Ronnie Price has been known to be a scrappy player who plays defense with pride in his short time as a Los Angeles Laker. On Wednesday against the New Orleans Pelicans, Price crossed the line in the eyes of the officials on a foul on guard Austin Rivers.
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The Lakers were well on their way to their seventh loss of the season when Price jumped to meet Rivers as he was in the air for an attempted runner in the lane. In a seemingly obvious attempt to swat the ball, Price missed and connected with the face of the prodigy out of Duke in a nasty collusion that sent Rivers to the floor.
The referees stopped the game in the final quarter for minutes to review the footage in order to determine the severity of the foul. They awarded Price a “flagrant two” which resulted in an automatic ejection for Price.
Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times reported that Price will be suspended for one game:
Lakers guard Ronnie Price suspended one game for flagrant foul http://t.co/Lvyss16JCB
— Eric Pincus (@EricPincus) November 13, 2014
Byron Scott told ESPN Radio that his understanding of a flagrant foul is now skewed after the official’s explanation of the call. In the act of blocking a shot, one must swipe in order to connect with the ball, especially at a less desirable angle. The ruling of “flagrant two” was charged because of a described swiping motion by the referee.
Losing Price will take away from the defensive intensity of the second unit for Friday’s game against Tony Parker and the Spurs. However, Scott says that Kobe Bryant might see some time at point guard so that Jeremy Lin can get some minutes with the bench. Bryant, looking to be in great shape, should be able to keep up with the nimble Parker if necessary. Defense will be key against the reigning world champions.
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