Joakim Noah fined $25,000 for shoving fan who spit on him
Joakim Noah’s poor postseason just got worse after the NBA fined the Chicago Bulls center $25,000 for pushing a fan during the Game 2 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Nothing went right for the Chicago Bulls in their Game 2 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night as LeBron James and a strong effort from the Cleveland bench saw them even the series at one game apiece.
Things didn’t go right off the court either for Bulls center Joakim Noah who is public enemy No. 1 in Cleveland and met an angry fan who took umbrage with Noah’s comments about his lack of love for the city and decided the best way to get back at Noah was spitting on him.
Pretty classy response — if you’re a caveman — but this fan’s actions also resulted in Noah’s bank account getting a little smaller after the NBA fined the Bulls big man $25,000 for pushing the fan at halftime of Game 2.
So let this be a lesson to everyone that if someone spits on you, you better not do anything after such a gross and pathetic action unless you want to lose a sizeable chunk of change.
NBA fines Joakim Noah $25,000 for pushing a fan during halftime of Game 2 in Cleveland.
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) May 8, 2015
The Bulls desperately need Joakim Noah to revert back to the form he showed last year when he won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year and finished fourth in MVP voting if they’re going to take out the Cavs this year. Through two games in the conference semifinals, Noah is averaging two points, eight rebounds, four assists, 3.5 fouls and two turnovers in 29.5 minutes per game.
He fared slightly better in the Bulls first round series against the Milwaukee Bucks when he averaged 6.5 points, 11.7 rebounds and 4.3 steals in the six-game series, but his free throw shooting has been abysmal and it seems to be taking a toll mentally on Noah.
He is only 1-14 from the charity stripe and he’s missed several layups and easy buckets so perhaps his frustration on the court followed him off the court where he had a regrettable moment shoving an idiot who spit on a fellow human being.
I don’t blame him for shoving the dude, and the NBA had to do something to make sure other players aren’t going rogue and taking matters into their own hands. I mean, you can’t have players shoving other fans when the fans act like fans and boo them, right?
In any event, Noah can afford the fine, but he’ll look to take out his frustrations moving forward on the Cavs with Game 3 on Friday night.