Rockets’s Dwight Howard for first game of 2015 after flagrant upgraded
Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard will miss the first game of the 2015-2016 season after having a Game 5 foul upgraded to flagrant.
Dwight Howard has always had to fight off the claim that he’s a soft player, so it was no surprise that the the Houston Rockets center did everything he could to demolish those claims during the 2015 NBA Playoffs. Unfortunately for Howard, that’s going to cost him at the start of next season.
The NBA announced on Friday that Howard’s elbow to the throat of Warriors guard/forward Andrew Iguodala during Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals was upgraded from a common foul to a flagrant foul and he will now be suspended for the first game of the 2015-2016 season as a result.
HOU's D. Howard has common foul upgraded to Flagrant 1 (WCF Game 5, 3:35/qtr 4), suspended one game to open 2015-16 regular season.
— NBA Official (@NBAOfficial) May 29, 2015
The suspension became mandatory with the upgraded call, as it became Howard’s fourth flagrant foul of the NBA Playoffs, which merits the suspension. However, the decision to upgrade the foul could be seen as somewhat of a make-up call for the NBA’s president of basketball operations, Rod Thorn.
During the Rockets’ Game 4 victory, Howard and Warriors center Andrew Bogut became entangled, resulting in Howard throwing an elbow back at Bogut. At the time, it was ruled a Flagrant 1 foul and upon secondary review, Thorn opted to let it stand as is. You can judge via the video below.
At the time, Thorn had this to say about why he opted to leave the call as it stood.
"“Bogut had his arm over Howard’s arm, trying to extricate himself. As he did, he flailed his arm backwards and hit Bogut in the face. My feeling was it unnecessary which comes under the guise of flagrant one but it was not unnecessary and excessive.”"
If a Flagrant 2 had been assessed, Howard would have been suspended for Game 5 instead, which would have been a significant handicap for the Rockets to overcome. As it was, the Warriors handled Houston in the clincer, winning 104-90 to move on to the NBA Finals. Instead, Howard will now miss the first game of the 2015-2016 season, a trade I am sure the Rockets will gladly make again if given the opportunity.
In his second season with the Rockets, Dwight Howard averaged 15.8 points per game, 1.3 blocks, and 10.5 rebounds per game. He stepped up a bit further in the postseason, adding 16.4 points per contest, 2.3 blocks, and 14.0 rebounds per game. He’ll be a key for the Rockets again as a fixture in the middle as they look to move further up the Western Conference ranks in 2015-2016.
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