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Rockets-Lakers Brawl

What really went down between Rondo, Paul and Ingram?

By Shandon PendletonPublished 5 years ago 3 min read
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Everyone who watched the NBA saw the brawl between Chris Paul, Rajon Rondo and Brandon Ingram. I’m sure all you Laker and LeBron haters totally stood up for CP3 and condoned what Rondo and Ingram did, while all you Bron lovers loved how Ingram and Rondo stood up for their team. Well, as a fan of neither team (I personally don’t like the Rockets nor the Lakers), I want to break down what happened.

The Foul

It all started on a Lakers turnover leading to a Rockets fastbreak. James Harden had the ball and did what he normally does—flop. Yep, Harden drew imaginary contact and got a foul called. Well, this time I actually do believe Brandon Ingram fouled Harden; however, the reaction was a little excessive.

Harden has been doing this for years. He draws contact and gets the foul called when there isn't one. I guess Ingram just got sick of Harden's acting and did what every one of The Beard's defenders has wanted to do: Call him out on it. And he did so with a shove. I think Harden totally deserves it. Maybe the league and especially refs will realize that the rest of the players are fed up with his antics.

I totally support Ingram in doing that, but what I don't support, is his confrontation with the referee. Ingram should understand that what he did warranted a technical foul, whether Harden deserved it or not. So I don't understand why Ingram confronted the referee. What did he say? That Harden was being a punk? Well yeah, but you still shoved the man. That's a technical foul in any situation.

Props to Lance Stephenson and Lonzo Ball for removing Ingram from the situation before it got any worse too.

The Spit

This technical led to small confrontation between the players, specifically Chris Paul and Rajon Rondo. Now these two have had beef in the past. They are definitely not friends. During the confrontation, Rondo spit in Paul's face. Now lots of people are saying no he didn't, or that you can't see that in the video. Well, y'all need to stop because there is video evidence of Rondo spitting in Paul's face. Rondo claims he didn't, but the video shows proof that he did.

Now that is some disrespect. Spitting in someone's face is one of the most disrespectful things you can do. Loss of respect for Rondo for doing that. Chris Paul is definitely justified for calling out Rondo on that. However, what happened next? Maybe not so.

Paul wiped the spit off his face and stuck his finger into Rondo's. Rondo immediately reacted and that caused Paul to shove Rondo's face. I don't care who you are, if you stick your finger in someone's face, you can expect a not-so-friendly reaction. And that's when fists began to swing. Paul shoved Rondo's face. Of course, Rondo is going to swing at him for that. And when someone swings, all bets are off.

After watching this fight, though, I gained respect for some players like PJ Tucker, Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James for breaking it up. They could have easily escalated it, but they knew the importance of not fighting and did so.

The Punch

What happened in the last part of the fight, I think, is one of the lowest things you can do. You see your buddies fighting, so you immediately run in throwing punches? No, that's probably one of the stupidest things you can do. That's the reason you got the longest suspension, Ingram... Yes, you should stick up for teammates, I totally get that, but you don't do it by running in throwing hands. It was a tight game and important game, and you hurt your team by doing that. Had you not done that, the worst you would've gotten was a technical. But because you threw an extra punch, you got a four-game suspension and possibly cost your team the win. THERE ARE OTHER WAYS TO STICK UP FOR YOUR TEAMMATES. Did other players throw fists? No. Are they bad teammates then? No, of course not. So think about your actions before you act.

The Aftermath

Well, obviously losing some of your best players is gonna hurt. Chris Paul is your floor general, as is Rondo, and Ingram is a key player in that system. One thing that has arisen is that "Chris Paul is a bad teammate." Multiple players, such as Glen Davis, Kenyon Martin, and Ryan Hollins, have stated that Chris Paul is a bad teammate. Now, I don't think that the Rockets players will care, because if they do, then it's going to affect team chemistry. But either way, that sheds light on lots of things. If it is true, we'll really see in time.

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Shandon Pendleton

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