For those of you who missed last night’s bout of NBA drama courtesy of Ron Artest, er, Metta World Peace, the Lakers forward struck Thunder guard James Harden in the head with his elbow after celebrating a play, sending Harden to the ground with a concussion, as was later reported. Instantly, the comparisons of old Artest came back and many called for a suspension. Now there are official odds out representing bad news for World Peace.
Ken Berger reports, “Las Vegas oddsmaker Bovada has set the over/under on suspension length for Metta World Peace at 7.5 games.” Bomani Jones already said it should be between 5 and 10 games, so he was right on with that prediction. Other former players and current NBA analysts like Magic Johnson and Jon Barry have all said it was an intentional flagrant foul that should result in time away from the court.
For his part, World Peace did come out and apologize after the fact. It will be interesting to see how his instant contrition will help him or whether his past will do him in.