Houston Rockets Rumors: Trevor Ariza suspended; no discipline for Griffin
The Houston Rockets will be without Trevor Ariza and Gerald Green for the next two games as the NBA has reportedly doled out their punishment for their role in what I like to call Barge-Gate. It’s important to note that James Harden, Chris Paul and Blake Griffin will not be disciplined.
Houston Rockets fans — this is definitely something we’ve been waiting for in terms of what type of penalty that would be induced among those involved in the locker room incident post game where there was a lot yelling, shouting and even a “secret” passageway involved in the plot that thickened more than we thought it would as they reported into the wee hours this past Tuesday.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, as usual, reported the news first and here’s what he had to say:
Sources. The NBA is suspending Houston’s Trevor Ariza and Gerald Green two games for aggressively entering Clippers locker room. No penalties for Chris Paul and James Harden.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 17, 2018
He also added this tidbit about Griffin:
No discipline for Clippers Blake Griffin, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 17, 2018
And here was the general consensus as to why these penalties for the aforementioned players were doled out:
NBA's Kiki Vandeweghe tells ESPN that interviews with 20 people on scene caused them to conclude that Chris Paul and James Harden acted as "peacemakers" and tried to diffuse the situation with Ariza and Green.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 17, 2018
With the Houston Rockets facing two good teams in the Minnesota Timberwolves tomorrow night and the Golden State Warriors Saturday, I was thinking the worst as a good chunk of our roster would not be available to compete.
But I think Rockets fans were still able to breathe a collective sigh of relief when the news of Paul
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and Harden not being part of the suspensions. Harden is listed as questionable for tomorrow’s contest at home against the T-Wolves, giving indication that he’s going to be ready to go soon sometime this week for either game.
Not having Ariza’s defense presence will hurt a bit as well as Gerald Green‘s all-around prowess being missed but they can weather that storm for the next two games. Not having Paul or Harden for the next two would’ve been catastrophic, even for the NBA’s interest, considering they’ll be on national television Saturday night.
But the fact that Griffin wasn’t penalized is an absolute joke. The Houston Rockets actions were reactions to the immature, ego-centric, unprofessional way he was conducting himself out on the court. He threw a ball hard into Eric Gordon‘s back and even shoved Mike D’Antoni on the sidelines as those two got into it big time.
It’s amazing that all of this started within the last four minutes of the game, spilling over into the locker room post game with even Clint Capela allegedly being the decoy to try go in and not only confront Griffin but Austin Rivers as well.
Next: How the Rockets keep rolling without James Harden
Rivers — who was in a suit and a walking boot — conjured up enough nerve to talk trash to Ariza from the sidelines as well. This was a mess but it made for interesting entertainment for an otherwise 112-103 loss on the road.
We’ll be fine ya’ll — go Rockets.