The NBA suspended Kevin Garnett Sunday for his actions in the Celtics victory of the Heat Saturday night in which he elbowed Quentin Richardson in the face.
Quentin Richardson was fined $25,000 for his role in the dust-up with a minute remaining in the Celtics’ 85-76 win in Boston. After Paul Pierce went down with a shoulder injury, Garnett walked over to check on him. Richardson walked over to Pierce and made a comment insinuating that Pierce was faking, per Richardson’s own admission. Garnett then slighly elbowed Richardson away, and the two had a confrontation that ended up involving both teams including Udonis Haslem and Glen Davis.
The message the league is sending is clear. You can run your mouth and it’ll cost you money, but if yo swing with the ‘bows, you’re going to get run and sit a game. Maintaining that consistency is key for the officials to maintain control over the game.
It’ll be interesting to see how the Celtics perform without their defensive captain and leader, and also interesting to see how the officials treat the next game, after the first game allowed a lot of contact. If the refs decided to lock down on the contact to get this thing under control, you have to figure that benefits the Heat and Wade’s ability to get to the basket.
I’d also expect Quentin Richardson to have a rough day for his part in the proceedings. If you like gritty basketball, Game 2 should be for you, KG or no.