The sore calf of Anthony Davis might not be his biggest problem heading into Sunday evening’s Game 6 of the 2020 NBA Finals. The NBA might have reason to discipline Davis for a clear violation he committed in the heat of last night’s brutally close loss to Miami.
After a dust-up in the paint with Jae Crowder, with both players fighting for position, both Davis and Crowder fell to the ground. Then when both players were getting up, Davis appears to hit Crowder in the face with a backhand slap. It was definitely not a basketball play and appeared to be a premeditated hostile act, which would in theory make it a Flagrant 2 by the book, which would result in a suspension.
— Playoff Parakeet A. Cortes (@Ryan_Cortes) October 10, 2020
The NBA has precedent for calling technical fouls and flagrant fouls after the fact, even if they weren’t called on the floor. The most famous case was Draymond Green’s below-the-belt hit on LeBron James, which was called a Flagrant 1 foul and only led to a suspension because of Green’s accumulation of flagrant points. While Davis doesn’t have the flagrant points to make it troublesome if the league deems it a technical or a Flagrant 1, the act may merit a Flagrant 2 call by the league, which is something to keep an eye on heading into Game 6.