Less than 24 hours after the NBA suspended Metta World Peace for seven games, NBA Commissioner David Stern said the player's past was taken into account when determining the punishment. World Peace sent an elbow to the head of James Harden in a 114-106 double overtime victory for the Los Angeles Lakers over the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 22.
Harden has been cleared to play but sat out the regular season finale against the Denver Nuggets anyway as a precaution. Head coach Scott Brooks said his top reserve should be "fine" to play in the postseason.
World Peace was part of a fight taken into the stands in Detroit in 2004. Known then as Ron Artest, he received an 86-game suspension for a fight in a game between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons.
Now, an elbow may affect the NBA playoffs. Harden contributes 16.8 points per game to the second-seeded Thunder. Other players may have to step up to fill some big shoes if Harden's performance on the floor becomes diminished. World Peace averaged just 7.7 points per game.
Harden is the best bench player for Oklahoma City and one of the best sixth men in the league. Head coach Scott Brooks can insert Harden into two or even three different positions as his key defensive stoppers get the Thunder ahead early in games.
In the recent game against the Lakers, Harden might have helped his team win. It also would have given the Thunder a chance to claim the top seed in the Western Conference. Instead, Oklahoma City will have to face a tough road in the playoffs no matter which team draws OKC in the first round.
Replacing nearly 17 points of offense is no easy task. Daequan Cook scored 19 points, all in the fourth quarter, in the comeback victory over the Sacramento Kings April 24. Yet Cook can't replace Harden's presence on the court.
Even if Harden plays the entire playoffs, a concussion is no small matter. Blurry vision, lack of coordination and slower reaction times can be effects of this injuries. Hopefully, Harden will be the same person on the floor when the march to the NBA Finals begins.
Like anything in life, the Thunder will take Harden's contribution to the team one day at a time. Fans and players alike will figure out very quickly how World Peace's elbow will change the course of the NBA playoffs.
With a compact season and fatigue setting in, every coach must have the troops ready to win an NBA title. Harden's play and World Peace's absence will be felt immediately.
William Browning has been a fan of the Oklahoma City Thunder ever since the team relocated from Seattle. As the closest NBA team to Branson, Mo., the Thunder serve as the regional team for southwest Missouri.
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