Prior to the beginning of the season, Houston Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni stated that he believed point guard Patrick Beverley would miss the first 20 games of the season. Instead, Beverley will miss just 11 games, as he is set to return vs. the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday, November 17, D’Antoni told ESPN’s Calvin Watkins today. Per D’Antoni, Beverley will start in his season debut.
Beverley is one of the more aggressive perimeter defenders in the NBA, and his presence in the backcourt will be of great help to a Rockets defense that ranks in the bottom 10 NBA teams in terms of defensive rating.
With Beverley absent, the Rockets have started players like Eric Gordon and Corey Brewer instead. They’ve gotten off to a 6-4 start this season. Beverley is the clear starter when healthy, though. The scrappy point guard started in 63 of his 71 appearances last season, averaging 9.9 points and 3.4 assists per game while shooting a career-high 40% from three-point range.
