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Reviewing Al Horford’s Flagrant Foul

By Robert Galerstein

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With the Hawks up 1 and the first half coming to a close, a critical call drastically changed Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Matthew Dellavedova dived into Al Horford and Horford retaliated by falling back on to Dellavedova.

As Reggie Miller notes on the broadcast, many predicted a Flagrant 1 foul. However, the criterion for flagrant fouls in the NBA is rather subjective, hinging on whether the contact is simply unnecessary or “unnecessary and excessive:”

"Flagrant “1” (FFP1) – unnecessary contact committed by a player against an opponent. The opposing team is awarded two (2) free throws and possession.Flagrant “2” (FFP2) – unnecessary and excessive contact committed by a player against an opponent. The opposing team is awarded two (2) free throws and possession and the player committing the foul is automatically ejected."

Unfortunately, Horford’s response came across as excessive and he was then ejected from the game. Dellavedova also received a technical foul, initially without any specific reason. While what Horford did ended up being relatively harmless, the referees focused on how Horford wound up his elbow and hit Dellavedova above the neck. The League Office lists arm motion as a specific factor in determining whether a foul is a flagrant 1 or 2:

"3. Whether, on a foul committed with a player’s arm or hand, the fouling player wound up and/or followed through after making contact;"

The NBA Official twitter account quickly took to explaining.

And despite many viewers’ reactions (including hopefully every single Hawks fan watching the game), the game referees all agreed on the call.

The league later maintained the ruling, saying that Horford made contact above the shoulders. They strangely clarified the reasoning for the Dellavedova technical foul – he made contact with the knee of Horford so he received a live-ball physical taunt technical foul?

Regardless, Dellavedova’s dive was not taken into account when assessing Horford’s retaliation. Horford had to watch a close second half in the Eastern Conference Finals, one of the most important games of his career, from the locker room.

While Atlanta fans quickly voiced their disagreement with the call, they were not alone. Many twitter celebrities, ranging from former players to members of the sports media, also though the Flagrant 2 call was excessive. Former players Baron Davis and Brent Barry thought the penalty was too harsh.

Some even went so far as to describe the foul in more hyperbolic terms.

Many ESPN analysts also voiced their disagreement, including Highly Questionable’s Bomani Jones and First Take’s Stephen A. Smith.

In a rare showing of unity, Smith and his co-host, Skip Bayless, who are seemingly paid to constantly argue with one another, actually agreed on something.

The argument against the Flagrant 2 is two-fold. First, Horford did not harm Dellavedova in any way, ultimately letting up and not even making contact with his arm even though he wound up for a swing. Second, and perhaps most importantly, Dellavedova had established a pattern of questionable play and Horford was simply retaliating for what he believed (along with the referees, according to the technical foul) was an attempted dive at his knee. The incidents in the last two rounds of the playoffs are a little hard to ignore.

Go back to the Taj Gibson play in the second round of the Cavs/Bulls series. Dellavedova locked his legs around Taj Gibson, and Gibson responded by kicking Dellavedova off of him. Even though Gibson did no harm and was simply retaliating to a questionable or “dirty” play, he was also ejected.

Just like in the second round, Dellavedova managed to ignite a controversy that left the Cavs’ opponents without a key player. This time, it was the second Hawk that he had taken out.

This is not to suggest that Dellavedova is a “dirty player,” whatever that’s supposed to mean. He leaves those responsibilities up to J.R. Smith. But while the debate about his intentions in making his dives is impossible to resolve, it is clear that Dellavedova likes to stir things up, and has been quite successful. I would categorize his irritant style of play much like Steven Adams (maybe it’s something to do with Australia and New Zealand) – he does whatever he can to make the other team frustrated so they overreact and make poor decisions.

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Unfortunately, he was able to do the same to Al Horford last night. After the game, Al Horford was classy as always. He admitted his responsibility in his decision to hit Dellavedova and said it was an experience he would learn from. He avoided calling Dellavedova a dirty player but politely stated that his pattern of reckless play certainly raised some questions and “he needs to learn.”

That being said, Horford’s admission still does not mean that the punishment fit the crime. Many contended the NBA should not view Dellavedova’s dive and Horford’s fall as two separate instances, but rather understand that Horford was simply retaliating to a play that they admitted was questionable. Much like the Gibson ejection, putting Horford’s actions in context as opposed to viewing it as an isolated act may have changed the referees’ calculations on what constituted “excessive.” Even though Horford minced his words when discussing Dellavedova, he was still candid when asked about his ejection.

Ultimately, the Flagrant 2 was a huge deal for the Hawks. Already down one all-star starter in Kyle Korver, the Hawks had to manage the second half without their starting center and perhaps most important player. Despite this, the Hawks still competed and lost a close overtime game. Who knows what could have happened if Horford had played the second half? Now that the Hawks have dug themselves into a 3-0 deficit, Big Boi voiced his concerns about the NBA playoffs.

Without endorsing NBA conspiracy theories, many Atlanta fans share the same feelings. If that deserved an ejection and even a ball hit clearly to the outfield can stand as an infield fly, it starts feeling like everyone, including the officials, are out to get you.

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