The NBA announced Monday afternoon Los Angeles Lakers Superstar LeBron James will receive a one-game suspension, and forfeit a $284,004 game check as a result, for Detroit Pistons Huge Man Isaiah Stewart Hitwho suspended two games and would lose $45,201 in match checks for his role in the crash, in the third quarter of Sunday’s game. James was assessed a Flagrant Fault-2, resulting in an automatic ejection, while Stewart was also ejected after receiving two techniques for unsportsmanlike behavior during the accident.

This is LeBron’s first career suspension in the NBA, and LeBron’s Sunday night expulsion was only the second in his career. James will miss the next match against New York Knicks, which means he will be on the floor when the Lakers face pistons Again, but this time at Staples Center on Sunday, November 28.

The altercation that led to James’ suspension occurred in the third quarter when Stewart and James were battling for position to grab the rebounding ball. Stewart was pushing James, who apparently didn’t take it kindly and swung his arm back and punched Stewart in the eye. Here’s how it ended:

Stewart’s eye was bloodshot from LeBron’s injury and things escalated from there, as the Pistons hulking man attempted to recharge the Lakers multiple times before being poached and taken to the locker room after being sent off. Russell Westbrook He was also given a technique to try to escalate the situation, which is what he was doing He didn’t know until the reporters told him after the match.

Neither James nor Stewart spoke after the end of the match that LA won next Back from a 17-point deficit. However, players and coaches from both sides talked about the method. Pistons coach Duane Casey said in part, “I don’t think James is a dirty player, but again, he made them move forward.” Lakers All-Star striker Anthony Davis He echoed the same sentiments in saying that James was not a “dirty guy,” and noted that James tried to tell Stewart that he didn’t mean this to happen immediately after he saw what he had done.

Regardless of the intent, the Lakers will now have to go through their next game without James after only recovering one game before missing eight games due to an abdominal sprain. While LeBron was sidelined, Los Angeles struggled to look like a playoff team, going 3-5 while out during that time. Although he won’t be out for nearly as long, stopping him will require solid performances from Westbrook and Davis over these next few games, which haven’t always been guaranteed so far this season.

Although Davis has averaged 24.6 points this season, he hasn’t shown the ability to consistently take over games, especially in critical situations for the Lakers. As for Westbrook, he struggled to adapt to his new role with the Lakers as he averaged 19.3 points, the lowest since his second year in the league. He also shoots 28 percent from depth in more than four attempts per game. Los Angeles will need more of these two if it is to hope for some victories with LeBron out.

James’ suspension is just the latest bump in the road for a team that hasn’t had a perfect start to the season sitting at just 9-9. As we approach the quarter mark for the 2021-22 season, the Lakers will surely want to forget the first month and a half of the season in which they had injuries to several key players, and now this one.