Dwight Howard Suspended For Game 6
Dwight Howard (photo. Mannion)
Though Dwight Howard said that “it wasn’t like I was out there trying to hurt anybody,” Commissioner Stern’s office has cracked the whip, suspending the Magic center for Game 6.
Knowing full well the implications of taking away a dude who is averaging 24 points, 15.8 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks, the League must have felt his swinging elbow was particularly egregious.
Without Dwight or Courtney Lee (fractured sinus), the Sixers have to be odds-on favorites to push this to a seven-game series. If it goes to seven games, this suspension will ultimately put pressure on Dwight to prove that he is the difference-maker everyone believes him to be.
And if it goes the distance, we’ll also have an opportunity to see how the refs reacted to the coaching debate between Tony DiLeo and Stan Van Gundy after Game 5. In addition to pleading that the League suspend Howard, DiLeo asked for 3 seconds to be called more tightly.
“Dwight Howard had a great game, and he’s a great player, but he just lives in the 3-second lane on offense and defense,” DiLeo said. “I’m just saying he’s standing in the 3-second lane on offense and defense. He’s a great player, and he doesn’t need any advantages.”
As usual, Van Gundy reacted as caustically as possible.
“Am I supposed to come up here and talk about the game? Or am I supposed to come up here and lobby for the calls I want the next game?” Van Gundy said. “Is that what it’s about now? We’re supposed to lobby for the calls we want the next game? Let’s just play the games.
“I guess that’s the only reason Dwight’s having success in this series. It has nothing to do with the fact that he’s good.”
Source: SI
April 29th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
NTstateOFmind says:
he got what he deserved, no question about it
April 29th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
Kobe says:
dwight deserved the suspension! courtney lee is SOFT i would have beat his ass
April 29th, 2009 at 5:50 pm
bruinking says:
@Kobe
What the hell are you talking about? You want Courtney Lee to attack his own teammate?
April 29th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
TomGfromCanada says:
sucks for the big man and the magic, but i saw this comin
April 29th, 2009 at 5:53 pm
w says:
Is it me or did everyone forget that KG pushed a ref and hit zaza pachulia last year and he didnt miss shit…
Dwight should be getting his superstar calls already as well; no way he should miss a game.
April 29th, 2009 at 5:53 pm
Bron42 aka Had Springs Before Slamball says:
everyone saw it comin, he shoulda just layed dalembert out bynum style and walked away like it was nothin lol
April 29th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
playboy says:
lmao bynum style? okay. lets talk about how THE NBA ASSESSED RONDOS KARATE CHOP as a good, hard foul. WHAT KINDA BULLSHIT IS THAT.
April 29th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
Big Island says:
If the refs woulda kicked Dwight out on the spot, he wouldn’t be suspended. He deserved it though. Even if you don’t believe the “letter of the rule” defense, like myself, he deserves to be gone a game. Amare a couple of years back, no.
I hate KG even more now that he isn’t playing.
April 29th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
Michorizo says:
Rondo’s should be suspended as well…as much as I don’t like players from any team getting suspended in the playoffs…Rondo’s hit warrants a suspension …but he won’t due to the inconsistency of the league…if Rondo were a big guy and he smacked a small guard, he would have received a suspension immediately.
April 29th, 2009 at 6:17 pm
sparkyjay23 says:
If the young fella is gonna learn something from this it’s next time don’t miss.
The Centaur is gonna go crazy - i see a 30-30 game in his near future…
April 29th, 2009 at 6:26 pm
Big Aaron says:
This is complete shit from the league. Yes, Dwight threw the elbow and warrants the suspension, but Rondo gets off scott-free with clubbing Miller in the mouth? Fuck that.
The Celtics have their sixth man: David Stern. He basically made that publicly known with this move.
April 29th, 2009 at 6:29 pm
Spliff 2 My Lou says:
I guess Perk was wrong. The refs do not dislike them.
If I’m Brad Miller or any other Bull I’m going for a face slap next time a Celtic drives to the hoop. Not only for retribution but also to see if the calls are consistent.
April 29th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
Spliff 2 My Lou says:
And if it was already Game 7 tomorrow between the Magic and Sixers Dwight would not have been suspended. The NBA only suspended Dwight because they figure if the Dwight-less Magic lose tomorrow then that means a game 7. More revenue makes everybody happy.
April 29th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
Ashlov says:
In related news, Herlander Coimbra, formerly of the Angolan national team, has asked TNT to suspend Charles Barkley for one game.
April 29th, 2009 at 6:49 pm
Michorizo says:
I hope someone bitch slaps Rondo on the way to the basket as well…in fact, whoever does this should walk over and bitch slap KG too.
April 29th, 2009 at 6:58 pm
AY says:
there was no blood; that’s not even a foul, much less flagrant.
April 29th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
Ross says:
I thought Rondo deserved to be suspended for 2 games. If Dwight gets 1 game for this, then perhaps I’m right.
April 29th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
Drink the Haterade (KB24 Chip 09) says:
@ Spliff–
“If I’m Brad Miller or any other Bull I’m going for a face slap next time a Celtic drives to the hoop. Not only for retribution but also to see if the calls are consistent”.
I’m sayin the same thing, PP, Rondo, Ray Ray all of em, come to the hoop, I’m puttin em on their ass. Just be like BAM! What MOTHER F*%&ER!!!!
April 29th, 2009 at 7:30 pm
Luigi says:
damn in the 80’s this shit woulda been leagally normal…now its causing controversy.. i say…accidents happen. i saw Rondo’s n Dwight’s hit…Dwight got it right by getting suspended. while league got it right kuz Rondo got there A TAD LATE…and every second is a difference just like in football.. trust me if u look at it again. you’ll see he got there late and accidentally got him in the face.. if he reacted sooner.. he woulda easily contested the shot no lie.
April 29th, 2009 at 7:50 pm
Big Shot BOB says:
Blah Blah Blah…I’m glad the ref’s are holding there whistle’s this year. It’s as if the league told them were going back to old school ball. If Rondo wants to Kurt Rambis a muthafucka because the game is on the line and Dwight wants to sned a message that the ref’s didn’t even call I say by all means this is the PLAYOFFS.
April 29th, 2009 at 8:01 pm
doc says:
Thats what im talking about!
April 29th, 2009 at 8:38 pm
that's whats up says:
just saw Mike Beasley’s hair-do and it made me want to play TRON
He can plant enough corn for an army in those rows
April 29th, 2009 at 10:21 pm
bone0315 says:
Bill Simmons was right in his ESPN column today - the league did not suspend Rondo because they would have admitted the refs blew the call by not calling it a flagrant. With Howard, they at least gave him a T, so they only “partially” admiited to blowing that one.
April 29th, 2009 at 10:53 pm
dagwaller says:
Bleh. I just wish that Dalembert had received some kind of punishment for shoving Dwight the way he did.
Also, I love SVG.
April 29th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
Dagomar says:
I love how the conspiracy theorists initially came out and said Howard wouldn’t be suspended because he’s an NBA golden boy. Instead of admitting they were wrong, now the story is that the NBA suspended Dwight because it wants a game 7.
Wow. I could never understand the appeal of being a conspiracy theorist and I still don’t.
April 30th, 2009 at 12:11 am
knock knock says:
^^THERES ONLY ONE GOLDEN BOY IN THE NBA and thats lebroom james. go look at stats of pistons vs cavs. cavs average 20 more freethrows a game than the pistons did. refs will not let the cavs lose in the first round at least.
April 30th, 2009 at 12:20 am
Kudabeen says:
The most embarrassing thing that could happen is that the sixers allow Orlando to come to Philly and beat them. The roughest thing is guarding the perimeter while trying to push Dwight out the paint…The two best players for the Magic in this series are out…Sixers need to show their “fans” more…put 4 quarters of effort and aggression (looking at you Iguodala)…as well as he has played he coast for far to long in these games, where he could be putting more pressure on Orlando’s so so perimeter defense.
Not a SVG fan…I can see where he can wear on a players nerves…He would probably do better in college, but then on second thought professionals may be better equipped to tune out his antics…
Dwight camping in the lane and switching pivots is an unfair advantage for a guy that has an unfair advantage naturally against Sam Dalembert and Ratliff…He is just better…
April 30th, 2009 at 12:52 am
the cynic says:
This is great news, we get to see the Polish Hammer in action for the magic
April 30th, 2009 at 1:11 am
weng santos says:
You shouldn’t be comparing Dwight to KG or Rondo. What he did has it’s own demerits. It’s like a thief who got caught and sentenced- should we let him go just because there are other criminals who got away?
He interntionally hit Dalembert. I don’t care who’se done it before or however you look at it, that’s still wrong. And if you don’t see that then someone needs to take a swing at your head.
April 30th, 2009 at 2:38 am
rick773 says:
I don’t think rondo’s hit was malicous but by rule it should’ve been a flagrant. I’m just disguisted in the fact that the league attempted to justify their lack of a call by agreeing with the refs saying he was going for the ball. I don’t think he should’ve been suspended but to dismiss it as an attempt on the ball is assinine. The bulls need to put in their reserves at the opeining tip and have the reserves use all 30 fouls they have between him in the first 5 minutes.
April 30th, 2009 at 2:45 am
Frank says:
It’s time for The Polish Hammer to step up!
April 30th, 2009 at 3:33 am
rick773 says:
LMAO @ Polish Hammer he needs to get that trademarked. If basketball doesn’t work out he could get some recognition in the porn industry with that name
April 30th, 2009 at 7:52 am
YOUNGFED..."Im kinda like a big deal" says:
@Post 26
True very true
April 30th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
B-Rad says:
The difference is — Dwight’s foul should have been a Flagrant 2, immediate ejection (no question, an elbow making contact above shoulder level is explicit in the rules). The rulebook Section 12-B-I-7 clearly states, “If the deliberate elbow contact is above shoulder level, the player will be ejected.” Because he was not ejected, he was suspended. Had he been ejected, he more than likely would not have been suspended (suspensions are not covered in the rulebook).
Rondo’s foul was a borderline Flagrant 1 (no way it was Flagrant 2). If he was issued a flagrant 1, he still would’ve remained in the game. This is why he is not suspended. Additionally, per the rule book 12-A-VII, there is no fine for a Flagrant 1 foul (there is a fine for Flagrant 2’s per 12-A-VII-H)… so calling a retroactive Flagrant 1 is borderline irrelevant.
Furthermore, what does having a play for the ball have to do with a flagrant foul? Nowhere in the rulebook does it mention anything about making a play on the ball??? (Section 12-B-IV-A deals with Flagrant 1 fouls, Section 12-B-IV-B deals with Flagrant 2 fouls).
April 30th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
Big Shot BOB says:
Section 11-C-III-F stats “If you can’t stand the heat get the hell out of the kitchen.” This rule applies to you Sammy!
April 30th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
B-Rad says:
11-C states “A Player Shall Not: During a field goal attempt, touch a ball which has a chance to score, after it has touched any part of the backboard above ring level, whether the ball is considered on its upward or downward flight.”
Seems irrelevant here Bob…
April 30th, 2009 at 9:47 pm
Kudabeen says:
And what does the Sixers do? They embarrass themselves and let their dwindling fan base down. They don’t have to guard the paint, so they decide not to guard the three. There is no shot blocker to fear, so they shoot jumpshots all game. Iguodala proves people right in not even attempting to take over or provide a spark. Lou Williams does nothing again.
Magic do what ever they want. It is one thing to lose in a battle, but to come out flat, get out worked and fold at home is exactly how you end up in the bottom part of the attendance totals…
Makes me sick…But the better organization and team moves forward…No effort equals no need for anyone to purchase season tickets…