I’m not sure what the officials in Game 5 were looking at — Chris Andersen body checked Tyler Hansbrough then shoved him. Yet all he got was a Flagrant 1. The precedent here was pretty clear from the Nazr Mohammed shove of LeBron James in the last round — the Birdman should have been ejected.
David Stern agrees, and said so as part of “Speaking of Sports with Rob Simmelkjaer” on NBC Sports Radio, to be broadcast on NBCSportsRadio.com on Sunday at 8 a.m. Eastern.
Here is the money quote:
“I do think he should have been ejected. I looked at the replays and, it seems to me, there was no immediate push or shove of him, he just hauled off and knocked down Tyler Hansbrough. I don’t know what he was doing. And then he pushed him. And then he did not go gracefully to the bench.”
Stern then says a “serious review of activities” should happen and to “stay tuned.”
If you had any doubt the league will be upgrading this to a Flagrant 2 and Andersen will be suspended from Game 6, this should erase it. Look for that news to come down soon.
Again, you can hear the full interview with Stern Sunday at 8 a.m. Eastern, either on your local NBC Sports Radio affiliate, or at NBCSportsRadio.com.