Lakers coach Mike Brown will sit out the team's game tonight against the Philadelphia 76ers after Brown received a one-game suspension by the NBA for contact with a referee.
During the Lakers loss in Utah Saturday night, Mike Brown went into a rage, charging the court towards a referee after a non-call on the Jazz's point guard Earl Watson. Video posted below.
Brown had to be restrained after he and the referee bumped bodies in the coach's zeal to express his displeasure. What set him off was a knock-down on Pau Gasol that resulted in a steal and a bucket for the Jazz.
Gasol was dribbling the ball away from the Jazz's basket towards the mid-court line when Watson poked the ball away from him by reaching around Gasol's blindside. It sent the Lakers big man to the floor on his face.
Gasol admitted that he was foolish to have had the ball in his hands at that point and of course he confirmed that he believed he was fouled. Brown's reaction was an over reaction and the foolishness of bumping a referee in the process upped the ante from a mere ejection to a suspension of one game.
He will be docked his per-game paycheck and fined $25,000. ESPN reported that Brown seems all right with it all.
"I put the guys in a hole in Utah. It was a game we still had a chance to win, even though it was a little tight or a little physical down the stretch. I feel confident about this team, especially the way we've played as of late. I think they'll be fine without me."
At the time of his ejection in the fourth quarter the Lakers were losing but managed to close a large points gap, hoping that they could claw back and eek out a win. Once the commotion was over the Jazz went on another scoring run that sealed the victory.
Amid the chaos was the calm of Metta World Peace who helped Brown's assistants get him off the court before the incident escalated further. World Peace is very familiar with the feeling of being tossed from an NBA game and could empathize with the coach.
Tonight the Lakers play a surprisingly good 76ers team coached by Doug Collins, on the third game of a six-game road trip. The Lakers are 1-1 so far having won the night prior to the Utah game, in Denver. From Philly it's on to Boston, New York and Toronto before flying home to Los Angeles.
The 76ers turned their 2010-11 season around after a poor start to reach the .500 mark. In a weak Eastern Conference it was enough to make the playoffs. Right now they sit atop their division with a 17-7 record.
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