A player must really do something bad on the court in order for the NBA to suspend him for Game 7 of a playoff series. Well, that’s exactly what happened after Memphis Grizzlies power forward Zach Randolph punched Steven Adams of the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night.
It’s a drastic move by the powers to be in the NBA, but a move that probably had to be made. If Randolph had committed some sort of minor rules violation, the league would have likely looked the other way.
This wasn’t a minor rules violation.
Unfortunately for the underdog Grizzlies, this puts them behind the proverbial eight ball without one of their top players on the road in a do-or-die Game 7.
Photo: Mark D. Smith, USA Today