The NBA has rained down punishments on the Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons for their game last night. While many assumed it’d be a normal matchup between 2 tanking teams, it turned out to be a lot worse.
During the game, Moritz Wagner pushed Killian Hayes as the pair were running up the court to stop a ball from going out of bounds. Wagner pushed Hayes into the Pistons’ bench, and Hayes responded by punching Wagner in the back of the head, knocking the 7-footer out.
The Magic bench swarmed the Pistons bench to defend Wagner. The fight didn’t escalate further but the NBA has handed out punishments for the same, and 9 Orlando players will suffer for leaving their bench area and going to the Pistons’ bench. Meanwhile, Hayes has the biggest individual suspension with 3 games, and his teammate Hamidou Diallo has also been suspended.
The NBA just suspended 9 Magic players 😳 pic.twitter.com/CjrMxXTLFb
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) December 30, 2022
The league is going to stagger the punishments of the players across two games to ensure the Magic have enough players available for games. Wagner is the only Magic player to have been suspended for 2 games.
Status alert: Magic players will serve their suspensions on a staggered basis to ensure they'll have enough players available.
Suspended 12/30: Moe Wagner, Cole Anthony, Bamba, Carter Jr., Hampton, Gary Harris
Suspended 1/4: Moe Wagner, Kevon Harris, Schofield, Franz Wagner
— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) December 30, 2022
The suspensions seem fair. Hayes threw a punch, so he has the worst punishment. Wagner instigated it, so he needed to be punished as well. The rules for leaving the bench in these situations have been clear for years, so the Magic players probably knew they were going to be suspended for charging at the Pistons’ bench. Great job by the Pistons announcer in ensuring no fans got involved in the mayhem and caused a repeat of the infamous ‘Malice in the Palace‘.
How Are The Teams Affected By This?
Killian Hayes has been the Pistons starting point guard in Cade Cunningham’s absence and has been doing a great job in that role. Considering both teams are tanking to draft Victor Wembanyama, losing top players might inadvertently help them.
The Magic are definitely the worst affected team and will miss half their team for 2 games. They aren’t looking to set the East on fire either, so this might benefit their draft lottery odds. The players won’t be paid for any of the games they are suspended for, so maybe that is what’ll stick in their craw this season.
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