The calls to suspend Anthony Davis for hitting Jae Crowder in the groin during Tuesday night’s Game 2 matchup are apparently growing.
Davis hit Crowder during the first quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers win over the Phoenix Suns, with radio host Jason Smith indicating on his show that Davis should have immediately been ejected from the game.
Jae Crowder. Ouch 😬 pic.twitter.com/AFRLjqOeXz
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 26, 2021
“There was absolutely intent,” Smith said. “It should have probably been Flagrant 2 and Anthony Davis gets kicked out of the game. If they had called a Flagrant 2 there is no defending it because AD clearly goes in and gives that big kick and you know exactly what he was trying to do. There should have been an ejection, and his stat line should have been ‘0.0, and 0.’”
Smith later welcomed famed sports pundit Ric Bucher on the show, with Bucher pointing out that the 2016 NBA Finals incident which got Draymond Green suspended dealt with a similar situation that involved a team with LeBron James on it.
👁️👁️@RicBucher: "If Anthony Davis is not suspended for the next game it would raise serious questions."
Ric Bucher says NBA precedent is not on the Lakers' side. pic.twitter.com/5GHwgJ82Q3
— FOX Sports Radio (@FoxSportsRadio) May 26, 2021
“We’ve seen this happen with a LeBron-involved team,” Bucher said. “Let’s go back to Draymond Green in Game 5 when he takes a swing at LeBron’s private parts as LeBron steps over him. He was not tossed out of that game, but he was suspended in the subsequent game because they felt that that particular situation was not adjudicated severely enough. That is where precedent has been set, and that’s where things get real interesting.
“If Anthony Davis is not suspended for the next game, and I’m not like campaigning for that, it would raise serious questions about ‘okay, so why did you do it the way you did it with Draymond?’ And in this case, looking at it, looks like you got it wrong. I don’t know how you defend that.”
Green’s suspension in 2016 created an absence that drastically changed the momentum of that series. It played a major role in allowing the Cleveland Cavaliers to become the first team to come back from a 3-1 deficit in the finals.
One drastic difference in the two situations is that Green’s action against James was the culmination of a series of incidents involving the Warriors forward during that postseason.
Davis’ continued presence on the court after the hit was vital to the Lakers winning the game, with the veteran finishing with 34 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. In addition, he connected on 18-of-21 from the free-throw line.
Given the lack of response from the NBA about a possible suspension, the expectation is that Davis will be playing in Thursday night’s important Game 3 matchup.
