Not only did the Toronto Raptors and the fanbase have to watch their postseason hopes melt away thanks to an absolute disaster on the defensive end and at the free throw line against the Chicago Bulls, but they also had to see Patrick Beverley and the Chicago Bulls advance on Toronto’s home floor.
Beverley has been known for his boisterous and cantankerous celebrations, even if he only contributed one or two made shots to the ledger in his team’s victories. This game was no exception, as the Bulls advanced thanks to Zach LaVine rather than anything the well-traveled Beverley did on offense.
However, the victor gets the spoils at the end of the day, and Beverley earned his right to talk all the trash he deems appropriate. He chose to get right in the face of Raptors executive Bobby Webster, letting him know just how ineffective his team was in stopping Chicago’s LaVine-led assault.
Beverley was reportedly quoted as saying the Raptors were “trash” while letting some NSFW words fly. This might sting to hear for Raptors fans, but the fanbase has to take the L after they had a golden opportunity slip right through their hands.
"“I knew they were f—ing trash.”"
Patrick Beverley calls out Toronto Raptors after play-in tournament.
Beverley is not exactly wrong in his assessment, if a little blunt. The Raptors lacked the infrastructure needed to close what should have been a dominant home win. The team had no bench and missed 18 free throws. What else can you call that performance if not trash?
This loss illustrated the need for a major facelift in the next few months, as Toronto might need to change coaches and will definitely need to switch up the back end of their roster. Any team that allows a clearly deficient squad like Chicago to bulldoze them at home like that can’t just run it back with the same guys.
Glory to the MAN🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾
— Patrick Beverley (@patbev21) April 13, 2023
Hopefully, Webster takes this salvo to heart and gets to work on improving this roster. Trade acquisition Jakob Poeltl, Fred VanVleet, and Gary Trent Jr. are all free agents, setting Toronto up for what could be an incredibly hectic start to the offseason.
While some fans might seethe at Beverley being so bold and brash after contributing next to nothing in Chicago’s win, this all could have been avoided if they made a few more of their 18 missed free throws and had the bright idea of slowing LaVine down.