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Bismack Biyombo picks up Flagrant 1, will be suspended for Game 7

Well, that sucks.

Toronto Raptors center Bismack Biyombo was called for a Flagrant-Foul Penalty-1 during the first quarter of Friday’s Game 6 against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The foul gives him four flagrant penalty points for the postseason, meaning he will be suspended for Game 7, should the Raptors force it.

Biyombo received a Flagrant-2 against Indiana and a Flagrant-1 earlier in the series against the Cavs. The foul in this case was committed against Kevin Love as Biyombo went up to dunk an offensive rebound, catching Love with his elbow. The officials deemed it a “hostile act” after review.

I’m not one to complain about calls, but given the game situation and Biyombo’s situation, the fact that he was going up for a dunk with two hands on the ball, and that similar contact has gone unpunished in the series…I am displeased.

So, if the Raptors can manage to win here, Biyombo will be unavailable in Cleveland, unless the flagrant is rescinded (no flagrant has been rescinded in the playoffs so far). It’s a good thing, then, that Jonas Valanciunas was able to shake off some rust with 18 minutes of action in Game 5. He checked in after Biyombo’s flagrant (his second personal foul of the game).

In what’s kind of a silly wrinkle to the rule, Biyombo is allowed to play the remainder of Game 6. So, he could conceivably just wild out the rest of the way, though that’s obviously not a very reasonable response in an elimination game. (And just gonna leave this next clip here.)

Here’s Jeff Van Gundy’s take:

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