Knicks J.R. Smith suspended 1 game without pay for hitting Wizards’ Glen Rice Jr. in the groin
New York Knicks guard J.R. Smith has been suspended for one game without pay for striking Washington Wizards swingman Glen Rice Jr. in the groin during the Wizards’ 98-83 victory over the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night.
Smith’s strike came at the 5:45 mark of the fourth quarter, with the Wizards holding a 10-point lead and Rice stepping high up on the floor to pressure Smith above the 3-point line, as captured by @cjzero:
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At the time, the officials at MSG didn’t seem to think much of Smith making contact below the belt as he began to drive right; in fact, Rice was called for a dodgy personal foul on the play. The Wizards, though, sure didn’t seem to appreciate it, and elected to make something of it after the game. J. Michael of CSNWashington.com reported that the Wizards expected “the league office to review [the play] and [for] some form of discipline to come soon,” and that the team planned to “encourage the NBA to render a judgment on the play which could result in a fine, suspension or both for Smith.” Well, whether the lobbying led the league office to determine Smith’s contact was intentional or the powers-that-be got there on their own accord: mission accomplished.
This is, as you’re surely aware, not exactly J.R.’s first run-in with the league office.
Smith received a $25,000 fine last November for “directing hostile and inappropriate language to another player via Twitter” following some cyberthuggin’ with Pistons point guard Brandon Jennings, and a $50,000 fine for repeatedly untying opponents’ sneakers. (It still feels insane to type that.) Prior problems include a $5,000 flopping fine during the 2013 playoffs, a $25,000 flagrant foul fine while a member of the Denver Nuggets in 2011, and mutliple suspensions for a variety of transgressions, including violating the league’s substance abuse policy, elbowing Jason Terry, pleading guilty to reckless driving in connection with a 2009 car accident that killed a passenger in his car, taking part in a 2007 nightclub incident and participating in the 2006 Nuggets-Knicks fight.
Smith finished Tuesday’s loss with six points on 2-for-6 shooting to go with four assists, two rebounds and a block in 24 1/2 minutes in the loss. He’s averaging 7.5 points and four assists per game thus far this season, playing 24.8 minutes per contest under new head coach Derek Fisher — a steep decline from the 33.1 minutes per game he averaged under Mike Woodson over the past two seasons — and struggling mightily to score, shooting just 38.7 percent from the field, 22.2 percent from 3-point land and 57.1 percent from the foul line.
The suspension will be served immediately, with Smith missing Wednesday’s matchup with the Detroit Pistons. Fisher could hand Smith’s minutes at shooting guard to sophomore Tim Hardaway Jr., whose opportunities have been limited (just 11 minutes per game through the Knicks’ first four contests) behind starter Iman Shumpert and top reserve Smith in the early going.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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