Yeah this is rubbish giving him 7 games... But think its just going to fuel the fire and if he makes it to playoffs then Lakers will be a even stronger team than earlier this season now that he's playing aggressively

You guys must be Laker fans, that elbow is just as bad as punching Harden in the head, 7 games seems fair

Totally disagree with you

7 is right on I believe.

Have you seen the elbow? He gave it the big wind up!

This behavior has no place in sport whatsoever.

Agreed it has no place in sport. If he did that in public he would be charged with assault but since its on a basketball court you guys think its fine and he should only get a couple of games?!

Repeating what I said in the other thread, it was totally outside any play and completely unnecessary.

Unfortunately you can't ignore his past indiscretions.

It's like Brendan Fevola changing his name to Devoted Loving Husband and everyone forgetting that he is a douche with a problem keeping it to himself

You can take the boy out of the ghetto, but you can't take the ghetto out of the boy.

Should have got life.

Definitely wasn't your regular elbow, 7 games definitely seems fair.

The penalty is fair. He's lucky it wasn't 15 games.
It was a severe blow that should not be tolerated. It's a well deserved punishment.

If it happened in an afl game he would have got more than 7 if in a previous season he went into the crowd and beat up a fan.

Barry hall got 7 for the staker punch I believe and he had a history of thuggery.

He's lucky he didn't catch Harden in the temple and kill him.

A similar incident happened in NZ where a player ended up in a coma.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/domestic-basketball/news/article.cfm?c_id=267&objectid=10344581

MWP definitely got what he deserved, he probably thought this guy has a beard so maybe he could be ok. James Harden is great player on a great team and he is a key cog in their line-up, MWP could have done some serious damage.

Has anyone been suspended this long for an elbow before? If not, then shouldn't be allowed now, simple...

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/page/5-on-5-120424-MWP/nba-does-punishment-metta-world-peace-fit-crime

Ricey - some analysis on the factors that led to the suspension. It was outside of any play, and vey violent. With his history, he could well have got more than that.

I thought the Barea comparison (the Bynum hit) was a decent one. I think he got 5 games? MWP's hit on Harden was way worse than that.

To say no elbow has ever attracted a 7 game suspension isn't relevant. What's relevant is whether the NBA applied their rules, as they are stated. If that allows them to take into account prior history, then that's OK

I said it in the other Artest thread 2 days ago;

He will get 7 games and the Lakers will beat Denver 4-2 so Artests first game back will be game 1 vs Oklahoma.

Stern loves a soap opera, the NBA want a big rivalry and Artest has just given them a story to go with.

JOaRiDrAN, what if the Lakers play the Mavs in the first round? Does that change the storyline at all?

You've got to remember the elbow caused a concussion so it wasn't just a measly knock with an elbow. I think the Nba should look into players who have had multiple suspensions in their career and bring harsher punishment, kind of like drink drivers who reoffend.

i love the initial post "he hasnt done something like this in ages" he shouldnt have been known for doing it ever. Thats like a murderer getting out of prison kills some 25 years after his previous kill and saying "lets go easy on him he hasnt done it in a while" what a joke. you must be stupid to think that penalty is too much. it should be more.

he should have got an extra 2 games for playing for L.A

If he was playing for the Melbourne Storm he would have been traded to Miami to even up the competition, the Lakers would have to return at least two full sets of NBA Championship rings and they would have to play the rest of the season plus next season for no points!

This was Artest's comments on Espn:

"It was bad timing for me and then, physically, it was bad timing for Mr. Harden," World Peace said after practice was over. "Who can write up a left-hand dunk and then all of the sudden somebody is right behind you? It's hard to draw that up and to plan something like that. It was just the worst timing for me."

He has got some serious issues he needs to figure out before he should be allowed back on the court. You just don't know when this dude is going to snap!

bynums hit on barea was worse last year as he was in the air and blatantly wanted to hurt him and he got less.

In real time the artest hit doesnt look as bad so 7 games is fair. If you slow things down it does look a bit worse but then if you slow most thigs down it looks worse.

Tweet tweet, it doesn't matter. Lakers in 6 in both series