No suspension for Stephen Curry?
Like all on-court incidents, the NBA will conduct a thorough investigation with Curry and determine if a fine or suspension is warranted. The NBA likely will look at two prior incidents when examining the Curry case. In October 2015, Clippers guard Austin Rivers was fined $25,000 for throwing a seat cushion into the stands and hitting a fan. In December 2014, Utah’s Enes Kanter was fined $25,000 for throwing his mouthpiece into the stands. Based on history, it isn’t difficult to surmise that Curry will likely receive – at the minimum – a $25,000 fine.
The Curry incident is different than the one-game suspension Miami forward Udonis Haslem served during the 2006 playoffs and the one-game suspension Indiana’s Reggie Miller served in 2001 for throwing his gum at referee Eddie Rush. Haslem, in a first-round game against Chicago, threw his mouthpiece in frustration toward referee Joey Crawford. Had Curry hit Phillips with the mouthpiece, the league office would likely have had no choice but to suspend Curry.
Kerr said that the refs were not the reason the Warriors lost this evening, but reiterated that three of the calls on Curry were “completely inappropriate.” Kerr laughed off any chance that Curry would be suspended for Game 7.
“I’m happy he threw his mouthpiece,” Kerr said as part of a rant on officials postgame that will bring him a fine, too. “He should be upset. Look, it’s The Finals and everybody’s competing out there. There’s fouls on every play. It’s a physical game. I just think that Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, the way we run our offense, we’re running, we’re cutting through the lane, we’re a rhythm offense. If they’re going to let Cleveland grab and hold these guys constantly on their cuts and then you’re going to call these ticky-tack fouls on the MVP of the league to foul him out, I don’t agree with that.”
