LeBron James suspended for one game, Isaiah Stewart suspended for two games for his roles in Lakers-Pistons brawl

NS NBA announcement on monday afternoon Los Angeles Lakers Super star LeBron James will be suspended a game because hit big man Isaiah Stewart of the Detroit Pistons, who received a two-match suspension for his role in the incident, during the third quarter of Sunday’s game. James was judged as a Flagrant-2 foul, which resulted in an automatic disqualification, while Stewart was also sent off after receiving two technicals for unsportsmanlike conduct during the incident.

This is LeBron’s first pause NBA career, and Sunday night’s premiere was also only the second of his career. James will miss upcoming matches with New York Knicks, which will ironically mean he’ll be on the floor when the Lakers take on Piston again, but this time at the Staples Center on Sunday, November 28.

The change that led to James’ suspension came in the third quarter as Stewart and James were scrambling for positions to snag a reinstatement. Stewart is lunging at James, who clearly has no sympathy for it, and swings his arm back and punches Stewart in the eye. Here’s how the situation plays out:

Stewart’s eyes filled with blood after LeBron’s hit and things escalated from there, with the Pistons big man attempting to lunge at the Lakers players several times before he was punished and sent into the locker room after. when launched. Russell Westbrook was also given a technique to try to escalate the situation, which he did didn’t know until the reporter told him after the game.

Neither James nor Stewart spoke after the end of the game, in which LA won after back from 17 point deficit. However, players and coaches on both sides spoke out in the same way. Pistons coach Dwane Casey said in part, “I don’t think James is a dirty player, but again, it got them going. “Lakers All-Star Forward Anthony Davis echoed similar sentiments by saying James was not a “dirty guy”, and noted that James tried to tell Stewart he didn’t mean to let that happen as soon as he saw what he saw. he did.

However, intentions aside, the Lakers will now have to go on for their next game without James after bringing him back just one game before missing eight games because of an abdominal sprain. While LeBron was sidelined, LA struggled to look like a playoff team even a playoff team, leading 3-5 while he was sidelined during that period. While he will not be out of action any time soon, his suspension will require strong performances from Westbrook and Davis in the ensuing games, which is not always guaranteed. guaranteed so far in this season.

Although Davis is averaging 24.6 points this season, he hasn’t shown the ability to take over the game consistently, especially in key situations for the Lakers. As for Westbrook, he has struggled to adjust to his new role with the Lakers as he averages 19.3 points, the lowest since his sophomore year in the league. He also scored 28% from the depth with more than four tries per game. LA will need more from those two if they hope to land some wins by knocking out LeBron.

James’ suspension is just the latest bump on the road for a team that hasn’t had an ideal start to the season with a 9-9 tally. As we approach the 2021-22 quarter-finals, the Lakers will no doubt want to forget the first month and a half of the season where they dealt with injuries to several key players, and now this. .