In an utterly disgusting move, Ron Artest reared back and fired an elbow behind the ear of a prone James Harden, leveling him and leaving him on the floor for several minutes. Artest was assessed a flagrant 2 and ejected.
You can see in the video that he’s trying to explain that he was celebrating his dunk and the elbow was inadvertent. The video replay shows he clearly reared back and threw an elbow that was meant to connect with something.
The first question is the health of Harden. He’s obviously a key contributor to OKC and losing him for any extended period of time will significantly reduce their chances at a title.
The second question is the suspension of Ron Artest (I’m not calling him that other name… not anymore. Not after that). This isn’t a single game suspension. That’s a forceful, full elbow to the head. It’s inexcusable. It’s disgusting. And with his history, I’d be shocked if he plays again this season.
