NBA teams
ESPN.com 9y

5-on-5: Penalties ahead for Cavaliers?

NBA, Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics

In a series that will be remembered for its rough tactics, the Cavaliers needed just four games to finish off the Celtics. But are suspensions coming? Our panel looks ahead to potential fallout from Game 4.


1. Fact or Fiction: Kelly Olynyk's foul on Kevin Love was dirty.

J.A. Adande, ESPN.com: Fact. Olynyk wasn't making a play for the ball. He wasn't bracing himself against Love. At one point, he had one hand on Love's shoulder and another hand on his arm. Shoulder injuries tend to come from falls, not contact.

Chris Forsberg, ESPN Boston: Fiction. Olynyk is the same guy who got decked from behind unprompted by Hassan Whiteside and said he was a good human being. As Evan Turner said, Olynyk doesn't have a bad bone in his body. Clumsy? Yes. Not dirty.

Dave McMenamin, ESPN.com: Fact. Do I believe Olynyk intended to dislocate Love's shoulder? No. Do I believe Olynyk intended to inflict pain on Love? Yes, absolutely.

Marc Stein, ESPN.com: Fiction. Olynyk has no history of such behavior, and NBA players get tied up in this manner all the time. The video doesn't look great, obviously, but who can step into Olynyk's head and conclusively say it was intentional? Not me.

Brian Windhorst, ESPN.com: Fact. Though it is more complex than dirty vs. clean. I agree with LeBron, it was not a basketball move. He was not going for the ball. The way Love often gets rebounds is by using an arm bar and holding opponents down or back. Some would refer to that as dirty. It's possible Olynyk had it happen to him numerous times in the series and he was retaliating for that. Bottom line, Olynyk was not making a play for the ball; he purposely grabbed and pulled Love's arm.


2. Fact or Fiction: J.R. Smith should be suspended.

Adande: Fact. That move was like something out of MMA. A five-game suspension would not be unfair. Metta World Peace missed six playoff games when he dropped James Harden with an elbow to the head in 2012. The fact that Jae Crowder hurt his knee on the play should be taken into consideration as well.

Forsberg: Fact. There's a history here. Two-game suspension for repeat playoff offender.

McMenamin: Fact. Just like the Metta World Peace-James Harden incident, Jae Crowder might have been behind Smith so Smith didn't know exactly where his arm would land on Crowder when he flailed it, but the bottom line is he still wanted to hit him. I know that Smith has a couple of past suspensions that the league will consider, but they should also look at Crowder using physicality all series leading up to it as a factor as well. Two games.

Stein: Fact in the boldest print you can find on the Internet. And I'm with Charles Barkley. Given Smith's history as a frequent source of such infractions, five games should be the minimum. Wouldn't have a problem with more either. That was a flat-out sucker punch and not an ounce less egregious because it was backhanded. With or without the sad knee injury Jae Crowder suffered in the aftermath, that was inexcusable.

Windhorst: Fact. One game. It will be J.R.'s seventh career suspension and he's already missed 27 games due to suspension. Rod Thorn may consider two, but the Cavs will point out that Jae Crowder hit him several times in the back in that sequence without a call and Smith was responding to that. However, that wasn't a basketball play either.


3. Fact or Fiction: Kendrick Perkins should be suspended.

Adande: Fact. Another play that had nothing to do with basketball. It's one thing to lean a shoulder into a guy while setting a screen. It's another to put hands to his face and shove him. Suspend Perkins for a game. (It would be worth it for Perkins, though. Did you see how happy LeBron James and Kyrie Irving looked after the play?)

Forsberg: Fact. Boston fans LOVE Perk, but even they booed relentlessly after that cheap shot (and he tried to swing at Crowder after). One game.

McMenamin: Fiction. He should have been thrown out of Game 4 when he almost comically threw Crowder to the floor when he was, as he claims, setting a hard pick. His finger point/face jab that punctuated his enforcer presence should have sent him to the showers. But if he was allowed to stay in the game after a video review, then I don't see how going back at that same video should warrant a suspension.

Stein: Fact. That's an easy one. Perkins wasn't ejected for a shove to the face, so he has to be docked a game.

Windhorst: Fact. I don't think you're allowed to make contact with someone's face the way Perkins did, even if it wasn't a serious blow. Also, it appears he clearly came on the floor with the intent to escalate the situation. If the Cavs could make a side deal, they would easily accept a Perkins and Smith one-game suspension in lieu of a foul upgrade and fine for Perkins and a two-game suspension for Smith.


4. Fact or Fiction: The refs deserve some blame for how they officiated the series.

Adande: Fiction. That would be like saying Jae Crowder deserved the payback for what Kelly Olynyk did to Kevin Love. With different crews working each game, you can't hold Game 4 officials accountable for what happened in Games 1-3.

Forsberg: Fiction. Refs were a nonfactor in the series and largely let the teams play "playoff basketball." Things tend to get chippy this time of year.

McMenamin: Fact. When Evan Turner is allowed to hit LeBron James in the face and it's only called a common foul in Game 1, that sets the tone for the entire series. Boston took whatever leeway it was given and by Game 4, it got out of hand.

Stein: Fiction. The skirmishes involving Olynyk/Love and Perkins/Crowder were unsavory but not uncommon for the playoffs. It happens. Yet when it comes to J.R. and Crowder, sorry, you're not going to convince me that the refs' failure to call a foul on Crowder first somehow offsets how far over the line Smith's reaction was. I blame nothing but Smith's lack of control here.

Windhorst: Fiction. The series? No. For the game? Probably. I think Tony Brothers should've ejected Perkins, then warned both benches there would be zero tolerance. No double techs, just straight ejections. That may have calmed things down because it was an elimination game. I understand there was some building frustration, but that happens in most playoff series.


5. Fact or Fiction: The Cavs will be underdogs if they face the Bulls in Round 2.

Adande: Fiction. The outlook changes if the Cavs don't have Kevin Love and J.R. Smith for periods of time. But when Hubie Brown said the most impressive part of Cleveland's Game 4 performance was the baseline defense, that had nothing to do with Love. And unless an investigation discovers LeBron James orchestrated the Smith and Kendrick Perkins attacks and LeBron gets suspended too, the Cavaliers will still have the best player on the court.

Forsberg: Fiction. No team with LeBron is an underdog. Cavs will only be more motivated if pundits pick against them. Too much talent -- with Love or without -- to be an underdog.

McMenamin: Fact. If both teams were at full strength, I give the slightest of edges to Cleveland. But with the Cavs potentially down two starters for any period of time in the series, I think that edge swings back to Chicago's side. Even though Cleveland will have home court, considering the circumstances, if it beats Chicago it should be looked at as an upset.

Stein: Fact. They really will be underdogs now. The Bulls are as whole as they've been all season thanks to the Derrick Rose renaissance. It's a safe bet that the Cavs, meanwhile, will be without two of their most important players -- Love and Smith -- for at least the first two games of the series ... and surely longer in Love's case. This is all the help Chicago didn't need.

Windhorst: Fiction. Who has the best player? Who has the second-best player? Who has home-court advantage? Of course the Bulls are going to be a serious challenge. But it's the playoffs, it's supposed to be hard. Many teams have to deal with injuries. Could the Bulls win? Sure. But are they the favorite? Uh, no.

^ Back to Top ^