NBA drops the ball by not suspending J.R. Smith

On Tuesday night during the latter stages of Game 2 in the Eastern Conference Finals, Cleveland Cavaliers forward J.R. Smith crossed the line in a big way.

Boston Celtics big man Al Horford was flying to the rim, his arms fully extended above his head, when Smith shoved him in the back. It was egregiously dirty, and it’s just very fortunate that Horford wasn’t seriously injured on the play, because he very well could have been.

Showing himself to be a true lion-hearted teammate, Marcus Smart nearly got himself ejected going after Smith. Though, thankfully Tristan Thompson restrained him and appeared to save Smart from actually taking a swing at Smith, which would have almost certainly resulted in a suspension for the Celtics guard.

You can view the entire ugly sequence here.

In the end, Smith was hit with a Flagrant 1, which really was too lenient. He should have been ejected from the game after being called for a Flagrant 2.

The NBA has since opted not to suspend Smith, as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Wednesday afternoon.

This feels wrong. Smith first got let off easy during the game, and then afterward the NBA has continued to look the other way on this issue.

And make no mistake about it, Boston will not take this well. By not taking Smith’s actions seriously enough, the Association has now opened itself up for more ugliness in the coming games. The Celtics are the scrappiest team playing right now, and they have a Mt. Everest-sized chip on their shoulders. Any further provocation by Smith or any of the other Cavaliers players could lead to some tempers flaring in a bad way.

The NBA should have suspended Smith one game for his dirty play. By doing so, it would have nipped this issue in the bud while simultaneously making it clear that protecting players is more important than protecting a team’s ability to compete.