Considering how quickly the relationship between the Phoenix Suns and Goran Dragic deteriorated this season, if we told you that the Slovenian point guard was the victim of a Flagrant 2 foul in his first game against his former team, you’d probably have visions of Kevin McHale, Kurt Rambis, and clotheslines dancing in your head. Well, this is 2015, and what constitutes an ejection is far more mundane than bench clearing brawls.
During the third quarter of Monday night’s Heat-Suns game, Dragic was alone on a fast break, with only one man to out-run: Markieff Morris. As he went up, Morris made a play for the ball, but not before placing a hand on Dragic’s shoulder. Factoring in the speed of the play, Morris’ second move — an overhead swipe at the ball — sent his former teammate flying past the stanchion. The referees initially called it a Flagrant 1, but upon further review upgraded it to a Flagrant 2 — an automatic ejection for Morris.
If you ask us, this doesn’t exactly meet the criteria for a Flagrant 2, and the NBA will probably downgrade it to a Flagrant 1 upon review. A Flagrant 1 doesn’t warrant an ejection. However, what certainly does warrant an ejection is a full-on wrestling match, which is what happened a few minutes later between Hassan Whiteside and Alex Len. Whiteside, the out-of-nowhere phenom for the Miami Heat, dunked on Len, and the two got tangled up during the ensuing inbounds.
The two centers did their best McHale-Rambis impression, tumbling out of bounds along the baseline as teammates and referees tried to separate them. Both were ejected and will most certainly be suspended for the fracas.
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