When Push Comes to Shove in NBA, Everyone's Under the Microscope

LOS ANGELES — The NBA has had zero chill over the last week.

Last Friday, Lakers veteran Nick Young kicked off Hold-Me-Back Week when he shoved Milwaukee Buck Greg Monroe. Monroe pushed Young and Brandon Ingram, and D'Angelo Russell bumped Monroe.

On Monday, the Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder got into it. Stephen Curry and Semaj Christon pushed each other, and Russell Westbrook and Draymond Green joined in to stand up for their teammates. Outside of technical fouls, none of the players were ejected or fined.

Wednesday night, Serge Ibaka of the Toronto Raptors and Robin Lopez of the Chicago Bulls whiffed on haymakers. Each player was suspended a game apiece.

And Thursday saw J.J. Barea ejected to the sound of home-court adulation after he sent Blake Griffin flying with a retaliatory forearm shiver.  

Per NBA historian Patricia Bender, punches have been thrown in only 10 games over the last 11 seasons. Since the Malice at the Palace, long-term suspensions for fighting have been almost non-existent, outside of a brawl between the Denver Nuggets and Knicks in 2006, and a 2012 elbow from Metta World Peace to the face of James Harden.

Most altercations these days consist primarily of shoving, grabbing, chirping, and whatever Draymond Green does with his legs.

"A lot of people talk about 'control your emotions.' It's very difficult to compete against somebody and a fight breaks out," Luol Deng said. "If you're a competitor, it's very hard to do. It's a normal reaction."

"They've been playing basketball their whole life. This has happened at the park. It happens in practices far more than you know," L.A. Clippers coach Doc Rivers said.

The league's best recourse is to hit players in the wallet, and players are well aware of the consequences—the Ibaka and Lopez suspensions combined for $231,539 in lost salary. The suspensions serve as a reminder that shoving and grabbing are the norm for a reason.

"Back in the day, guys could fight or punch, get physical and nothing happened. Nowadays, you give a guy a hard foul so he doesn't finish a layup and you might get kicked out of the game," Lakers center Tarik Black said. "I don't want to lose $50,000 every time I want a guy not to finish a layup or if somebody (pushes) my teammate. I want to break the confrontation up, instead of starting a fight like back in the day, because that might end my career nowadays."

Reed Saxon/Associated Press

The league’s well-documented shift in anti-fighting policies has worked. But the incidents are reminders of what’s at stake in the locker room. For a young team like the Lakers, the Milwaukee incident might be an important step toward building team unity.

"We need to stick up for each other," Lakers coach Luke Walton said earlier this week. "I think that was a positive moment for us. Obviously, I don't condone or tell our guys, ‘Let's go pick another fight.’ That's not what this game is about, but little things like that can help the chemistry of the team. Since then, we've played some pretty good basketball. I'd like to see that continue."

"I love the way the young guys stepped up for me," Young said of the Bucks tiff. "The whole coaching staff, players, we've got each other's backs. That's unity. That's a team."

That hasn't always been the case for Young with the Lakers. In a 2014 incident, Young took on Alex Len and the Phoenix Suns without his teammates coming to help.

"What I'm mad about is it was 1-on-5, I felt like," Young said at the time to ESPN. "If somebody (from the Lakers) would have got in the middle, everything wouldn't have escalated that much."

Then last year, the locker room was splintered by Russell's viral video of Young admitting to cheating on his then-fiancee Iggy Azalea. Now Russell is getting ejected and fined for fighting by Young's side.

Even Ingram, the slender 19-year-old rookie, wasn't backing down from Monroe, a player whose teammates affectionately call him Moose.

Teammates don't even have to be friends to stand for each other between the lines, but us vs. them moments do bring players together over time.

"It's not just we're (together) on the court when we're playing basketball. They become almost your brother. You know so much about each other, you share so much in life together. They become your friends," Deng said.

World Peace, formerly known as Ron Artest, was at the center of one of the worst brawls in NBA history with the Pacers in 2004, the Malice at the Palace against the Detroit Pistons. Stephen Jackson, who was heavily involved in the melee, recalled years later (h/t ESPN's Highly Questionable) that MWP, after running into the stands and throwing hands with patrons, asked back in the locker room, "Do you think we're gonna get in trouble?"

Yes...the answer was yes, and what followed set the tone for players thinking twice in future frays. He was suspended for the remainder of the season (86 games including playoffs), which cost him roughly $5 million in salary. He also faced legal repercussions, including 60 hours of community service.

Don't believe that stuff sticks with professional athletes? When Jackson was asked about his remorse toward the situation, he responded, "I regret it because I lost $3 million ... That's all."

"You've got to have your boy's back. I know when I was in Indiana (with the Pacers), it was crazy." said World Peace. "In practice, we didn't like each other. But in the game, you couldn't get at nobody. Immediately, everybody would be there, no questions asked."

Coaches, too, have no choice but to physically and vocally back their players.

Raptors assistant coach and former All-Star center Jamaal Magloire was fined $15,000 for pushing Chicago forward Nikola Mirotic, "acting as other than a peacemaker," as described by the NBA.

The Magloire fine might interest Walton, who was irate after his team's skirmish with the Bucks on Friday, in which a Milwaukee staffer put his hands on Ingram.

"One of their employees is on the floor, and he grabs Brandon by the jersey and shoves him. Not holding him back, shoves him," Walton said. "If there's nothing wrong with that, then I have no problem finding some people to hire on our staff.

"I'll keep all my players back ... and he puts his hands on one of our players? He works for them. He can touch their players all he wants. Don't touch my damn players."

Rivers agreed that NBA security personnel assigned to work with franchises shouldn't put their hands on opposing players.

"I thought what Luke said was very interesting about security from the other teams. That's where you have to be careful," Rivers said.

Coaching or playing, standing with those from the same locker room in a fight shows a level of respect and trust—fundamental building blocks for a successful team culture.

In that way, skirmishes have shown themselves to be a necessary evil.

The NBA cannot fully legislate away fighting, but the significant financial deterrents in place have worked to change the role and severity that it has in the game today. The proof is in the numbers.

All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Stats are accurate as of March 22. Email Eric Pincus at [e-mail] and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.