MIAMI - When Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said the series against the Indiana Pacers might be so contested, so physical it will be like playing in a cage, he didn't mean to suggest an mixed-martial arts card was about to unfold.
Yet, with bandages covering cuts above eyes and players getting on-site X-rays, the Heat-Pacers series has left players bloodied and beaten and with Heat forward Udonis Haslem and center Dexter Pittman facing possible suspensions.
The NBA office in New York has a busy day Wednesday, when the league's executive vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson and his staff will sort through three flagrant fouls and decide if any of the flagrants will be upgraded or downgraded and whether anyone will be fined and/or suspended.
Let's start with the most important flagrant foul the league will rule on, the one Heat forward Udonis Haslem committed on Pacers forward Tyler Hansbrough.
It came early in the second half, less than a minute after Hansbrough hammered Heat guard Dwyane Wade, drawing blood above Wade's right eye and a Flagrant Foul 1.
Haslem clobbered Hansbrough in the face as Hansbrough attempted a shot. At first, it looked like Haslem might be called for a Flagrant Foul 2, but after watching the replay, official Jason Phillips, the referee who called the foul immediate put one finger in the air signaling a Flagrant 1.
"He came at me. It was pretty clear," Hansbrough said. "We will take it from here. It definitely got a little aggressive out there. It happens. Teams are so competitive out there. People are going to talk. Sometimes you have hard fouls and hard plays. I really haven't looked at it. Some people told me it looked pretty bad."
On the TNT telecast, analyst Steve Kerr said, "This is clearly payback" for Hansbrough's foul on Wade. However, Haslem denied it was retaliation for Hansbrough's hard flagrant on Wade.
A Flagrant Foul 2 called during a game results in an automatic ejection. The league reviews all flagrant fouls and can upgrade or downgrade. If Jackson's office upgrades Haslem's foul to a Flagrant Foul 2, he could be suspended. However, it isn't automatic. Haslem could just be fined and be available for Game 6.
"There were three hard fouls in this game, and the league will review it," Spoelstra said. "We thought he was making a play on the ball. It's a physical series. No one wants to make it into anything more than that. We talk about it all the time … We have to beat them at the game of basketball. Anything that's over the line, we don't any want of that. But we have to play physical, we have to play with force. They're doing the same thing. We'll just move on to the next game."
The most egregious flagrant came with 19 seconds left in the fourth quarter when Pittman delivered an elbow/forearm to reserve guard Lance Stephenson. On A.J. Price's missed shot, Pittman found Stephenson, went away from the rebound and landed the blow across Stephenson's right collarbone and neck.
"This is out of hand," TNT's Marv Albert said. "This is ugly."
X-rays on Stephenson's collarbone were negative. Pittman did not speak with news reporters after the game.
Asked if Pittman was retaliating for Stephenson making a choke sign directed at James in Game 3, James said, "I have no idea. Pitt is a big guy and he loves contact. I don't know. … I need to see exactly what happen. There's no room for dirty plays in our game, period, no matter if it comes from us or Indiana, anyone in the league."
Given Los Angeles Lakers forward Metta World Peace's seven-game suspension for his elbow to Oklahoma City Thunder guard James Harden's head late in the season, and Lakers center Andrew Bynum's five-game suspension (later reduced to three games) for elbowing/clotheslining Dallas Mavericks guard J.J. Barea during last season's playoffs, Pittman faces a multi-game suspension.
The series has been physical from the start. Both teams played tough defense and go after the basketball. Pacers forward Danny Granger has received a technical foul in each of Games 2, 3 and 4 for getting in the face of Heat forward LeBron James and guard Dwyane Wade.
But the physical play increased in Game 5, perhaps spurred by a little gamesmanship in the form of using news reporters to deliver a message.
At Tuesday's morning shootaround, James called Granger's antics stupid, and Wade said, "Certain things you just can't keep doing. You just can't keep getting in people's faces," Wade said. "We're not fighting on this basketball court. So let's not act like we're going to fight."
Granger defended his actions, admitting he is tiptoeing a line. But he also said it's not to get in the head of Heat players but to defend his teammates. Pacers coach Frank Vogel defended Granger.
After the game, James said, "The talk has fueled physical play, and physical play has fueled more talking, I guess."
Copyright 2012 USA TODAY
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