When the Los Angeles Lakers traded Talen Horton-Tucker, a young guard who hadn’t panned out after a promising start, and forward Stanley Johnson for veteran guard Patrick Beverley, some felt it was a shrewd move.
The thinking was Beverley would give the Lakers some much-needed defense and toughness on the perimeter, as well as even more needed 3-point shooting.
While Beverley, at times, has given them that defense and toughness, his 3-point shooting has been lacking.
Over his first 15 games, his 3-point shooting was as cold as Vermont during a polar vortex. He was hitting 23.4% from downtown, and even worse, he was at 26.8% overall.
Lakers fans were calling for Beverley to be traded or at least to be removed from the starting lineup.
But lately, he has turned his performance around. Even though plenty of people may not have noticed, it has been a pleasant surprise to those who have.