LA Lakers’ Patrick Beverley found himself in a bit of trouble when his side came up against Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night. The defender got into a massive altercation with the opposing team and shoved Deandre Ayton for standing over Lakers player Austin Reaves. 

Television analyst Jay Williams, who formerly played for the Chicago Bulls, was not happy with the way Beverley had shoved his opponent. Despite his best intentions to stand up for his own teammates, Beverley has been found to have some temperamental issues in situations like these which have often been under the scanner. Williams did not hold it back when he spoke about the incident. 

“I get he’s always gonna protect his teammates, but I agree with what Devin Booker said. I’m so tired of watching Pat Beverley push people in the back. Push people in their chests. I think Patrick Beverley should be suspended for something like this. I don’t think there’s any room for somebody pushing somebody from the blindside,” said Jay Williams.   

As Williams mentioned, Ayton is not the first Suns player Beverley shoved in the back. There was an even more egregious incident during the 2021 playoffs when Beverley took exception to something Chris Paul said and aggressively shoved CP3. Beverley was suspended to start the following season because of that incident.

The repeated history of such incidents could result in the player getting suspended according to many experts. Beverley, who joined the Lakers this season from Minnesota Timberwolves as their chief point guard to beef up the defense, has not been as influential as the fans would’ve wanted him to be thus far. 

Coming into the season, there were concerns about who would be the starting guard. There were rumors of Beverley and Russell Westbrook being the primary backcourt duo, but it did not play out like that.

The incident also does not favor the current form of the LA Lakers, who lost their 11th game of the NBA season. They were taken down 115-105 by the Suns, pushing them to the 14th position in the Western Conference table, just ahead of the Houston Rockets.