Russell Westbrook was ejected during Game 3 of the first-round series between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Dallas Mavericks after he committed a hard foul on Luka Doncic and then shoved him away while going at it with other Mavs players, especially PJ Washington. The guard was seen chirping at Doncic throughout the game and complained during multiple instances while regularly committing hard fouls. In this wake, Stephen A. Smith proclaimed that Westbrook should have been suspended for Game 4, which is set to start in about half an hour. On NBA Countdown, the 56-year-old relayed a scathing criticism of the 2017 MVP.
Terming his conduct “inexcusable”, Smith accused Westbrook of deliberately trying to injure Luka Doncic and his teammates. The ESPN analyst also confessed that he reached out to the league office to try to understand the lack of a suspension. As the film portraying Westbrook’s fouls rolled, the veteran analyst pointed out why he wanted the league to suspend the 2x scoring champion for the game.
“Look at this foul right here, you [Westbrook] knocked the guy clear upside the head...You sit up there and you come down on Luka Doncic’s back, that play right there, you could have separated his [Doncic’s] shoulder. Then you push him in the chest. Then you go after PJ [Washington]…And then you are shrugging off the referees. I felt so serious about this fellas. I called the league office. I said, ‘I need an explanation…Tell me why Russell Westbrook isn’t suspended,’” Stephen A. Smith told the panel at ESPN network.
As per the “First Take” host, the league office explained that the report submitted by officials didn’t call for a suspension. The referees had deemed the ejection sufficient enough. They felt that if this were not a playoff series, they might have mulled a suspension. Meanwhile, earlier, Charles Barkley also took the 35-year-old to task akin to Stephen A. Smith.
Charles Barkley called out Russell Westbrook
After the Clippers’ Game 3 loss, Charles Barkley lamented Westbrook’s conduct. In Game 3, the nine-time All-Star shot just 0/7. For Barkley, Russ should have focused more on improving his performance than getting into his wild antics. The Chuckster felt that his actions weren’t befitting of someone who would enter the Hall of Fame in the future. As per the 1993 MVP, the guard should have shown restraint in a losing situation against the Mavs.
“You can’t do stuff like that especially when you’re having a bad game. You got to control your emotions. He was having an awful game, you just can’t do stuff like that. I’ve always liked him. Just to put yourself in that situation. Russ, you too good of a player, you are a future Hall-of-Famer, you can’t act like that. You’re 100% wrong and you can’t do that,” Charles Barkley said in the TNT post-game show.
At any rate, the Clippers might be without Kawhi Leonard in Game 4 and will need Russ to come out firing on all cylinders. However, antics like these from the veteran guard could end up hurting the Clippers, if stricter action is taken against him this time around.
