LOS ANGELES – As the oldest member of the Timberwolves, Patrick Beverley has been through many nights like the Wolves' 108-103 loss to the Lakers on Sunday.
He has seen teams lose their poise in the final minutes of a tight road game, like the Wolves did in committing eight fourth quarter turnovers.
Players like Naz Reid and Jaylen Nowell, who are in their third years and don't get to play crunch time minutes often, felt the frustration even though the Wolves were down Karl-Anthony Towns and D'Angelo Russell.
"We're a young team so we have a lot of learning to do," Nowell said.
But Beverley tends to take the opposite tone. After a frustrating loss he's often the one striking a note of optimism in his postgame comments.
"Obviously we're down two main guys and you don't want to highlight the excuses, but I'm happy with our performance," Beverley said. "Obviously you want to win every game you play, but the type of poise that we showed throughout the game, toughness, fight that we showed on this road trip so far, that's all you can ask for. If we just keep the same intensity with the guys coming back, we're one of the best teams when we're healthy."
His motto is that "frustration is good." So when the Wolves commit 24 turnovers, it's a learning experience more than anything in his eyes.
"Frustration forces you to lock in more, forces you to play better," Beverley said. "I think having a bad game, turning the ball over, you can learn from all those situations. Anything negative with basketball I always look at as a positive because you can get better."
The Wolves have had a tendency to unspool when one of the top contributors goes out. That hasn't happened in this recent stretch of games despite the Wolves dropping three straight.
Beverley said this means the Wolves can be "dangerous" when they get everybody back.
"Those guys stepped up tremendously and they've been doing it all year. … January is a big month for us. Obviously you don't want to start the new year with a loss, but I'm happy with the fight."
