Near the end of the first half of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Hawks center Al Horford was ejected after picking up a Flagrant 2 for this shoulder drop on Cavs guard Matthew Dellavedova:
This is the second time an opposing big man has been ejected after an incident with Dellavedova. In the last round, Taj Gibson was tossed for a leg kick that came despite Dellavedova’s attempt to lock up his legs. Dellavedova was retroactively given a technical foul on that play.
This time, Dellavedova got a technical for diving at Horford’s knees during the play. Which begs the question: if Dellavedova did enough to get a technical, how was it one-sided enough that Horford was also given a Flagrant 2? A Flagrant 1 would have been much more reasonable for Horford. As it is, losing their best player for a crucial Game 3 arguably kills the Hawks’ chances at coming back in this series.