The Lakers added another loss to their season total last night, falling 115-105 to a Suns team without their leading point guard. Despite the defeat and another monster game from Anthony Davis, the story after the game was about Patrick Beverley and his altercation with Deandre Ayton.
With 4 minutes left in the game, the Suns’ big man made a taunt towards Austin Reaves, who was on the floor after failing to stop the play. Patrick Beverley, who watched the whole thing go down, ran up behind Ayton and shoved him to the floor, resulting in a big scene with several technical fouls.
Some Lakers fans have come out in support of Beverley, but ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith went the opposite way on First Take this morning. As he revealed on national television, he believes the Lakers should suspend Bev for his involvement in the situation.
“Not only is he going to get suspended, it should be a multi-game suspension. You can’t shove people in the back. I would have a totally different tune if Patrick Beverley walked around, got in his face, and shoved him. Got no problem with that. It’s the fact that he shoved him in the back. And it’s the fact that you’re a repeat offender. If you go back, look at the footage of Patrick Beverley shoving Chris Paul in the playoffs a couple of years ago when Phoenix smoked the Clippers and bounced them out of the Western Conference Finals, he just shoved Chris Paul in the back… but you shoved Deandre Ayton, for what? Because he’s staring at Austin Reaves? It’s ridiculous. You’ve got to suspend him.”
.@stephenasmith is calling for the Lakers to suspend Pat Bev:
"You shoved Deandre Ayton, for what? Because he's staring at Austin Reaves? It's ridiculous. You've got to suspend him." pic.twitter.com/CPK9eqZtgb
— First Take (@FirstTake) November 23, 2022
Stephen A. raises some good points here. Why didn’t Beverley face up with Ayton instead of pulling the cheap shot from behind? Whatever the case, Stephen A. isn’t the only one to call Beverley out.
Devin Booker Sent A Message To Patrick Beverley After Mid-Game Altercation
As Stephen A. Smith pointed out, Beverley has a history with the Suns. Back during his days on the Clippers, he played a pretty brutal series against Phoenix that involved a push against Chris Paul.
Yesterday wasn’t as extreme, but Booker made sure to let Bev know he hasn’t forgotten about some of Beverley’s past transgressions.
“It was more than it was supposed to be. Pat need to stop pushing people in the back man, push them in the chest.”
Pushing a player from behind comes with some serious risk, which is why the NBA is so harsh when it comes to enforcing that rule.
Regarding whether or not the Lakers will take action against Beverley, it seems unlikely. He undoubtedly crossed some lines this week, but that’s exactly the sort of thing the Lakers brought him there to do.
Hopefully, it gives them the spark they need to keep their season alive.
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