Udonis Haslem Suspended From Game 6

The Miami Heat will head into game 6 a man down as Udonis Haslem has just been given a one game suspension.

Haslam was given a flagrant 1 foul after a hard hit on Indiana Pacers forward Tyler Hansbrough in game five. The foul was reviewed by the NBA and upgraded to a flagrant 2 foul. Haslem, who has stepped up to fill the shoes of Chris Bosh, will be sitting out of a potential series clinching game 6 in Indiana.

Coach Eric Spoelestra said:

“We’ll accept the decision. We don’t agree with it. We totally support Uonis as a player and as a family member. He has supported his teammates and this Miami family for nine years. His reputation speaks for itself. He’s a hard-nosed player, a physical player, who is a clean player and he doesn’t play over that line.”

Spoelestra also said that the NBA hasn’t been consistent with its suspensions, saying that the league has ignored several hard fouls on Dwyane Wade and Lebron James.

“The league does not have a problem with hard fouls on our two main guys… In nine games now, there’s been over a dozen hard fouls to the face, some of the tomahawk variety, some of them have drawn blood. They don’t have a problem with it, so we don’t have a problem with it. Our guys will continue to attack, they will play their game, and we will focus on what we can control tonight, and that’s the game.”

Dexter Pittman was also suspended for a flagrant foul on Lance Stephenson late in Game 5. Pittman was suspended for three games.

Miami forward Shane Battier said:

“It’s very disappointing, obviously. But we’re a resilient group… The verdict process is a mystery to players, and so we don’t get caught up in it. We can’t control it. We know the NBA’s going to do what they feel they need to do and we need to live with the consequences. So it’s really out of our hands, not worth getting riled up. We’re going to put together an effort that will make Udonis and Dexter proud.”

Tyler Hansbrough, who was given a flagrant 1 foul after a hard foul on Dywane Wade, will be playing in tonight’s game.

Lebron James said:

“Hansbrough, it’s not the first time he went after one of our players this year… You know, we have two guys suspended, and basically they have no one suspended.”

Do you think the Miami Heat will be able to close out the series tonight?