The story:
Kevin Love’s frustration with physical play and officiating have been apparent early and often this season.
Emotion got the best of him on Saturday night against the Rockets, and now he and the Minnesota Timberwolves have to pay the price: Love, his team’s leading scorer and rebounder, was suspended for two games by the NBA for “driving his foot into the upper body and face of the Rockets’ Luis Scola as Scola was lying on the floor.”
The play happened in the third quarter of Saturday’s victory over the Rockets after the two tangled while going for a rebound. As Love went to step over Scola, who a week earlier had thrown a ball off Love’s groin while trying to save it from going out of bounds, he looked down at the Rockets forward and stepped on him as he headed back up the court.
Love apologized to Scola both after the game and in a statement issued by the team on Monday following the suspension, and said he has to do a better job handling his emotions.
“I don’t want to be known for that,” Love said after practice. “I want to be known as a stand-up guy who happened to make a mistake with a size 19 shoe and just move on. So everybody knows there were no ill intentions there.”
Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman said he has spoken with Love and the rest of his young team about playing through any perceived mistreatment from the other team or the officials.
Adelman did wonder how Jackson landed on two games as proper punishment.
“Do I think it’s fair? No. Absolutely (not),” Adelman said. “I don’t know the reasoning. They don’t tell you the reasoning. I don’t know the reasoning why two games. They haven’t said anything. You’ve just got to move on.”
Frankly, I don't see what Adelman is complaining about; two games seems fair enough and given how stern the NBA can be about these matters, it doesn't stand as a particularly harsh punishment. However, I do like the way Love has handled the situation in the wake of the incident, his attitude is better than Adelman's. It was pretty dirty but I respect him raising his hand, apologising to Scola and acknowledging that he went a little too far when things got out of hand and emotions boiled over.
