It was obvious Marcus Smart would be sanctioned. During the last game between the Rockets and Warriors, the guard lost his head and tried to throw a punch at Charles Bassey. He didn’t connect properly, but the NBA took note and has now announced that he is suspended for the next three games.
The incident happened at the end of the third quarter. After a drive from Amen Thompson, Smart and Bassey ended up face to face exchanging words while Yaxel Lendeborg tried to separate them. It did little good, as Smart swung a right hand that grazed Bassey’s nose, with Bassey managing to avoid the blow by pulling back.
After reviewing the action, the referees gave Smart a flagrant foul 2 and he was ejected from the game. Now, with the three-game ban imposed by the NBA, the guard will miss Friday’s home game against the Utah Jazz, Sunday’s against the Washington Wizards and Monday’s against the Miami Heat. Here is the play in question.
Smart, with 12 years of experience in the American league, joined the Texas franchise as a free agent over the summer. In the nine games he has played so far, he is averaging 8.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.1 steals.
Bassey on Marcus Smart: “He was playing dirty”
Far from playing down the matter, the San Francisco team’s big man stresses that, given Smart’s behaviour during the game, he already expected him to do something like that.
“He was playing dirty throughout the whole game. I remember that in the first half, I tried to set a screen and he grabbed my knee. He was playing dirty. I think he was trying to get a rebound. He was grabbing my hand and I was trying to get back to defend. Then he came up to me and just threw a punch. Obviously, it was a regrettable action. Honestly, I think it was a show of fake toughness. It didn’t surprise me. I knew he was going to do something. He had no intention of playing basketball. It was pure fake toughness,” he concludes.
(Photograph by IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
