James, Wade don’t understand Ibaka fine
by Tim McGarry and Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY Sports
Steve Mitchell, USA TODAY Sports
You can’t blame LeBron James and Dwyane Wade for being confused. After all, the NBA has come down with different punishment for the same crime.
On Dec. 26, Wade delivered a leg kick to the midsection of Charlotte Bobcats guard Ramon Sessions and received a one-game suspension without pay – about $156,000 missing from Wade’s paycheck.
Oklahoma City center Serge Ibaka gave a chop aimed at Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin on Sunday and that aggressive chop landed in Griffin’s midsection.
On Tuesday, the NBA fined Ibaka $25,000 but did not suspend him.
James and Wade wondered why on Twitter, believing all groin altercations should be treated equally.
Here is the answer: Video is watched and interviews are conducted by the NBA’s basketball operations staffers, and it comes down to this after the investigation: intent.
Was it intentional or accidental? The league concluded Wade’s offense was more intentional than accidental and determined Ibaka’s offense was more accidental than intentional. Agree or disagree, that’s how the NBA came to its ruling.
KOBE: ‘I probably would have smacked him’
The NBA determined Ibaka was just trying to get Griffin’s arm off of him albeit extremely physically. That’s why the league upgraded his offense to a flagrant foul two from a flagrant foul one.
On Tuesday, Ibaka apologized and told reporters, “The game was physical. I wouldn’t try to hurt someone. I’m not that kind of guy. I like to play hard. Just for all the fans that feel like I tried to hurt him, I just want to apologize to the fans … “I was not watching him, I was watching the basket. If you want to hurt someone, you’d be watching him and do it.”
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