Suspensions looming for Suns/Rockets?

Time to see what kind of mood league disciplinarian Stu Jackson is in this season. Will the league office be hard or lenient? We're about to find out.
Through the magic of DVR, here's the play-by-play of the footage the league office will be reviewing often this morning from the incident that transpired at U.S. Airways Center with 27.6 seconds remaining and the Rockets leading the Suns, 74-55:
With Tracy McGrady dribbling on the left wing, Rafer Alston moves over to set a screen on Matt Barnes, who sees him coming and isn't called for throwing a forearm shove his way to clear him out of the play. Alston, finally back up off his heels, immediately runs towards Barnes as McGrady's shot floats towards the net and squares up. Amare Stoudemire hadn't even turned around to inbound the ball by the time Steve Nash, noticing the situation, immediately rushes over. McGrady and Yao Ming try to step in between Barnes and Alston, while Nash reaches out and makes contact with Alston as he loses his balance. McGrady is surprised by the bodies coming together and while slipping, reaches out with his left hand and appears to push Nash as he's falling, standing over the Suns point guard as Shaquille O'Neal and Yao rush in, with the Rockets center shoving his star teammate aside from behind, presumably in attempt to keep him from doing anything stupider than he's just done. As if the 7-foot-6 Yao couldn't handle the job alone, the 7-foot-1 O'Neal also shoves McGrady away. While this is going on Nash is on the floor, Alston is cowered over him and a heap of bodies are threatening to make this one big avalanche. As McGrady hits the floor, Leandro Barbosa comes up and grabs Nash, who is intertwined with Alston as he's pulled away. Barbosa, O'Neal, Barnes and Suns coach Terry Porter get to them as they come together, with O'Neal's momentum shoving the pile towards the crowd. Barnes, Porter and official James Capers, who really did good work in mixing it up to help avoid anybody from really hitting each other, end up moving with Alston back up about 10 feet into some more paying customers. Alston throws what looks like a slap-punch with his left, which causes about a dozen people to come together in order to diffuse the situation despite heightened emotions. The commotion was scary, perhaps an ice cube away from really becoming ugly, but fortunately, common sense prevailed among fans and the players on the bench, which included king of serenity Ron Artest.
Nash, McGrady and O'Neal got technicals, while Barnes and Alston were ejected. As far as additional punishment goes, it wouldn't surprise me to see Barnes suspended for one game for the unnecessary contact that incited the situation, McGrady picking up a game for following through on the shove to Nash and Alston getting two games -- one for escalating the situation into what it became and an additional penalty for swinging his arm in a punch-like motion. Can't see Nash and O'Neal getting suspended here. Even though both were actively involved, they did so in the role of peace-maker. McGrady acted in that spirit, too, until he lost his cool with Nash. We'll see if it costs him. Could go either way.
The fact that the altercation spilled over into the crowd changes how willing the league is to dismiss this as boys being boys. If no further action is taken, though, it could be a sign that the league is willing to be lighten the heavy fist that has been wielded since the Palace brawl. Every one of these instances are viewed on a case-by-case basis, but this first high-profile incident figures to set the tone for what's to come.

Tough night for Horford
Al Horford is going to be an All-Star, perhaps as early as this February. I've been a big believer in him since he was at Florida and called him a can't-miss prospect prior to the 2007 Draft.
Love his game more than you do, but he cost Atlanta an opportunity to improve to 7-0. Call it a learning experience, potentially something that could knock expectations back down to earth after his 27-point, 17-rebound night in Chicago on Tuesday. Against Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins, he was on the floor for just 22:48, finishing with five points and five fouls.
The 22-year-old Horford looked his age when he was unable to avoid foul trouble early, with his absence serving as a major reason that Boston was able to cut into an early double-digit deficit. In the fourth quarter, Paul Pierce got him to bite on pump fake and leaned into him on a jumper to draw his fifth with over 10 minutes left in the fourth. Forced to play cautious above the return, he wasn't able to freely provid the defensive presence the Hawks were counting on with Josh Smith in street clothes. To add to the second-year centers's frustration, he was caught sleeping by Kevin Garnett on an alley-oop that got the crowd loose in the final minutes, and his night ended with victory snatched away from him when he got caught on a switch and was beaten to the spot by Pierce, who went all "Captain and the Truth" on the Hawks by draining the game-clinching jumper.
Horford will see better times, but it's how he handles nights like these that will dictate how good he'll truly be. Keep an eye on how the he fares against the Nets on Friday night, because although New Jersey is filled with a host of young deer up front, Horford has the skills to dominate and should make it a point to do so.

Wednesday's +/- report: Tough break for the Raptors, who lose Jose Calderon (-11, six assists) to a hamstring injury and a game to Atlantic rival Philadelphia, 106-96. Toronto can't afford to be without him for any lengthy stretch... The Sixers made sure Elton Brand (+15, 25 points on 21 shots) got off, while the trend of them winning when Willie Green (+13, 17 points, nine assists) plays well off the bench continued...Nash (-15, 10 points, three assists) was bumped and bruised after being thrown around the floor and looks like he can use a day off. Alston (+17, 7-for-11, 15 points) got the better of him -- in the game, not the skirmish... Portland's Rudy Fernandez (+4, 25 points) stole the show, but fellow Spaniard Sergio Rodriguez (+8, five points, five assists) out-did him in the +/- game. Greg Oden (-6, 3 points) was shaking off the rust and had a rough night off the bench, though he did dunk in his first NBA field goal...Miami rookie Mario Chalmers (-26, 1-for-4 in 30:45, five turnovers) had a much rougher night in the 104-96 loss to the Blazers... Zaza Pachulia (+6, nine points, five boards) left the 103-102 loss to the Celtics with a shoulder injury... Kevin Garnett (+13, 25 points, 12 rebounds) is in midseason form... Rasho Nesterovic (+14) returned to the Pacers lineup with 10 big points, including the dagger on one of his reliable long-range jumpers to help make up for the absent Danny Granger (quad) in a 98-87 win over the Nets... New Jersey missed an opportunity to beat a team missing their best player because forwards Bobby Simmons (-16) and Yi Jianlian (-15) were awful, combining to shoot 6-for-17 with eight turnovers... Wilson Chandler (+24, 11-for-12, 27 points, seven rebounds) officially threw his hat into the Most Improved ring in the 132-103 win over Memphis... Spurs rookie George Hill (-13, 4 points in 22 minutes) struggled in his second start, while another unheralded first-year contributor, Milwaukee's Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (+8, 11 points, seven rebounds) no doubt made a fan of Gregg Popovich in his first career start. That's his kind of player... Andrew Bynum (+20, 14 points, eight rebounds, four blocks) delivered a message to the Hornets that they're going to have to go through him to take the Lakers' crown. Phil Jackson would bottle the energy he played with if he could... Chris Paul (-2, 30 points, 13 assists) was slow to get started, but he almost stole the game back for his Hornets... Dwight Howard (+16, 30 points, 19 rebounds, 10 blocks) had a ridiculous night in Oklahoma City, but don't forget about the effort backcourt mates Jameer Nelson (+16, 17 points, 10 rebounds) and Mickael Pietrus (+20, 17 points, five rebounds) gave. The Magic could use that consistently to truly break through... Caron Butler (+5, 27 points, nine rebounds) was worried about his blood pressure with this losing streak Washington was on, so he did his best to stabilize it... It helped that the Wizards caught Utah on the night Andrei Kirilenko (-2, 1-for-7) had his worst game of the season.