Hibbert Proves His Worth As All-Star Shover
It was almost Malice in the Palace 2.0 in Indy last night after Roy Hibbert and David Lee tried to establish their presence beyond the standard tussling involved with boxing-out. There’s no doubt that the Warriors’ Lee started the incident, by shoving the lanky and usually passive Hibbert post-whistle, but it was Hibbert who walked away from the incident with the biggest repercussions.
Though Lee received a technical foul for the mini melee, along with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and known boxing aficionado David West, Hibbert was ejected from last night’s game. He posted 13 points and nine rebounds before being thrown out in the Pacer’s 9th win in 11 games.
He believes he’ll likely get a one-game suspension: “I’m sure I’ll hear from the league in the morning,” said the seven-footer, “I’m guessing I’ll miss one game.” The Pacers aren’t scheduled to play tonight, so Hibbert will likely face a one-game, perhaps even two-game suspension for the incident. That means he’ll most likely be out for an important game against the Los Angeles Clippers Thursday. In that case, expect Ian Mahinmi, who has averaged 5.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG, and 0.9 BLKPG in 16 minutes, to replace Hibbert and have a high-scoring, low-rebounding game against Lob City.
Upon a video review, it’s almost certain that David Lee will also face suspension for a game. And will most likely be available against Boston on Friday.
Samuel Dalembert Gets A Time-Out
Milwaukee’s replacement for high-octane starting center Larry Sanders has served a one-day suspension, after being disciplined by the team for arriving late to a team shoot around.
The Bucks needed his presence as they lost the rebounding battle (39 to 56) to the Dallas Mavericks, but were still able to pull off a win without Dalembert.
Samuel Dalembert had been benched by then-coach Scott Skiles earlier this season for a similar issue of tardiness.
Expect him to be in tonight’s lineup against the Houston Rockets, as he and Sanders will try to keep the double-double machine Omer Asik off the boards.
Bynum Lands A Hand On Hansbrough
Detroit Pistons guard Will Bynum should be back in the mix tonight after serving a one-game suspension for hitting Hansbrough in the stomach.
Expect him to put up a little better than his standard season numbers (9.4 PPG, 3.8 APG, 1.4 RPG) against a much improved Washington Wizards team.
Kobe No Closer To The Playoffs, Or A One-Game Suspension
Kobe Bryant has had a renaissance of sorts, as he’s posted impressive numbers for not just a superstar, but a 34-year-old superstar carrying the load of a deeply disappointing team. He is averaging 27.1 PPG, 5.6 APG, 5.4 RPG and 1.3 STLPG. He’s on quick pace to pass Wilt Chamberlain’s scoring record, but on quicker pace to miss the playoffs and serve a one-game suspension for raking 16 technicals this season.
Luckily for Fantasy League participants, Kobe just got his latest technical rescinded, and so is at one less from serving a suspension.
He received his latest technical when playing against the Denver Nuggets who steamrolled the Lakers with a barrage of fast breaks.
With the recension, Kobe’s regular season technical foul count is at 13 instead of 14. As Lakers fans, and Mike D’Antoni, know, they “can’t afford to lose him [even for] a game.”
