Marcus Smart and Patrick Beverley are two players that every single team hates to play against. They are staunch defenders who can show flashes of brilliance when it comes to their offensive games. On every single possession, these two are in their opponents' face and it leads to some frustrating play and heightened emotions. Earlier this week, these two faced off against each other with the Clippers coming away with a 107-104 overtime win.
After the game, Beverley was speaking to a reporter when he was compared to Smart. The Clippers defender ended up scoffing at the idea which was seen by some as quite disrespectful. Thanks to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe, Smart was given a chance to respond and he had an interesting quip of his own.
“You put me up against Pat, I think you know who’ll win that battle," Smart said. Based on the reactions to Smart's comments, they are mostly on his side and feel like he is the more effective player. Regardless, it's clear they're both good and their intensity has created a nice rivalry.
The Clippers and Celtics are two of the best teams in the entire league so perhaps we can see these guys battle it out in the NBA Finals. You really never know what can happen.