Recently, Orlando Magic guard Desmond Bane was fined $35000 by the NBA for throwing the ball off of New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby during a recent matchup between the two teams. It was the second time this year that Bane had inexplicably launched the ball off of an opponent, and it also earned him a technical foul in the process.
Recently, Tippernaught Sports on YouTube broke down the incident with a lip-reading of the play, also sprinkling in some supposed commentary from official Tony Brothers in the process.
While we won't know exactly what was actually said between Bane and Anunoby, the lip-reading would appear to be fairly accurate based on the video angles of the incident that have been made available.
In a previous game against the Atlanta Hawks, Bane launched the ball off of Atlanta center Onyeka Okongwu, earning himself an ejection from that game in the process. It isn't clear what exactly has possessed Bane to do this twice already this season after seeming to be a mild-mannered player throughout most of his career.
In any case, Bane bounced back on Tuesday night with a huge performance against the Miami Heat in the knockout round, setting up another matchup with the Knicks on Saturday in Las Vegas. It will certainly be interesting to see what interaction, if any, there is between Bane and Anunoby during that contest. The winner of that game will move on to play the Western Conference champion in the bracket, with $500,000 for each player on the line in the finale.
The Knicks and Magic will get their NBA Cup game underway on Saturday at 5:30 pm ET from Las Vegas.
