The Washington Wizards entered their preseason opener with the Chicago Bulls, the team they ousted in five games during the opening round of the playoffs back in April, intent on making a statement. After an offseason spent building depth and experience along their front line, the Wizards wanted to send a message that they were going to be, if not "The Bad Boys," then at least some bad boys.
Statement made and message received, but also, courtesy of the league office, response filed: Bad boys get punished.
The NBA announced Wednesday afternoon that four Wizards — starter Nene and reserves DeJuan Blair, Daniel Orton and Xavier Silas — have been suspended for one game for leaving the bench area during the "altercation" between new Wizard Paul Pierce and Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah in Monday night's preseason opener.
The big deal here is that these aren't preseason suspensions — they'll be served during the first regular-season game "for which each player is eligible and physically able to play." That means the Wiz will head into their regular-season opener on the road against the Miami Heat on Oct. 29 without their top two power forwards. That seems less than ideal.
Noah and Pierce — the guys actually involved in the "altercation" — each received $15,000 fines, but no forced siestas. (Which, y'know, hardly seems fair.)
Another look at the first-quarter moment of truth, which saw Noah push Pierce in the chest and Pierce hit Noah "in the forehead with his left index finger," as NBA president of basketball operations Rod Thorn detailed in the official announcement:
Just over three minutes into the opening quarter, Bulls shooting guard Jimmy Butler raced out on a break after rebounding a missed dunk by Wizards center Marcin Gortat. Unwilling to allow Butler to get an uncontested fast-break basket, Pierce — no stranger to preseason message-sending, you'll recall — reached out and whacked Butler, draping his right arm over Butler's shoulder and neck just after he crossed half-court.
While the referees reviewed the play to determine whether Pierce had committed a flagrant or clear-path foul on the play, Noah took exception to Pierce's continual jawing at Butler, coming over and pushing Pierce away. Pierce, unappreciative of the physical contact, returned fire. Before long, teammates, coaches and officials were in the middle trying to break things up, and as part of the ancillary elements of the ruckus, Nene, Blair, Silas and Orton all stepped off the Wizards bench and near the fray.
A helpful guide to the Wizards' locations, courtesy of Bullets Forever:
As Mike Prada notes, there appear to be a couple of Bulls off the bench and in the neighborhood, too, but the league hasn't announced any discipline for Thibs' team.
Here's the letter of the law on leaving the bench, from Rule No. 12 ("Fouls and Penalties"), Section VII ("Fines"), subsection c. of the NBA's official rule book: "During an altercation, all players not participating in the game must remain in the immediate vicinity of their bench. Violators will be suspended, without pay, for a minimum of one game and fined up to $50,000. The suspension will commence prior to the start of their next game." That wouldn't hurt very much if it came during the Wizards' next preseason encounter ... which, of course, the penalties will be enforced to start the regular season. It's kind of weird, but it also makes it semi-actual discipline. (That Noah and Pierce don't get anything for actually starting the scuffle, though? Not so much.)
After the preseason game, which Washington won 85-81, Pierce found himself at a bit of a loss in discussing the conflagration.
“It’s good for TV, I guess,” Pierce said after the game, in which scored two points, grabbed seven rebounds and committed five fouls in 19 minutes, according to Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post. “I don’t know what to say. It just happened. It’s not scripted, but it just happened.”
He might not have known what to say about the incident itself, but he definitely had some thoughts about the tone the Wizards want to set and the way they want to play this season.
“We’re going to be the instigators,” he said.
And now — if you'll permit a nod to the ice on the NHL's opening night — four of their dudes have been hit with instigator penalties. The Heat offer their thanks, Truth.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!
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