“I wouldn’t regret [pushing McGee] if I had to do it again,” said Howard, who said he merely was trying to protect a teammate. “Unfortunately, I just thought that the penalty was very harsh.”
“I respect the fact that the NBA, of course, wants to take a stance as far as cleaning up the game,” the veteran forward said, “but, unfortunately, a situation like that happened. Hopefully, we don’t have to deal with it again.
“I’m definitely going to appeal.”
Howard said he was disappointed there was no equal sanction against Wizards center JaVale McGee, with the two at one point trading shoves.
“I don’t think that should have been an ejection, in my opinion,” Howard said, “but if you’re going to take that route, then be fair and go ahead and eject McGee, too.”
Howard was defending a teammate, and it looked like McGee may have been about to shove Ilgauskas, but if you shove another player during a dead-ball situation, you should expect a flagrant-2 and a fine. Howard’s actions weren’t entirely indefensible, but I doubt this one will be overturned.
