Arron Afflalo suspended two games for punch
By John Buhler
Orlando Magic guard Arron Afflalo has been suspended for two games by the NBA for punching Minnesota Timberwolves forward Nemanja Bjelica on Tuesday night.
Fights were definitely in style with the NBA earlier in the week. On MLK Day Monday night, the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers found themselves in a late-night brawl. Tuesday gave us Orlando Magic guard Arron Afflalo punching Minnesota Timberwolves forward Nemanja Bjelica in the head.
On Thursday, the NBA has assessed a two-game suspension to Afflalo for his actions on Tuesday night versus Minnesota. While the reeling Magic won the game at home over the Timberwolves 108-102, Afflalo’s ejection and suspension are a microcosm of yet another lost season for the Central Florida professional basketball team.
Of course, you can’t punch dudes in the head, even if they are bigger than you and try to push you around on a contested shot opportunity. The NBA has fined Afflalo $32,119 for fighting. He will have to sit out the Magic’s next two games: Thursday at the Cleveland Cavaliers and Saturday after the Boston Celtics. Those feel like two certain losses for Orlando, as they will be without Afflalo.
Even though Afflalo and Bjelica were ejected from Tuesday night’s game midway through the second quarter, it is interesting that the league office needed an extra day to levy a suspension on the obvious culprit Afflalo. We all saw him punch Bjelica in the head and you can’t do that!
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Orlando has been in the tank since Dwight Howard forced a trade out of town over a decade ago. Their rebuild isn’t working and the Magic might be forced to reboot it once more. Orlando has one of the worst records in the NBA. The Magic could be in a spot to win the NBA Draft Lottery in this summer, while the Timberwolves will be playing in the Western Conference Playoffs for the first time since 2004.