Golden State Warriors: Will Steph Curry get suspended?
The Golden State Warriors dropped to 1-2 after a frustrating loss in Memphis. Stephen Curry was ejected after tossing his mouthpiece. Will he get suspended?
Stephen Curry is one of the most mild-mannered players in the league. He’ll express joy, but he rarely shows the other end of the emotional spectrum. He rarely loses his cool.
Still, he’s human. He’s also one of the best basketball players in the world. When he doesn’t get calls, he’s going to get upset.
It’s been clear–for a long time–that Curry doesn’t seem to get the friendly whistle that many other stars do. Despite being equal to or better than guys like LeBron James, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook, it does seem like he doesn’t get the same level of respect as they do from the officials.
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Curry was in foul trouble for most of the night in Golden State’s loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. For the most part, it was his own fault. He got lazy and was reaching instead of moving his feet.
He was frustrated at not being able to stay on the court. He was the best player on the floor, scoring 37 points in just 30 minutes. He had to watch from the bench as the Grizzlies took over the game.
Curry tried to lead a comeback late in the fourth quarter, helping the Warriors trim the Grizzlies’ lead to single digits. On one particular drive, he went up for the layup and got hit by Mike Conley. He got the bucket, but he didn’t get the call.
The two-time MVP fired his mouthguard in the general direction of the official and screamed at him that there should have been a whistle. This earned him an instant ejection. Eventually, Kevin Durant also got himself kicked out from the game.
After the game, Curry said that he wasn’t aiming at the official, he was just tossing it in a general direction. He later said that he shouldn’t have done it, even saying that there’s “no excuse for that” on Twitter. Still, the NBA might step in and take action.
Curry has thrown his mouthpiece in the past, most notably in Game 6 of the 2016 NBA Finals after fouling out. The league did not take action and for good reason. They already made a mistake in suspending Draymond Green, they weren’t going to keep the game’s biggest star out of the biggest game of the century.
This year is young and the league might want to make an example out of Curry. They don’t want anyone showing up the referees. Well, certain players (no. 3 in Houston and no. 23 in a certain Northeast Ohio city) are allowed to, but a “show of force” like Curry’s could get a punishment.
At the minimum, Curry should get a fine. He might get a suspension, though. It’s unlikely that it would be anything more than just one game.
Should Curry get suspended? He didn’t hit an official and he didn’t double down on it afterward, choosing to take responsibility instead. I don’t think that was a suspension-worthy offense, but the league might want to discourage Curry (and everyone else) from doing that in the future.
A suspension might do that.