Lakers point guard Patrick Beverley isn’t going to drop 20 and 10, but he is a guy who will do whatever it takes to protect his team’s honor.
Against the Suns on Tuesday, that’s exactly what he did after Deandre Ayton loomed over Austin Reaves for an especially personal taunt. He shoved Ayton from the back to the ground, leading to a small scuffle and a firestorm of criticism after the game.
A few days later, the NBA decided to get involved by issuing Beverley a whopping three-game suspension based on the incident and his history of questionable plays.
Los Angeles Lakers guard Patrick Beverley has been suspended three games without pay for forcefully shoving Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton from behind and knocking him to the court, it was announced today by Joe Dumars, Executive Vice President, Head of Basketball Operations. The suspension was based in part on Beverley’s history of unsportsmanlike acts.
The incident, for which Beverley was assessed a technical foul and ejected, occurred with 3:55 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Lakers’ 115-105 loss to the Suns on Nov. 22 at Footprint Center.
Beverley will begin serving his suspension Nov. 25 when the Lakers face the San Antonio Spurs at AT&T Center.
While most fans had nothing to say about Bev’s three-game suspension, there were a few notable names to come to his defense.
Warriors Star Calls Three-Game Suspension Too Excessive
Out of all the players, it was Draymond Green who suggested the NBA’s punishment may have been a little too harsh. Commenting on a post relating to the Beverley news, Dray sent a short and honest message revealing his opinion on the matter, which has since been deleted.
Remember, Draymond has some first-hand experience dealing with physical altercations. Just a few months ago, he punched his own teammate in the face during practice and pretty much got a free vacation out of it.
But good on Draymond for speaking his mind here and siding with Beverley despite playing for a division rival.
And while NBA is almost surely not going to change its ruling at this point, perhaps there needs to be some more consistency regarding the severity of punishments for the players. Until then, there’s really nothing else Beverley can do about it but sit down and serve out the time.
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