Zach Randolph suspended for game 7

[Endless Paradise]

Wow just when I thought Adam Silver couldn't get any better, he does something like this and totally unredeemed himself.

Seriously, way to boost those nba ratings by finding a way to not give the underdog any chance NBA. If Randolph is suspended then they should suspend Paul George too.

Yeah, players should just be free to punch other players in the face because the NBA needs to "give the underdog a chance."  That makes a lot of sense.

He shoves Adams. Similar to the Scott, Hill confrontation (only ZBO hits him much much harder). But a "haymaker" or "punch" to the face? For real?

By the description people have given on this board I was expecting a Floyd Matwether haymaker. What I saw was a drastic two handed push, with his right hand going above the neck.

Ejection? Sure. Fine absolutely. A suspension for game 7? No freakin way.

He quite clearly punches him with his right hand and then tries to mask it as a shove.  Here's the slo-mo:

http://twitpic.com/e2pt2o

There's absolutely no question about this; he punched him and was rightfully suspended.  He should've been thinking about the fact that there's a deciding Game 7 to be played; that's not on the NBA.

[pearljammer10]

Wow just when I thought Adam Silver couldn't get any better, he does something like this and totally unredeemed himself.

Seriously, way to boost those nba ratings by finding a way to not give the underdog any chance NBA. If Randolph is suspended then they should suspend Paul George too.

Yeah, players should just be free to punch other players in the face because the NBA needs to "give the underdog a chance."  That makes a lot of sense.

He shoves Adams. Similar to the Scott, Hill confrontation (only ZBO hits him much much harder). But a "haymaker" or "punch" to the face? For real?

By the description people have given on this board I was expecting a Floyd Matwether haymaker. What I saw was a drastic two handed push, with his right hand going above the neck.

Ejection? Sure. Fine absolutely. A suspension for game 7? No freakin way.

He quite clearly punches him with his left hand and then tries to mask it as a shove.  Here's the slo-mo:

http://twitpic.com/e2pt2o

There's absolutely no question about this; he punched him and was rightfully suspended.  He should've been thinking about the fact that there's a deciding Game 7 to be played; that's not on the NBA.

Im sorry but the slow-mo just makes its look more like a shove to me.

[Endless Paradise]

Well, clearly he needs to work on not punching people when he's trying to shove them.

[bballdog384]

Yeah, it kinda looks like a shove - but who shoves with a closed fist?

He deserves the 1 game for sure. Lucky her didn't get more.

Wonder if he could appeal and play in game 7?

[Celtics18]

I don't know why everyone's calling that fist shove a punch.  They took it easy on Scott, which I agreed with.  They should have given Z-Bo a break on that one as well.

All that said, really, really dumb move by Zach.  Man, I bet he wishes he had that second of his life back.


Edit:

Upon reflection, I retract the above statement.  It really, really sucks, but, my goodness, that was an absolutely immature, idiotic move by Randolph.  I know that Adams seems to get under people's skin, by why in the world would you do something so foolish and risk so much?

I really hope the Grizz win that game seven for him.  I'm looking for Ed Davis to have a Hollywood type performance in game seven and for a big upset by Memphis.   

[chambers]

Ejection and fine is enough.
Doing all they can to get poor durantula through to the WCF.
Unfortunately his team can't shoot and His coach is terrible.
Grizzlies have a better shot at beating the heat or anyone out of the east now that they have Courtney lee and Miller.
I think discretion should be lighter when it's coming up to game 7 of the playoffs.

[Endless Paradise]

Ahh, yes, the conspiracy theories about how this is just a ploy to help OKC advance.  Funnily enough, actual Grizzlies fans and beat writers seem to agree that the suspension was fair and that what Z-Bo did was stupid and iressponsible.

[bopna]

The league should change the rules and maand it a more competitive and lenient competition.

Under league rules, yes the incident that took place does merit a suspension.. but I think tts about time the league rethink its stance because in cases like this, it extremely affects the possible outcome of the series considering that the suspended player would be in this case a very important one.

But I think what the league should do is look into the gravity of each incidents and outcomes of such should also beconsidered....in this case for example, the incident does not appear to be xtremely grave, yes Randolph was frustrated, yes it appears that he punched Adams but if you look extremely close enough, its not actually a real punch but a closed fist shove to the face, had his fists been open, we would not have any discussion, not to mention, Adams appears to have sold the play well too by flailing a bit. And I think this is where the league should change its stance. The gravity of how Randolph did his act should have been considered..it did not result in a mellee or an actual fist fight, it was just a spur of the moment incident, ergo let them play on..the same could be said of the rondo suspension a couple of yrs ago.

The league should just grow some balls and stop affecting the outcome of these playoffs by slapping suspensions like this immediately. Let these grown men play and lets not pretend as if Adams broke his jaw or somethinh, I mean come on, its a contact sport for cryin out loud. Game 7 is the creme dela creme and if this were the Finals its appalling to see a competition were the other team was given a free pass to win it...I mean can't the league just say that these incidents will be reviewed in the offseason and then slap out a 5 or 10 game suspension for next season  rather that make any impact for An All Important Game 7 .

[pokeKingCurtis]

The league should change the rules and maand it a more competitive and lenient competition.

Under league rules, yes the incident that took place does merit a suspension.. but I think tts about time the league rethink its stance because in cases like this, it extremely affects the possible outcome of the series considering that the suspended player would be in this case a very important one.

But I think what the league should do is look into the gravity of each incidents and outcomes of such should also beconsidered....in this case for example, the incident does not appear to be xtremely grave, yes Randolph was frustrated, yes it appears that he punched Adams but if you look extremely close enough, its not actually a real punch but a closed fist shove to the face, had his fists been open, we would not have any discussion, not to mention, Adams appears to have sold the play well too by flailing a bit. And I think this is where the league should change its stance. The gravity of how Randolph did his act should have been considered..it did not result in a mellee or an actual fist fight, it was just a spur of the moment incident, ergo let them play on..the same could be said of the rondo suspension a couple of yrs ago.

The league should just grow some balls and stop affecting the outcome of these playoffs by slapping suspensions like this immediately. Let these grown men play and lets not pretend as if Adams broke his jaw or somethinh, I mean come on, its a contact sport for cryin out loud. Game 7 is the creme dela creme and if this were the Finals its appalling to see a competition were the other team was given a free pass to win it...I mean can't the league just say that these incidents will be reviewed in the offseason and then slap out a 5 or 10 game suspension for next season  rather that make any impact for An All Important Game 7 .

My observation: businesses; specifically established, old-school types; are not going to "grow balls" and take risks.

The status quo is an incredibly tough thing to change.

[Celtics18]

I'm a huge Grizzlies fan right now, but there's just no excuse for Zach to do something like that.  I know it wasn't a real punch, but still.  It was really stupid, and he's paying for it. 

That's the point of the new rules.  There's no need for that nonsense. I don't mind hard, physical basketball, but that was just completely losing your cool.  Not needed. 

[SHAQATTACK]

If Grizzles don't win game 7

Then he just cemented his role in the teams history with this absolute bonehead mistake.

Even if he was provoked .....still ....letting a rookie get under a seasoned vets skin.......

No sympathy for Z bomb

He just nuked the Grizzles

[Endless Paradise]

If Adams actually sold the play, they would've reviewed what happened, Z-Bo would've been called for a tech, and he would've been ejected (see Nene on Jimmy Butler or DeJuan Blair on Tiago Splitter).  The very fact that Adams didn't sell the play is why it was only ruled a common foul on the floor. 

Adams never sells anything; in fact, he does the exact opposite.  That's partly why people find him so annoying - because he doesn't react when confronted, so it makes them look like the aggressor, whereas he's just the victim.

As for why the league doesn't just punish players over the offseason: because what's the incentive to *not* punch somebody in the face in Game 6 of a tight playoff series? "Oh, you mean I can get away with this for now?" Players need to be held accountable and if that means not punching people in the face because you lose your cool, so be it.  As one of the key players for the Grizzlies, Z-Bo has a responsibility to be there for his team, so he should've known better than to do something that would make it impossible for him to carry out said responsibility.  If he had done this in Game 5, he would've been out for Game 6.  Since he made the fatal error of doing it in Game 6, he can't be there for Game 7.  That's not the NBA's fault - that's purely on him.  I don't see why they should have to account for the elimination game if he clearly didn't.

[LooseCannon]

Under league rules, yes the incident that took place does merit a suspension.. but I think tts about time the league rethink its stance because in cases like this, it extremely affects the possible outcome of the series considering that the suspended player would be in this case a very important one.

Isn't this the same line of reasoning that would justify being more reluctant to call fouls on players who are deemed very important because it would extremely affect the game if they got into foul trouble or even fouled out?

[SHAQATTACK]

The player needs to think about the consequence of his actions ......not the leagues  place to make exceptions to GOOD rules.

The blame is squarely on ZBO

He screwed it up for his team ..

He put his personal emotions above the good of the team....cut and dry

He gets suspended .....part of the punishment is that now OKC gets an advantage in match ups . Not the. leagues fault

ZBO has to own this

Life is ruff all over . 

[Finkelskyhook]

From any angle it's pretty obvious.  Silver had no option.