Lakers G Patrick Beverley suspended three games

Devin Booker committed a flagrant foul on Austin Reaves late in the 4th quarter of the Phoenix Suns' win over Beverley's Los Angeles Lakers. As Reaves laid on the ground, Beverley ran up and shoved Ayton from behind, knocking him over Reaves. Beverley was ejected.

The Lakers were supportive of Beverley after the cheap shot. Coach Darvin Ham told reporters he wasn't mad at Beverley. "He is there protecting his teammate and I am sure he will have to go through some type of consequence for that but that is who we have to be. Teams have to know they just can't push us around.” Anthony Davis said that Beverley did the right thing, "We're never gonna let anyone stand over our teammate."

They may be less happy knowing that they won't have their starting point guard for three games. Beverley sees himself as a "foxhole guy" who protects his teammates, but coincidentally, that protection often involves shoving opposing players when they're not looking. It's not clear who Beverley was protecting in the 2021 playoffs against the Suns, when he got ejected for shoving Chris Paul from behind.

When Beverley shoved CP3 in the back, his Clippers were getting trounced in an elimination game. When he shoved Ayton, it was after going scoreless in 29 minutes. Is he a heroic defender of his teammates, or is Patrick Beverley just a guy who has poor impulse control when he gets frustrated? The NBA thinks it's the latter.