The NBA has doled out punishments for the nasty scuffle during the New Orleans Pelicans vs Phoenix Suns game on Saturday. But the internet can’t seem to decide who is (more) at fault. Jose Alvarado and Mark Williams are going to miss the next few games, no doubt about it. But according to a Suns legend’s opinion, the punishment is disproportionate.

The NBA’s Executive Vice President and Head of Basketball Operations, James Jones, took a stern stance on Jose Alvarado of the Pelicans and Mark Williams of the Suns. Both players will be suspended without pay, effective immediately.

But Eddie A. Johnson disagrees with the length of the punishment.

“So what Mark Williams should have done was Run or but he couldn’t, Alvarado was hanging on his Jersey,” Johnson wrote on X. “Oh So then he should have allowed an irate Player to swing and punch to get both ejected! Can’t win in that situation.”

Alvarado gets a two-game suspension. He will miss the Pelicans’ games against the New York Knicks on December 29 and the Chicago Bulls on December 31. Williams, however, received a one-game suspension. That will keep him out of the Suns’ matchup versus the Washington Wizards on December 29.

Now, it’s worth noting that Eddie A. Johnson (not to be confused with Eddie L. Johnson) played his best years in Phoenix. He’s currently on the Suns’ broadcasting team. His job gives him the best view of these on-court skirmishes. But does it also make him lean one way?

Eddie A. Johnson saw Mark Williams’ POV

During Saturday’s game, things came to a head in the final minutes of the third quarter. Collin Gillespie had the possession at midcourt. His teammate, Mark Williams, began setting up a screen to guard Alvarado.

The refs called a defensive foul on Alvarado, prompting the Pelicans player to contest it with the refs. That escalated to him arguing with Williams. It got physical when 6-foot Alvarado grabbed 7’1″ Williams’ jersey. The extremely mismatched Alvardo and Williams went from exchanging words to exchanging punches in no time… Their teammates and coaches flew off the bench to break them apart.

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Too late, though. Both players were given technicals and ejected from the game.

Over 24 hours later, the Internet is split over who threw the first punch or who gets more blame. Johnson certainly thinks the Suns player was provoked into matching Alvarado’s energy. On Saturday, he defended Williams, claiming he was trying to avoid hitting him.

“Mark Williams was trying not to swing at Jose,” Johnson tweeted. “He was trying block his swinging. If Mark Williams was swinging, he would have hurt Jose, whom I personally like. One guy cared about a paycheck, while the other one did not.”

When someone accused Williams of starting everything, Johnson also added, “You must be a softie. Players push constantly Waterboy.”

Williams ended up getting the last laugh, anyway. The Suns beat the Pelicans 123-114.

Notably, coach Jordan Ott attributed the scuffle to fatigue.

“It just feels like the lack of sleep the second night of a back-to-back, something always tends to happen,” Ott said. “Last night, there were a lot of free throws; tonight, there wasn’t as much. They let us play tonight, which is something we enjoy. They got tangled up, and obviously, they both got thrown out.”