Patrick Beverley Downplays In-Game Diss Of LeBron James

"I do it to everybody," Beverley said of the gesture. "We're not construction workers. We're not guys that have to get up at 4 o'clock in the morning. We're professional basketball players. It's all about having fun." 

Since Beverley signed with Chicago (his hometown team) off the buyout market, the Bulls have gone 10-5 and look like a completely new club. Ayo Dosunmu and Alex Caruso had been the team's prior starting point guards this year while it waited and hoped that $20 million starter Lonzo Ball would recover from his knee surgery (he did not). Beverley is just a much, much better playmaker than either of those combo guards are, is a more willing and accurate three-point shooter, and has the point-of-attack defensive capabilities of Caruso to boot.

Per Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic, maximum-salaried Bulls shooting guard Zach LaVine also raved about Beverley's ability to steer the club in a winning direction.

“Give credit to Pat for coming in here and giving us a jump of life, energy, a vocal leader," LaVine raved. "Give us credit for understanding the situation and going out there and playing desperate. If we keep playing like this, I think we’ll be OK.”

While the Bulls will face another former Pat Bev club, the Los Angeles Clippers, tonight at Crypto.com Arena, the Lakers will have a rare two-day break between games, before a rematch against Chicago at the United Center on Wednesday.