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: Clippers Should Sign Adam Morrison

(Photo Courtesy: thefrontofficenews.com)

After last playing with the Washington Wizards in the 2010 preseason, Adam Morrison returned to the NBA competition a month ago in July by signing with the Brooklyn Nets summer league team. He played five games with them and averaged 5.2 points in 19.2 minutes a game. Besides scoring 6 straight points in a game against the Magic and recording a double-double in another game, his stint with the team was forgettable. Overall, Morrison's play in Orlando was inconsistent. He showed flashes of supreme offensive prowess, but also mediocre defense and questionable effort.

As the 2012 NBA Summer League moved on to Las Vegas, Morrison was named to the Los Angeles Clippers summer league squad. The next five games that he played with his new team proved to be much more productive and memorable. His first game wasn't great. He scored 11 points off of 5-13 field goals and grabbed 5 rebounds in a loss to the T'Wolves. He then scored over 20 points and shot above 50% from the field and from 3-point range in each of his next 2 games against the Spurs and the Lakers. In his second-to-last summer league game, he scored 18 points and had 5 rebounds.

His final game with the Clippers was by far his best game of the entire summer league. He led the Clips to a double-digit victory over the Celtics. He scored 26 points, pulled down 6 rebounds, and dished out 3 assists. He also shot 9-for-15 from the field and shot 4-for-6 from beyond the arc. The fans in Las Vegas chanting "MVP" for him at the end of the game was a great way to cap off the summer league.



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The Los Angeles Clippers made it to the Western Conference Semi-Finals last season before being swept the Spurs. As a franchise that has been known for losing in the past, they have improved their roster significantly in recent years. In 2009, they drafted Blake Griffin who ended up being named the NBA's Rookie of the Year in 2011 after missing the entire 2009-10 season due to a knee injury. The Clippers also traded for All-Star point guard Chris Paul before the 2011-12 season.

During the current offseason, the Clips have made a flurry of moves in an attempt to build a roster that could win the 2013 title. They signed former All-Star Grant Hill and former Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford and traded for 2-time NBA champion Lamar Odom and underrated shooting guard Willie Green. They also signed journeyman center Ronny Turiaf who won a championship with the Heat earlier this year.

The Clippers are looking like contenders for the upcoming 2012-13 season and are hoping to win it all for the first time in franchise history next June.

As a team, they have one roster spot left to fill. They have 14 players on contract that includes 3 point guards, 3 shooting guards, 3 centers, and 5 forwards. Of the forwards that they have, Caron Butler and Grant Hill are small forwards, Blake Griffin and Trey Thompkins are power forwards, and Lamar Odom is a combo forward. If they want to fill every position equally, then they should probably sign another forward to fill up their roster completely.

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Adam Morrison is a small forward. He is, in my opinion, perfect to be the final add-on to the Clippers' roster for the upcoming season. He would likely accept the veteran's minimum and give Los Angeles the first shot to sign him out of loyalty. Morrison would be a great scoring kick off the bench and would probably be rejuvenated on the defensive end if he was given a role on a contending NBA team. The general manager of the Los Angeles Clippers needs to make this happen and sign Adam Morrison! Or at least invite him to training camp....

If not, there are other teams that could use Morrison's services. But I think he would be a great fit for the Clippers and I hope that he ends up on their squad for the regular season.

According to multiple online sources, Greg Anthony may have said on NBATV that Morrison had already signed a contract with the Clippers. However, no reliable sources have confirmed this and nothing is official to my knowledge.

Should the Clippers sign Adam Morrison? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.