Things have been very chippy over the first two games of the Los Angeles Lakers’ first round playoff showdown versus the Phoenix Suns.
In Game 1, Suns guard Chris Paul sparked controversy with what appeared to be an objectively dirty play against Lakers forward LeBron James.
Paul walked away from the incident unpunished.
On Tuesday, it was LA’s turn to do something controversial.
Early in the first quarter of a scoreless game, Lakers big man Anthony Davis went up for a jumper – only to deliver a kick to Jae Crowder in the one place where nobody ever wants to be kicked.
Davis was ultimately called for a flagrant-1 foul on the play, but permitted to remain in the game.
Fans were not happy.
Anthony Davis tryna play dirty now. Smh
— Dennis Trice (@dennitrice) May 26, 2021
I think it’s pretty dirty of Jae crowder to foul Anthony Davis’ foot with his balls
— cisgender millenial diagnosed with depression (@NoamChompers) May 26, 2021
Anthony Davis kicks Jae Crowder in groin, receives flagrant foul – It is well established that Davis is a dirty player over and over again – How long before the NBA bans Davis
— Ronald Beaubien (@BeaubienRon) May 26, 2021
After the outing, Davis maintained that the kick was purely accidental.
So the obvious question is: will the league step in and do something about Davis’ kick? Probably not – at least not to the extent of suspending him.
Putting aside the fact that they ignored Paul’s far more egregious dangerous act in Game 1 of this series, it’s worth remembering that the NBA also idly stood by while one player fractured another player’s arm.
Between that and James walking away unscathed from his indiscretion last week – it’s safe to assume that league officials are going to take a “hands off” approach when it comes to this particular first round series.
That’s one way to get over a loss. https://t.co/17jpFpu2Ej
— Game 7 (@game7__) May 23, 2021
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
