NBA: Rondo, Humphries, & Wallace Ejected in Celtics-Nets Fight

(Photo Courtesy: Jared Wickerham/Getty)

Last night, the Brooklyn Nets beat the Boston Celtics on the road 95-83 as Rondo's double-digit assist streak was broken. However, the story of the night was a brawl/fight between Celtics and Nets players that left Kris Humphries, Rajon Rondo, and Gerald Wallace ejected.

The fight started with less than 30 seconds left in the second quarter. After Kris Humphries committed a shooting foul on Kevin Garnett, Rondo ran over and started shoving Humphries. After Humphries started shoving back, the rest of the players and the refs ran in to throw in some shoves and try to break up the fight. After the refs reviewed the altercation, they ejected two Nets players (Humphries and Wallace) and one Celtics player (Rondo).

Here is a video of the foul/altercation/brawl/fight/aftermath:

I will spend the rest of this article analyzing the roles of all of the players involved and critiquing the decisions made by the officials:

Rajon Rondo, Celtics (Ejected)

I agree 100% with Rondo's ejection and think that he should also be given a multi-game suspension from the league. He ran up and shoved Humphries unprovoked and had no good reason to start a fight. I think that he was the instigator of the fight, not Humphries. Rondo left the game with 6 points, 3 assists, and 3 steals.

Kris Humphries, Nets (Ejected)

Humphries' foul on Garnett is debatable. You could make an argument that it was incidental contact, but I'm pretty sure that he hit KG in the face on purpose. Of course it wasn't a very hard hit that yielded much force. I don't think that Humphries deserved to be ejected. All he did was defend himself while Rondo attacked him. I think that a technical foul would have been enough. I don't think that Humphries should be suspended or fined. He finished with 3 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 blocks.

After the game, Humphries went to Twitter and uploaded a photo showing scratches on him from Rondo:

Gerald Wallace, Nets (Ejected)

Wallace's role in the brawl was also debatable. When watching the footage, it's hard to tell if he ran in to try to break up the fight or to attack Garnett for some reason. Either way, Wallace and Garnett ended up in a short shoving match before both going in and trying to break up the fight. He received a technical foul, his second one of the game, and was ejected. Wallace finished with 5 points, 3 assists, and 3 steals.

Kevin Garnett, Celtics (Technical Foul)

KG was given a technical foul and played the rest of game. I agree with that decision by the referees.

I also think that the NBA should fine him or at least give him a warning for flopping. There was no way that he should have fell down after being lightly hit in the face by Humphries. Garnett obviously fell on purpose in an attempt to sell the contact.

Jason Terry, Celtics

Terry got right in the middle of Rondo and Humpries during the initial shoving match, but didn't contribute to the fight. He was not ejected or anything like that, which I agree with. After the game, Terry criticized Humphries:

From the Boston Herald:

Jason Terry, who played with Humphries during the 2009-10 season in Dallas, later tore into his former teammate. “That was unnecessary,” Terry said of Humphries’ foul on Garnett. “Some guys are tough and some guys pretend to be. He’s one that pretends to be. Maybe that’s the role Avery (Johnson) wants him to have.”

Asked what kind of player Humphries was in Dallas, Terry said, “Soft.”

Reggie Evans, Nets

Evans was on the floor when the fight started and followed the players behind the basket to play peacemaker. Evans finished with 5 points and 10 rebounds off-the-bench. After the game, Evans shared his thoughts on Rondo:

From nydailynews.com:

"That's just like a mosquito in your face. Eventually, you are going to swat at the mosquito, right?” Evans told reporters. “You aren't going to let mosquitoes in your face. You are going to get bumps all over your face. So you have to knock the mosquito down."

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For the Nets, Joe Johnson scored a team-high 18 points and dished out 6 assists. Deron Williams finished with 8 points and 7 assists. Brook Lopez was one point short of a double-double with 9 points and 10 rebounds. Off-the-bench, Andray Blatche scored 17 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and Jerry Stackhouse scored 17 points in the win.

For the Celtics, Kevin Garnett finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Paul Pierce had 16 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists in the loss. Brandon Bass scored 16 points and Jason Terry scored 13 points.

Other players that were on the court when the fight happened include Deron Williams and C.J. Watson of the Nets and Brandon Bass and Paul Pierce of the Celtics.

On a positive note, I enjoyed watching the footage from the fight. I found it entertaining. It was one of the rare NBA fights these days that actually qualifies as a fight/brawl, and not just an altercation/skirmish.

Have any thoughts on the Celtics-Nets fight? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.

NBA: 2012 Preseason Stats, Recap, Analysis, & Awards

The NBA preseason has officially wrapped up and the 2012-13 regular season is set to tip off tomorrow on October 30th. Instead of a preview for the regular season and playoffs, let's recap the highlights of the preseason:

Standings -

Best Teams: Philadelphia 76ers (6-1), Toronto Raptors (6-1), Golden State Warriors (6-2)
Worst Teams: Los Angeles Lakers (0-8), Charlotte Bobcats (1-7), Orlando Magic (2-6)

Statistical Leaders -

Points Per Game (minimum 5 games played):
1 - Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks (20.4)
2 - Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers (20.4)
3 - David Lee, Golden State Warriors (17.3)
4 - Glen Davis, Orlando Magic (16.9)
5 - Kevin Martin, Houston Rockets (16.5)

Assists Per Game (minimum 5 games played):
1 - Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers (8.8)
2 - Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics (8.3)
3 - Greivis Vasquez, New Orleans Hornets (7.4)
4 - Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder (6.8)
5 - Jrue Holiday, Philadelphia 76ers (6.5)

Rebounds Per Game (minimum 5 games played):
1 - Omer Asik, Houston Rockets (11.5)
2 - Joakim Noah, Chicago Bulls (10.1)
3 - Anthony Davis, New Orleans Hornets (9.9)
4 - Enes Kanter, Utah Jazz (9.4)
5 - Tie between Kosta Koufos, Denver Nuggets/David Lee, Golden State Warriors/Nikola Vucevic, Orlando Magic (8.7)

Notes:
-Dwight Howard of the Los Angeles Lakers committed 10 turnovers over the 2 games he played in. That's a preseason-high average of 5 turnovers per game.
-Ray Allen of the Miami Heat made all 12 of his free-throw attempts and led the preseason with a perfect 100 percent free-throw percentage.

Rookies -

The Good/Great (minimum 3 games played):

-Anthony Davis, New Orleans Hornets (1st pick, 1st round, 2012)
14.9 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 1.6 bpg, 46.6 FG% - 32.4 minutes per game
The first overall pick of the 2012 draft played about up to par with his expectations.

-Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers (6th pick, 1st round, 2012)
16.2 ppg, 5.8 apg, 2.5 rpg, 45.8 FG%, 95.0 FT% - 31.5 minutes per game
The co-MVP of the 2012 NBA summer league is off to a hot start and is currently my pick for Rookie of the Year in 2013.

-Harrison Barnes, Golden State Warriors (7th pick, 1st round, 2012)
10.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 49.2 FG%, 48.0 3P% - 25.1 minutes per game

-Andre Drummond, Detroit Pistons (9th pick, 1st round, 2012)
9.0 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.4 bpg, 62.3 FG% - 16.5 minutes per game

-Meyers Leonard, Portland Trail Blazers (11th pick, 1st round, 2012)
6.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 76.2 FG%, 86.7 FT% - 15.7 minutes per game
Rookie bigman's averages aren't overwhelming, but he played efficiently and demonstrated superior shot selection.

-Andrew Nicholson, Orlando Magic (19th pick, 1st round, 2012)
10.6 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 47.1 FG% - 20.3 minutes per game

-Jared Sullinger, Boston Celtics (21st pick, 1st round, 2012)
10.9 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 56.1 FG%, 84.6 FT% - 26.1 minutes per game

-Perry Jones III, Oklahoma City Thunder (28th pick, 1st round, 2012)
9.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.5 apg, 57.1 FG% - 21.3 minutes per game

-Jae Crowder, Dallas Mavericks (34th pick, 2nd round, 2012)
11.4 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.9 spg, 1.6 apg, 47.2 FG% - 22.1 minutes per game

-Quincy Acy, Toronto Raptors (37th pick, 2nd round, 2012)
1.8 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 0.5 spg, 100 FG% (3-3 FG's) - 6.0 minutes per game
This bigman from Baylor made excellent use of limited preseason minutes with the Raptors. He strikes me as hard-working.

-Tyshawn Taylor, Brookyln Nets (41st pick, 2nd round, 2012)
8.0 ppg, 3.0 apg, 50.0 FG% - 17.7 minutes per game
I've gotten some good vibes from this rookie point guard that almost won the 2012 NCAA Championship with Kansas earlier this year.

-Brian Roberts, New Orleans Hornets (Undrafted, 2008)
9.1 ppg, 3.8 apg, 2.6 rpg, 80.0 FT% - 23.4 minutes per game
This 26-year-old guard particularly impressed me from what I saw from him in the preseason. In my opinion, he outplayed lottery pick Austin Rivers.

-Chris Copeland, New York Knicks (Undrafted, 2006)
15.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 51.7 FG%, 81.3 FT% - 24.8 minutes per game
This 28-year-old rookie came out of nowhere to have a solid preseason with the Knicks. His best game was a loss to Boston in which he scored 34 points and grabbed 6 rebounds.

Rookies Who Struggled (minimum 3 games played):

-Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Charlotte Bobcats (2nd pick, 1st round, 2012)
5.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.0 spg, 1.2 turnovers per game, 31.9 FG% - 20.9 minutes per game
I am a fan of Kidd-Gilchrist's game and I think that he should still have a solid rookie season.

-Austin Rivers, New Orleans Hornets (10th pick, 1st round, 2012)
7.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.1 spg, 27.1 FG%, 11.8 3P% - 27.0 minutes per game
I haven't felt very good about Rivers since he was in high school. He strikes me as a player who wants to control the ball and be a star, but he doesn't seem to have the talent to do that at the NBA level. He doesn't seem like he's in any shape to be a contributor and actually help an NBA team win games.

-Royce White, Houston Rockets (16th pick, 1st round, 2012)
2.3 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.5 turnovers per game, 27.3 FG% - 12.3 minutes per game
This rookie who is afraid of flying and suffers from anxiety didn't impress during the preseason.

-Fab Melo, Boston Celtics (22nd pick, 1st round, 2012)
0.3 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 1.0 turnovers per game, 12.5 FG% - 5.9 minutes per game

-Marquis Teague, Chicago Bulls (29th pick, 1st round, 2012)
0.6 ppg, 0.4 rpg, 0.3 apg, 1.0 turnovers per game, 18.2 FG% - 5.6 minutes per game

Notable Players Who Got Cut -

-Jonny Flynn & Terrence Williams, Detroit Pistons (Free Agents)
Both young players who were first-round draft picks in 2009. Though both of them have had trouble playing up to their expectations, I'm surprised that both of them were waived.

-Darnell Jackson, Utah Jazz (Free Agent)
Personally, I'm a fan of the 26-year-old bigman who won an NCAA Championship in college with Kansas, but he didn't play very well and even got ejected at the end of one game.

-Chris Smith, New York Knicks (Free Agent)
The younger brother of J.R. Smith was held back by an injury that has him out for 3-6 months.

-Anthony Carter, Denver Nuggets (Free Agent)
I'm guessing that this last preseason was the 37-year-old's last taste of the NBA. However, I am a fan of Carter's scrappy playing style.

-Derrick Brown, San Antonio Spurs (Free Agent)
Brown is a talented, young forward that I feel is being overlooked because he was on that awful Bobcats team last season.

-Blake Ahearn, Indiana Pacers (Free Agent)
This 28-year-old guard hasn't quite been able to make it in the NBA, but has played very well in the D-League. He averaged 23.8 points and 5.1 assists with the Reno Bighorns last season.

-Chris Douglas-Roberts, Los Angeles Lakers, then the Dallas Mavericks (Free Agent)
This talented young player got a bit unlucky and hasn't been able to capture a spot on an NBA roster. CDR was a member of the Derrick Rose-led Memphis squad that lost to Kansas in the 2008 NCAA Championship.

-Eddie Gill, Milwaukee Bucks (Free Agent)
The 34-year-old point guard hasn't played in the NBA since 2009.

-Adam Morrison, Portland Trail Blazers (Free Agent)
Read: "NBA: Blazers Waive Adam Morrison"

Preseason Awards (Opinion) -

MVP: David Lee, Golden State Warriors
-He averaged 17.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game while shooting 50.5 percent from the field. His team finished with a 6-2 record, third best in the preseason.

Rookie of the Preseason: Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers

Have any thoughts on the 2012 NBA Preseason? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.