Please Do Not Punch John Wall's Brain Stem Again, Kelly Oubre

The fight last night between Draymond Green and Bradley Beal was mostly two guys hugging each other very hard, first in a standing position, and later while laying on the ground. But that doesn’t mean there were no punches landed! No, indeed, here is a very strong overhand left from young Kelly Oubre, directly to the occipital lobe of teammate John Wall:

A crushing blow! From a couple different angles, it sure looks like Oubre went in intending to land a haymaker, and just happened to find his teammate’s skull. From the side, it looks possible that Oubre was kind of swim-moving his way in there, and what looked like a punch was really just incidental contact:

Oubre, for his part, went with the latter explanation:

Klay confirmed the apology to ESPN, and described the contact as a “graze to my face.” The NBA rule book says a punch is unsportsmanlike conduct whether it lands or not, and will result in a one game suspension. But it also says the punch should be confirmed by review, and the player should be ejected. The referees on hand last night apparently didn’t view it as a punch—Oubre was not ejected—and so a suspension may not be in the cards. Still, here is a useful reminder to Wizards players: Do not punch John Wall in the brain, for he is your best player!