The NBA has fined the Los Angeles Lakers' Dwight Howard $35,000 for his flagrant foul on Kenneth Faried of the Denver Nuggets. The fine was announced by NBA executive VP of Basketball Operations, Stu Jackson on Thursday.
The flagrant foul in question occurred with 5:02 remaining in the third quarter of the Lakers' Wednesday loss to the Nuggets. It was Howard's third flagrant of the season — he leads the league in that category (Tyson Chandler, Jason Maxiell and JR Smith all have two).
Take a look at video of the incident and decide whether you think the punishment is warranted.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=QhZqwKzTHGQ
The fine follows on from the league's decision to suspend Dwyane Wade for Friday's game against the Detroit Pistons. Wade made contact with Ramon Sessions' (Charlotte Bobcats) groin in what appeared to be a kicking motion, albeit a low-impact one.
The play in question did not get called as a foul during the game, but drew the ire of fans online. Whether the NBA's decision to review the play and subsequently suspend Wade was driven by a desire to satisfy the viewing public is uncertain. One thing is for sure however, the NBA appears to be doing its best to discourage any form of violence on the court — no matter how minimal.
