Memphis Grizzlies vs. New York Knicks Aftermath: Are Suspensions On The Way?
The Memphis Grizzlies defeated the New York Knicks on Wednesday night for their fourth-straight victory but lost in the mix of the win that brought the Grizzlies to a 24-24 record, was a brief altercation between the two teams late in the fourth quarter. The Grizzlies took the win, 127-106 but could very well end of taking a loss as far as possible suspensions are concerned.
My Take On The Altercation & Possible Suspensions
Grizzlies forward Jae Crowder intercepted a pass in the final minute of the contest and instead of running the shot clock out took a step-back three-pointer instantly with about 48 seconds left. This led to Knicks guard Elfrid Payton two-hand shoving Crowder intentionally out of bounds on his three-point attempt. The drama ensued as Knicks forward Marcus Morris pushed Grizzlies rookie Ja Morant. No further physical aggression was displayed outside of players on both sides being restrained.
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“I’d do it again,” Payton said about his actions after the game. “Didn’t matter who took that shot. Don’t disrespect the game like that … you just don’t do that.”
Crowder is a talker and after re-watching certain elements of the game, you can see that Crowder was boisterous throughout the contest. It's probably safe to assume that the push was not an isolated incident but rather the culmination of several things that Crowder may have done to get under the Knicks skin. Crowder and Morris also have exchanged words before as recently as last season when Crowder walked through his former Celtic's team huddle.
Morris also made comments after the game that were derogatory towards Crowder - comments that also caused him to later to respond to women that may have been offended as well.
No suspensions have been granted to either team so far and no disciplinary action has been administered outside of the technical fouls and ejections last night. The Grizzlies could possibly see suspensions given to both Jaren Jackson Jr. and Marko Guduric who both left the bench area. The only saving grace for the two would be that neither approached the actual incident and neither appeared to be aggressive. There have not been many precedents where players who leave the bench have not been suspended so of course there is a high possibility that both will miss Friday's contest against the New Orleans Pelicans.
