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Patrick Beverly is a name most Oklahoma City fans didn't know a week ago, but now is cursed just as strongly as Arkansas fans curse John L. Smith and Houston Nutt.
In game 2 of the Houston Rockets playoff series with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Patrick Beverly reached in for a steal on Russell Westbrook as he was turning to the sideline to try and call timeout. The resulting collision left Westbrook's knee requiring surgery, and has been cause for Beverly to need a police escort around his hotel in OKC. Right now, he's being viewed mostly as "the guard that kept OKC from winning a title in 2013", but his game is starting to speak for itself.
Given the start in Game 5 due to Jeremy Lin's ailing chest, Beverly didn't put up all NBA numbers, but he's scoring enough and playing great defense.
It's encouraging to see him having a career after Arkansas. I think most Arkansas fans were not happy when he left and will have a hard time cheering for his success, but he was always fun to watch and he's on the underdog. The 8 seed isn't supposed to beat the 1 seed, and playoff teams down 0-3 have never won a series. I'm hoping the Rockets pull off the upset. I think it would be fun to watch Houston clash with my favorite NBA team, the Memphis Grizzlies in the next round.