Matt Barnes suspended one game, won’t face Clippers on Saturday

Matt Barnes

Matt Barnes/Photo courtesy of Memphis Grizzlies

 

So much for the Clippers facing two former players Saturday when they play at Memphis at 5 p.m. (on Prime Ticket).

Grizzlies forward Matt Barnes on Saturday was suspended one game without pay by the NBA for trying to enter the locker room of the Milwaukee Bucks to confront John Henson after the two were ejected on Thursday in Milwaukee.

Henson blocked a shot by Barnes with 5.5 seconds to play in the Bucks’ 96-86 victory. Henson taunted Barnes, was assessed two technical fouls and ejected. Barnes was then ejected for “continued use of obscenities,” according to a statement by the NBA.

Barnes will serve his suspension Saturday. Another former Clipper, Lance Stephenson, will play against the Clippers.

A night of familiar faces on tap Saturday for Clippers-Grizzlies

Jeff Green

Jeff Green/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

 

Familiar faces will be the order of the day when the L.A. Clippers visit the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday for a 5 p.m. game (on Prime Ticket). The Grizzlies now have former Clippers Matt Barnes and Lance Stephenson, the Clippers now have Jeff Green, for whom Stephenson was traded in February.

Barnes and Stephenson have been playing well for the Grizzlies (39-30), and Clippers coach Doc Rivers has noticed.

“They’re playing great,” Rivers said. “You hope they play well. They were part of your franchise, so you want them to do well.”

But …

“You just don’t want them to do well against you,” he said.

Rivers knows that’s what Barnes and Stephenson must have in mind, though, and Rivers suggested that’s just human nature.

“I was a player, too,” Rivers said. “And whenever you’re traded, you want to do well against your old team and your old team wants to do well against you. That never changes.”

Barnes is averaging 16 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists over the past five games. Stephenson has averaged 23.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 5.8 assists over his past four games.

As for Green, he has averaged 10.3 points in 13 games since coming to the Clippers. His high game was 23 points in a 120-108 loss March 9 at Oklahoma City.

Green, who played parts of the past two seasons with Memphis, said he’s not entering this game like he has to show something to the team that traded him away.

“I’ve got nothing to prove,” Green said. “At the end of the day I know it’s a business, so I don’t hold anything against anybody. Only thing I come into the game is just trying to win.”

The Clippers are 43-24.

 

Former Clippers forward Matt Barnes fined 35K for comments centering on Derek Fisher beef

Matt Barnes

Matt Barnes/Photo courtesy of Memphis Grizzlies

 

Former Clippers forward Matt Barnes – now of the Memphis Grizzlies – on Sunday was fined $35,000 by the NBA for his recent comments regarding New York Knicks coach Derek Fisher, with whom Barnes had a physical confrontation in October when Barnes found out his twin sons were unhappy that Fisher was visiting their mother – Barnes’ ex-wife Gloria Govan.

Barnes’ Grizzlies defeated the Knicks 103-95 on Saturday at Memphis. Although there was apparently no interaction between the two at the game, Barnes had plenty to say to reporters in the days leading to it.

“There’s support throughout the league, other leagues, GMs, owners, entertainers, actors, everybody,” Barnes said regarding the altercation with Fisher. “It’s been a great support. Every man who looks at the situation knows what’s right and wrong. Violence is never the answer, but sometimes it is. And, unfortunately, it happened.”

On Sunday, the NBA said it fined Barnes “for inappropriate public comments that are detrimental to the best interests of the NBA.”

“Matt Barnes’ comments condoning violence do not reflect who we are as a league or the character of our players,” said Kiki VanDeWeghe, the NBA’s executive vice-president of basketball operations. “His words are unacceptable and entirely inconsistent with the core principles of this game and the NBA.”

Barnes had already been suspended two games for the incident itself.

Former Clippers’ forward Matt Barnes suspended 2 games for October beef with Derek Fisher

Matt Barnes

Matt Barnes/Photo courtesy of Memphis Grizzlies

 

Former Clippers forward Matt Barnes – now with the Memphis Grizzlies – has been suspended two games without pay by the NBA for his physical altercation with New York Knicks coach Derek Fisher on Oct. 3 in Redondo Beach, the league announced Monday.

Fisher was with Barnes’ ex-wife, Gloria Govan, at her home when Barnes went there to check on his twin sons after he determined via communication with them that they were not comfortable with Fisher being there.

Barnes’ suspension will begin Tuesday when Memphis plays host to the Miami Heat.

Five things to take from Clippers’ 94-92 win over Grizzlies

  • J.J. Redick

J.J. Redick/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

 

  • You have to like the backbone of Chris Paul. He had missed Saturday’s loss against Houston with a groin strain. In this game, he was both poked and smacked in the eye. He still found a way to score 14 points and dole out four assists in nearly 32 minutes. Paul did contribute to the 18 turnovers the team committed with four of his own.
  • J.J. Redick was Mr. Clutch. He was 1-for-5 from 3-point range when he buried one that put the Clippers ahead (87-86) for good 55.1 seconds to play. Then he made three consecutive free throws with 13.3 seconds left.
  • Another fine game by Blake Griffin. He played a team-high 37 minutes, 48 seconds and came away with 24 points, 12 rebounds, a steal and a blocked shot. The sixth-year pro is now averaging 28.6 points and 10 rebounds. He’s also shooting 58.1 percent from the field.
  • DeAndre Jordan didn’t let the thought of playing in what is bound to be a very hostile Dallas crowd on Wednesday affect what he did in this victory. He scored 13 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked four shots. Remember how Jordan reneged on a verbal agreement to sign with Dallas to re-sign with the Clippers? Well, Jordan is really going to hear it when the teams square off at American Airlines Center.
  • Old friend Matt Barnes made his presence felt. He scored eight points, pulled down six rebounds, made two steals and blocked two shots in 26-plus minutes off the bench. He scored all of his points in the fourth quarter, when his team needed them most. Best of all, Barnes received a nice ovation from a Staples Center crowd appreciative of the previous three years he spent with the Clippers before he was traded during the off-season.

Jamal Crawford expects Matt Barnes to have ‘extra juice’

Matt Barnes

Matt Barnes/Photo courtesy of Memphis Grizzlies

 

Former Clippers forward Matt Barnes returned to Staples Center on Monday as a member of the Memphis Grizzlies. Clippers guard Jamal Crawford said at the morning shootaround he expects Barnes, who played the previous three seasons with the Clippers, to hit the court with a bit more emotion than he usually does, which is saying a lot.

“I think when you go home, it’s like your home city and you want to do well in front of your family and friends,” Crawford said. “And I think when you leave a team, it’s always a little extra juice.”