Fines and punishments became imminent the very moment both benches of the Heat and Rockets emptied out at Toyota Center. It began, though, with a riled-up exchange between Tyler Herro and Amen Thompson. The heat of the game got to them. It is as simple as that. While the Rockets sophomore was the one who arguably sparked the commotion, a former Houston star feels the penalties handed out were biased!

Vernon Maxwell, who played 6 seasons with the franchise, accused the league of having a dislike toward Houston. This comes after Amen Thompson was handed a 2 game suspension for his part in the scuffle. Herro, the savvy scorer who might have begun the trash-talking, was handed out a $25,000 fine, the least of all penalized for the incident.

And Maxwell didn’t hold back when sharing his experience as an ex-Rockets player in the NBA. “2 game suspension for Amen. 25k fine and no suspension for the instigator MGK. The league has never liked Houston and they must have a thing for skinny white kids that can’t rap,” the former hoopster mentioned in his fiery tweet.

This was not the first time Maxwell drew a connection with Machine Gun Kelly. Right after the incident happened on the court, the former hoopster had tweeted, “Someone tell Machine Gun Kelly to leave Amen Thompson alone.”

While Herro might have been talking, it did seem as if Thompson did the jersey-grabbing first. The Heat guard did respond in the same manner. However, a key difference is also the 24-year-old’s non-involvement in the chaotic incident right after being slammed by Thompson. Furthermore, in this case, there didn’t seem to be any prejudice involved when the league decided the punishments.

Does the NBA hand out fair fines?

Tyler Herro having to pay $10,000 less than Jalen Green, who was only a secondary in the violent scuffle could be used for the sake of argument. However, in terms of the punishment for Amen Thompson, there don’t seem to be any issues.

The Rockets sophomore not only body-slammed the Heat shooting guard, but his aggression remained persistent. In addition, Thompson did instigate the physical aspect during the fight that broke down. Terry Rozier, the Heat guard who pounced on Amen in the aftermath, also received a one-game suspension. This is no different than what transpired last season during the hectic Warriors–Wolves game.

The incident began with Klay Thompson and Jaden McDaniels. Both took each other on. The latter pulled Klay’s jersey and he responded the same way, getting them face-to-face. In response, Rudy Gobert tried to separate Thompson from his teammate. That’s when Draymond Green‘s protective instincts awoke. He held the French center in a chokehold, sparking another outrage.

In the end, only Green, the last man to step foot in the pond, was handed a 5-game ban. For the Warrior, it was a heavy punishment considering his past. However, all of Klay, McDaniels, and Gobert only received fines, since they did nothing to escalate the situation.

In the case of all of Green, Thompson, and Rozier, they did play a hand in aggravating the situation. Hence, suspension does seem to be the right decision from the NBA’s perspective. Do you agree with this or do you side with Maxwell’s take?

Let us know your honest thoughts in the comments below.