Did Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas deserve a suspension?
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The NBA ruled that Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas will not be suspended after hitting Dennis Schroder in the head during Game 3 of the first-round series between Boston and the Atlanta Hawks.
Our crew breaks down three big questions surrounding the decision not to suspend the Celtics All-Star: Was it an intentional blow? Should the NBA have suspended Thomas? How does the non-suspension shape the outcome of the series?
1. Did Isaiah Thomas intentionally hit Dennis Schroder in the head?
Brian Windhorst, ESPN.com: Yes. No question. It wasn't all that severe, but it's cut and dried. Thomas waited for him for no apparent reason and then instantly took off, like a hit-and-run, with no remorse.
Ohm Youngmisuk, ESPN.com: I believe so. I think he could have avoided that confrontation if he didn't want it. The two had been jawing at each other before that. Thomas is a prideful player, and he doesn't back down from anybody.
Bradford Doolittle, ESPN Insider: In the larger context of the rancor brewing between those guys during those sequences, I strongly suspect it was an intentional act made to look somewhat unintentional. You can never be certain about what is in a person's head, but I see a really dumb play by a really good player.
Kevin Pelton, ESPN Insider: It's pretty hard to argue that was an accident. The movement by Thomas wasn't natural, and Schroder was in his line of sight.
2. Should Thomas have been suspended?
Windhorst: Yes, for three reasons. One, it was intentional. Two, the league warned teams about such actions before the postseason. Three, the league saw the Celtics series (with the Cavs) get out of hand last year. It passed the boiling point with their final game, which led to injuries and multiple suspensions. Given that Thomas didn't get suspended, I'd love to have his defense attorney.
Doolittle: If it was deemed to be intentional, I think you had to suspend him. In general, I think the league has to be very careful about removing players from such important games (like Phoenix's Amare Stoudemire against the Spurs in 2007). You can't let this kind of play slide, though -- that's how a series can get out of hand.
Pelton: That all seems to hinge on whether the contact was deemed a "punch," or more accurately a "punching foul." I don't think this matched my definition of a "punch," but the precedent of Zach Randolph's suspension during the 2014 playoffs suggested the NBA was likely to interpret any contact with a closed fist as a punch, even if a boxing judge like Harold Lederman wouldn't score it a punch on his scorecard.
Youngmisuk: I personally don't think so. I know that whenever a punch is thrown, that typically leads to a suspension. This didn't seem to me like a clear-cut, intentionally thrown, traditional fist-closed punch. Apparently the league saw it the same way.
3. How would a suspension have changed your view of the series?
Doolittle: On the surface, it would have erased an already thin margin of error for the Celtics. But Boston's offense has been pretty bad this series with Thomas on the floor, even with his big Game 3 factored in.
While no one else for Boston has Thomas' ability to create a shot, if the Celtics could have discovered some new things about themselves, it wouldn't be the first time that's happened to a team that suddenly loses a star.
Youngmisuk: If the Celtics' best scorer had been suspended for Game 4, that would have dramatically improved the Hawks' chances of winning in Boston on Sunday. And with Boston already needing at least one win in Atlanta, losing a game at home would have made their job too difficult.
Pelton: With no suspension, I'd give the Celtics about a 20 percent chance of winning three of the last four games in this series. They still must win on the road and their Game 3 performance wasn't exactly convincing.
Winning Game 4 is nearly a must for Boston, and that would have been hard to envision without Thomas. A suspension would have dropped their chances to around 5 percent, in my view.
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