Houston Rockets point guard Patrick Beverley has been playing well this postseason despite his current team trailing 3-0 to the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder.
While Beverley may be opening eyes around the league because of that solid play, he recently became a hot topic of discussion for all the wrong reasons.
Following a collision with Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook during Game 2 of their Western Conference playoff series that left Westbrook injured, Beverley received death threats on his Twitter page.
Police are investigating Mitchell Brown, a ball boy for the Oklahoma City Thunder because the tweets came from his Twitter page, according to ESPN.com.
While the messages were taken off the internet, the Houston Chronicle noted a tweet from the account handle @MitchellBrwn said: "Patrick Beverly (sic), I'm coming to kill you."
In a statement released through the Houston Chronicle, Thunder spokesperson Matt Tumbleson wants fans and players everywhere to know the Thunder organization will work toward rectifying the situation.
"We do not condone his comments. He works game nights on a voluntary basis. We will handle this matter internally."
Upon running into Russell Westbrook while attempting a steal during a close Game 2 loss, Beverley's hip collided with the right knee of Westbrook, leaving the 24-year-old Thunder superstar in obvious pain.
Later diagnosed with a meniscus tear in his right knee, Westbrook underwent surgery last week and will miss the remainder of the postseason.
The comments made on twitter by Brown are clearly inappropriate and totally unnecessary. While the harsh words were heard around the league, many members of the Thunder organization know Beverley meant no harm and that injuries happen in sports.
"That was not a dirty play," Thunder head coach Scott Brooks said to reporters. "It's part of basketball. One of the things the kid does, he plays hard."
Echoing the sentiment of his head coach, Thunder leading scorer Kevin Durant hopes Beverley doesn't let the occurrence drain him.
"It's just an unfortunate play," Durant said. "I hope he's not hanging his head off it. It's just one of those freak accidents."
It certainly was a freak accident and one of those plays no one could control because two strong athletes were converging for the ball at the same time.
The death threats are clearly classless and unnecessary and while the situation will pass, basketball fans shouldn't forget the fact that Beverley - a former 2nd round pick - has been playing tremendous basketball in the postseason, scoring in double figures in two of the first three games against Oklahoma City.
Watch Russell Westbrook suffer his knee injury during the steal attempt by Patrick Beverley:
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