Is Patrick Beverley’s shot finally coming around for the Lakers?

Of the many disappointing aspects of the Lakers season, one that sticks out toward the top has been the play of Patrick Beverley. On paper, the acquisition of PatBev made lots of sense, giving the Lakers a 3-and-D guard that can play alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis and provide the team a toughness it previously lacked.

Beverley, though, has failed to live up to most of those expectations. Offensively, he has been one of the worst players in the league for most of the season. According to Five Thirty Eight’s RAPTOR rating, for example, PatBev ranks 231st out of 250 in offensive rating.

From the start of the season until Dec. 6, a span of 18 games, PatBev shot just 22% from the field, 27.1% from the field and had an offensive rating of 106.4, the worst among regular rotation players in that span.

His poor play was so bad that the Lakers began shopping him around for better options on the market. Even PatBev himself started looking for his future destination this season.

It might come as “too little, too late,” but the good news for the Lakers is that Beverley appears to be turning things around, at least offensively. Over his last 11 games, Beverley’s shooting has been on an upswing as he’s made 48.7% of his 39 attempts from range and overall, he’s shooting 54.4% from the field in that span.

It’s a very positive sign, but unfortunately, adding more context to that shows that it hasn’t really changed his effectiveness...or ineffectiveness, to be exact. In that same span, the Lakers are 18.1 points per 100 possessions better with him off the floor than on it. The only person with a worse net rating is Lonnie Walker IV, and the team is never better than with Beverley off the court.

Even as things have improved for him statistically, it’s not made the situation ultimately any better. Sure, it’s more enjoyable to see Beverley contribute something while he’s on the court, but if the end result is still him being a liability, then it ultimately doesn’t change much.

The glass-half-full approach is that it’s easier to be a more effective player when you’re making shots. But PatBev has spent so much time being an ineffective player for the Lakers this season that his fate may already be sealed for his future with the team.

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