Los Angeles Clippers: Top 10 moments from 2017-18 NBA season

9. Point guard matchup

Heading into their opening night matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers, Clippers point guard Patrick Beverley had just one goal: make rookie Lonzo Ball‘s NBA debut a living nightmare.

In the first of what will hopefully be many matchups between the two, Beverley did just that, holding the then 19-year-old to just three points on 1-of-6 shooting, along with just four assists in 29 minutes of play. He did everything he could to show the rookie he wasn’t anything in the league just yet.

While Lonzo has no doubt improved as the season progressed, Beverley could end up becoming something of a kryptonite for the Lakers guard, always having his number after that faithful night in mid-October.

It’s a shame we never got to see those two match up again with Beverley requiring knee surgery in November, but with both stationed in L.A. with four games a year against each other, that first battle should serve as an entree for what’s to come.