The biggest topic following the Golden State Warriors‘ 104-78 Game 1 victory over the Houston Rockets was the question of whether or not Patrick Beverley is a dirty player.
Beverley first garnered a reputation of being a “dirty player” when he was involved in a play that led to the Oklahoma City Thunders‘ Russell Westbrook tearing his meniscus during a first-round playoff series in the 2012-13 season.
The topic was brought back to the forefront of the NBA community's attention during the first quarter of Game 1 of the Rockets-Warriors series. Beverley and Warriors guard Stephen Curry were tangled up after a play and exchanged shoves after the whistle. While Beverley received heat from the Oracle Arena crowd, both players were assessed double technicals by the referees.
In spite of the negative reaction from the Warriors faithful, Curry doesn't believe Beverley's play was dirty, via Sam Amick of USA Today Sports:
“No, he's an aggressive player. He plays hard. He tried to get under your skin with certain things he does, but that's kind of his MO. I wouldn't call it dirty at all.”
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Curry wasn't the only Golden State player that believes the Rockets guard is just an aggressive player, as Draymond Green also his thoughts on Beverley:
“Absolutely not,” Green told USA TODAY Sports when asked if he had a problem with Beverley’s first-quarter fisticuffs with reigning MVP Stephen Curry on Saturday. “(Beverley) is who he is, and that’s what made him who he is. You can’t knock somebody for the way he plays. I don’t think he does anything dirty. Now he does chippy stuff, but chippy is chippy and dirty is dirty.”
While it's certainly a nice strategy by the 27-year-old guard, Beverley's physicality didn't seem to bother Curry too much. The reigning MVP ended up scoring 24 points in the first half to give the Warriors a 60-33 lead entering the half.
Although Curry will be questionable entering Game 2 due to an ankle injury, his battle with Beverley over this best-of-seven series will be a matchup worth watching.