Sħãlïq™ Posted March 25, 2012 Report Share Posted March 25, 2012 (edited) New Orleans Hornets forward Jason Smith trucked Los Angeles Clippers All-Star forward Blake Griffin, and now he's paying for it. The NBA announced on Friday that Smith has been suspended for two games for the flagrant foul 2 he leveled against Griffin on Thursday night. ESPN.com first reported the terms of the suspension. Jason Smith of the New Orleans Hornets has been suspended two games without pay for his Flagrant Foul Two against Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President Basketball Operations. The incident, in which Smith made excessive contact with the upper body of Griffin, occurred with 4:06 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Hornets 97-90 win over the Clippers on March 22 at New Orleans Arena.The Hornets host the San Antonio Spurs in New Orleans on Saturday and travel to face the Clippers in Los Angeles on Monday. Smith will be eligible to return to action for a Wednesday night game at the Golden State Warriors in Oakland. Smith's hit occurred during the fourth quarter when Griffin attacked the basket in transition. Smith raced back to play defense but, unable to get in between Griffin and the hoop, he opted to simply bodycheck him at full speed, knocking Griffin to the ground. (...)Smith, 26, is averaging 8.7 points and 4.2 rebounds in 22.0 minutes per game for the Hornets this season. Smith is on the books this season for $2.5 million. A 2-game suspension without pay equates to roughly $75,000 if calculated at a pro-rated level over this 66-game season. During the 2010-2011 season, then Portland Trail Blazers guard Andre Miller was suspended one game for bodyslamming Griffin in a similar manner.Source Edited March 25, 2012 by Sℏãℓïʠ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makaveli Posted March 25, 2012 Report Share Posted March 25, 2012 No surprise he got suspended. But still, Blake made it look somewhat worse than it actually was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guru Posted March 25, 2012 Report Share Posted March 25, 2012 2 games is fair imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flash Posted March 25, 2012 Report Share Posted March 25, 2012 Pathetic. He should've have been suspended at all. Its not his fault Blake Griffin chose to flop and make it seem like he'd just suffered a career ending concussion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sħãlïq™ Posted March 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2012 (edited) Stu Jackson just issued a statement that the NBA has suspended Blake Griffin for 15 games and has fined him $2,500,000 for the unsportsmanlike flop. Said Jackson, "In all my years as a player, coach and executive in the NBA, I've never see anything so diabolical, especially the way Griffin willed himself to fly and roll in order to elicit sympathy and make himself look like the victim. But we in the commissioner's office are wise to Griffin's socio-pathic machinations." Jackson also stated that NBA doctors have examined Jason Smith's shoulder. He is under sedation and round-the-clock observation. For the time being, the New Orleans Hornets forward is "resting comfortably". Jackson also noted that the league may not be done dealing with Griffin. Jackson said that Griffin may be stripped off of his 2011 Slam Dunk championship title, and that Griffin himself may be banned for life under the new "basketball reasons" clause of the amended NBA "super-secret" internal guidelines. Jackson and David Stern are expected to rule on the matter when the second full "basketball reasons" committee convenes on April 1st. The other members of that committee are Mark Cuban, Dan Gilbert, and Ray Allen, as the player representative. Edited March 25, 2012 by Sℏãℓïʠ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NomarFachix Posted March 26, 2012 Report Share Posted March 26, 2012 Should have awarded him two extra games pay for taking out the ginger snap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sħãlïq™ Posted March 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2012 According to Official statement from Jason Smith: I deeply regret the incident that took place during the 4th quarter of our game vs. the Clippers on Thursday night. Not only do I want to express my sincere apology to Blake Griffin and the Clippers organization, but also to all basketball fans that might have the impression from seeing the play, that it's okay to go beyond playing aggressive and attempt to injure someone during the course of a game. It's never been a part of my makeup to intentionally hurt anyone on the court, nor ever will be, and I have the utmost respect for Blake and the game of basketball to ever abuse it in any fashion. I also want to apologize to my teammates, coaches and Hornets fans for the consequences of my actions.http://www.iamagm.com/news/2012/03/24/jason.smith.issues.statement.apologizing.take.down.blake.griffin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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