VIDEO: J.J. Barea ejected for Flagrant 2 on Ray Allen
In one of the most unlikely scuffles of the NBA season, in one corner was Ray Allen and in the other, J.J. Barea.
Late in the Heat's 15th straight win, a 97-81 victory over the Timberwolves, Allen was sent sprawling to the floor by Barea. After a review of the play, it was determined to be a Flagrant 2 foul, which earned Barea an automatic ejection.
On the play, Barea tried to sell a push-off by Allen. After not getting the call, Barea aggressively went after Allen, appearing to knock him to the floor. Allen took exception to the move, popping up to go after Barea immediately afterward. The two were separated, but not before Barea made sure to make his feelings completely known.
(How about the irony of the announcer saying "semi-flop" by Allen with Barea instigating the incident with one of his patended flop attempts? Classic.)
On NBATV, Allen called Barea's foul a "bush-league move."
Via CBSSports.com's Zach Harper, the Wolves took exception to the ejection.
"I just have one question that I'd like to ask the league," said coach Rick Adelman. "Why is that a Flagrant [2] foul tonight, but the night Jarrett Jack hits [Greg] Stiemsma in the stomach with a forearm and that was a Flagrant 1? I just want to know the difference ... That changed the whole game. The whole game changed at that point. They got two free throws. They got the ball out of bounds. The whole game changed. It's hard to understand. They said it's a non-basketball play. I don't know what that is, so you'll have to ask them.
"That's what they said," Adelman continued. "We always ask the league. They'll probably say that they blew it. I mean, that's probably what's going to happen. At least come over and explain it, too. He just came over and said, 'You're gone.' There's no explanation; there's nothing."
Said Barea: "He hit me with an elbow almost close to my neck. That's part of the game, and then I just gave him a bump back. I've been playing in the NBA for seven years. I've been hit. I get hit harder than that every night. I don't get up crying, wanting to fight. Bynum almost knocked me out for the rest of my life. I didn't get up crying. You know? It's a little bump, so it's part of the game. Don't be like that. That's why the refs got all upset about it, but it's just a little bump.
"That was terrible," he said. "I get hit harder than that every night in the NBA."
Hard to really see why Barea was ejected for the foul, though. A Flagrant 2 is described as "unnecessary and excessive contact" that is deemed unsportsmanlike. A Flagrant 1 is just unnecessary contact. Doesn't Barea's mini-shove fall more in the Flagrant 1 realm? I think it looked worse than it was simply because Allen was in the process of jumping.
"I was super surprised," Barea said. "Maybe, maybe a Flagrant 1. But I'll talk to the NBA tomorrow ... They'll call me tomorrow and change the call ... Just basketball. I'm mad at him for reacting like that to a soft foul."
Flagrant 2 fouls often earn suspensions or fines, so we'll see if this is the last of it for Barea. Or if as he says, it's downgraded.
