League to review the game 6 altercation between the Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks – NBA Update
The NBA has declared that it will be reviewing the unsavoury incident in game 6 of the NBA Finals. In the second quarter, there was an altercation between DeShawn Stevenson of the Dallas Mavericks and Udonis Haslem of the Miami
Heat and a little scuffle broke out as a result.
The incident came after the Miami Heat made a big shot and Dallas subsequently called a time out. The two players crossed paths on their way to the bench and bumped into each other. They faced up and starting an animated argument
with Dirk Nowitzki and Tyson Chandler trying to push Haslem away. Then Mario Chalmers came rushing in towards DeShawn Stevenson and soon there was a group of players clustered on the court. There was some minor pushing and shoving but nothing major broke out.
The man at the centre of the altercation, DeShawn Stevenson, has rubbed the Miami Heat the wrong way in these Finals. DeShawn has been a vocal critic of LeBron James and he said after LeBron James’s 8 point performance in game-4
that the Miami player “checked out”. He also labelled LeBron and Dwyane Wade “great actors” for their perceived overreactions to being bumped.
The incident drew punishment from the officials on the floor in the game. DeShawn Stevenson, Udonis Haslem and Mario Chalmers all received technicals and now the league has announced there will be a review and possibly more punishment
to follow.
In a statement, NBA spokesman Tim Frank said,
“A player will not automatically be suspended for leaving the bench if he has already left the bench because a timeout was called, however, we need to review the circumstances of this particular incident, which we will do, after
the game.”
Under league rules if a player leaves his bench to join in a fight or an altercation, it results in an automatic suspension. However the incident took place during a time out and the players were already off the bench. There is
hence a grey area with respect to the interpretation.
The fact that it happened during a timeout is probably going to go in the favour of the players and they might get off with just a slap on the wrist. However it was in an NBA Finals game, which was watched throughout the world
and as such the league would also want to make an example so that players are more disciplined at such events in the future.
The Finals fortunately ended with a game 6, meaning that any suspension that the league might dish out will apply when the season restarts. With the labour dispute and the lockout seemingly looming large, it could be a while before
that happens.
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