klay Thompson) and two wildly overqualified "role" players in Andre Iguodala and Draymond Green.
They've also had bickering this year, and weird drama, and have a penchant for throwing away games they had no business losing, much like they let the Clippers come back on them in Game 2. A lot of the time they looked like a team trying to find itself. Just as often they looked tired, which after this many consecutive runs to the NBA Finals, can you blame them?
They've looked like a team looking for a spark. And if the noise surrounding Beverley gets Durant that tiny bit more focused, or allows the Warriors to come together around a common goal (letting KD show him up), that little bit could be just enough for the Warriors to sharpen up and destroy everyone.
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