Two days after Los Angeles Lakers forward Metta World Peace elbowed Thunder guard James Harden in the head, the NBA issued a seven-game suspension.
The Lakers' Metta World Peace has been suspended seven games for elbow to James Harden.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) April 24, 2012
The Lakers only have one regular-season game remaining, meaning World Peace would have to miss Los Angeles' first six playoff games. If the Thunder and Lakers finish No. 2 and No. 3 in the West, respectively, there would be a good chance the teams could meet in the second round, which means World Peace could miss some of the potential series.
As for Harden, he has not yet been cleared to play and will miss Tuesday night's game against the Kings. Coach Scott Brooks said Harden would be re-evaluated before Oklahoma City's regular-season finale against the Nuggets on Wednesday.
"There's steps that we have to take. We just have to continue that, the process of doing all the steps," Brooks said, adding that there was "really no update."
For more on this game Thunder fans should check out Welcome To Loud City and Lakers fans should visit Silver Screen And Roll. For more news and notes from around the NBA head over to SB Nation's NBA Basketball page.