The NBA announced today that Orlando Magic star Dwight Howard is suspended for Game 6 of the playoff series against Philly for his elbow on Sixers center Samuel Dalembert. The two players got tangled up while going up for a rebound in the first quarter of Game 5. Replays have since shown that Howard threw an elbow that hit Dalembert above the shoulders drawing a technical foul.
NBA commissioner David Stern has stated that Howard’s suspension was not only for a rule violation but also for safety precautions. “The Dwight Howard suspension tells you the players are capable of hurting each other,” Stern said. “We’re there to protect the players. If you throw a punch, you’re gone. If you throw an elbow above the shoulder, you’re gone. If you come off the bench, you’re gone.   The whole idea is to make sure that these very large athletes playing in a relatively small place at high speeds with great power don’t do harm to each other.”
Howard has expressed that hurting another player was not his intention. “I’m very disappointed but I have to respect the NBA’s decision,” Howard said in a statement. “I didn’t intend to hurt anyone. I have complete faith in my teammates that they will come out and get the job done tomorrow night.”
The Magic lead the Sixers 3-2 in the best-of-seven series. Game 6 is this Thursday with Marcin Gortat probably starting in place of Howard.  Howard was having the best playoff series of his career and has been the only consistent Magic player in the postseason. He’s had 24 points and a career playoff-high 24 rebounds in Tuesday’s win, and he’s averaged 24 points and 15.8 rebounds in the series.