To the surprise of almost no one, Ron Artest won’t be suiting up for the Lakers in Game Three of their second round series against the Dallas Mavericks after the league ruled on Artest smacking J.J. Barea in the face late in Wednesday night’s game.
Ron Artest of the Los Angeles Lakers has been suspended one game without pay for swinging his arm and striking the face of the Dallas Mavericks’ J.J. Barea, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations. Artest’s contact has also been classified by the NBA as a Flagrant Foul Two.
Artest has been just as much of a no-show in this series as many of his teammates, but L.A. needs to be in an all-hands-on-deck mode heading into Dallas for Friday night. Although this could be the motivation Phil Jackson needs to try putting Matt Barnes on the red-hot Dirk Nowitzki.