Thunder vs. Lakers: Metta World Peace Deserves 2-Game Suspension for Elbow

Metta World Peace looked a lot like the Ron Artest we all used to know on Sunday, the guy who seemed to have just about anything but world peace on his mind. 

After a fast-break dunk that ignited the Staples Center crowd, World Peace threw a hard elbow to the backside of James Harden's head in the second quarter of Los Angeles' 114-106 double-overtime win against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The outburst appeared to be at least in part a celebratory gesture, but it also looked like a sign of frustration with James Harden impeding his progress back down the court.

Some will understandably excuse World Peace's outburst under the logic that it was something that happened in the heat of moment. Unfortunately, most of the bad decisions players make are in the heat of the moment. Few set about to deliberately injure opponents—this isn't the Saints we're talking about here.

But stiff suspensions are about more than exacting justice and giving players the punishment they deserve. They're also designed to deter future behavior that puts players at a significantly greater risk of injury.

Of course, that's exactly what World Peace did, forcing Harden out of the game given the risk of a possible concussion.

Chances are that Metta didn't mean for that to happen, what with his conversion to a belief in good vibes and all that. That doesn't mean he shouldn't sit for at least couple of games—including at least one game of the Lakers' first-round playoff series.

Players have to be more vigilant about what they do with their bodies. Playing hard is one thing, but swinging an elbow that hard is almost never a good idea whether someone's head is obviously in the way or not.

From the video, it's also pretty obvious that World Peace knew Harden was there. The two had made contact prior to the swing, so while Metta was facing elsewhere, he surely must have known someone was there.

It may be a bit much to say World Peace's swing was 100 percent deliberate, but calling it an accident is a cop-out.

Professional athletes have to be smarter than that. They can't let emotion and impulse get in the way of common sense.

Keeping World Peace out of at least one postseason game is essential to sending a clear message. It's also key to sending Ron Artest the message than name changes aren't good enough.

Most players probably don't need to hear that message, but the tone the league sets organizationally is important to the attitudes that players and coaches alike bring to the game. After all, there's a reason we're not talking about the Saints here, and the NBA wants to keep it that way.