No one can ever accuse Kobe of not being the giving type.
That applies to Serge Ibaka of the Oklahoma City Thunder when Kobe Bryant offered to give him a knuckle sandwich with all the fixings if he tried a repeat performance of Sunday's assault on Blake Griffin's manhood.
"I probably would'e smacked him in the mouth," Bryant said on Monday. "I would've dealt with the pain after."
The pain had to do with Serge Ibaka intentionally punching Griffin in the groin while fighting for position during Sunday's Thuder-Clippers game. The pain was bad enough for to double over the Clippers power forward. Ibaka's groin shot earned him a Flagrant-1 foul and a fine from the NBA front office.
Bryant's Lakers head into a crucial game with the Oklahoma CityThunder tonight. Not just to earn a game towards the final playoff spot, but to legitamize their latest run. The Lakers have won 7 out of their last 10 games and are currently on a 2 game win streak. They're only 2 games away from the 8th seed in the playoffs.
In a league that some say is all too cordial, there's more than one fan that wouldn't mind seeing Kobe send Ibaka to the dentist Tuesday night. There's just something petty, sleazy and incredibly bush league about a guy who punches another player in the man regions.
SI.com is reporting that Serge Ibaka will be fined $25,000 for his actions. The Flagrant Foul 1 was upgraded to a Flagrant Foul 2. Despite everyone with working corneas thinking Ibaka's pocket punch was intentional, the NBA ruled that it was wasn't, according to Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice president of Basketball Operations.
Do you think Ibaka is getting special treatment?