James Harden suspended one game for kicking LeBron James

By Evan Massey | Mar 2, 2015

Mar 1, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) brings the ball up the court during the first quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /

Houston Rockets star shooting guard James Harden has been suspended for one game due to kicking Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James in their game on Sunday afternoon.

James Harden has been talked about quite often since yesterday afternoon’s game between the Houston Rockets and Cleveland Cavaliers. There was an incident between Harden and LeBron James, and it appeared that Harden kicked James in the groin. The NBA looked into the situation, and they have decided to suspend Harden for one game for his actions.

NBA just announced a one-game suspension for Houston's James Harden after his kick-out at LeBron James yesterday
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) March 2, 2015

While there are differing opinions on whether or not Harden meant to kick James in the groin, the NBA has obviously sided with those that believe it was intended.

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Harden’s kick came after a scuffle for the basketball, and James Jones teamed up with James to wrap Harden up. It is understandable why Harden would have been upset about the aggressiveness of Jones and James, but kicking another player in the groin is never acceptable. This situation was handled correctly by Adam Silver and the NBA office.

So far this season, Harden has been playing at an MVP level and will be considered for the award at the end of the season. He has averaged 27.1 points, 6.9 assists, and 5.8 rebounds per game. His shooting percentages have been impressive as well at 44.7 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from behind the three-point arc.

Needless to say, this was just a situation where two star players got into a heated play in a big game. Harden’s one-game suspension will give him a chance to rest and get ready to make a stretch run towards the playoffs.

In case you haven’t seen the video, check it out for yourself here:

Cleveland and Houston will not face each other again this season unless both teams make it to the NBA Finals. It would certainly be entertaining to see these teams go at it in a seven-game series, but that isn’t a very likely scenario. James and the Cavaliers have a chance to represent the Eastern Conference, but the Rockets have a long road ahead of them against the Western Conference.

All of that being said, the right decision was made in this situation and Harden will miss Tuesday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks on the road. It is going to be a very tough game for the Rockets to pull out without their star player, but he’ll be back on Wednesday night with some extra rest.

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