‘World Peace’ Will Miss Most Playoff Games After Suspension

I don’t think Lakers forward Metta World Peace actually knows what his ‘name’ means. He was suspended for seven games by the NBA yesterday for a vicious elbow on Oklahoma City’s James Harden, meaning the Los Angeles starter likely will miss six playoff games.

World Peace was ejected from Sunday’s game against the Thunder for striking Harden in the head, giving him a concussion. World Peace claimed the contact was an accidental, overzealous celebration of a dunk.

Yet even Kobe Bryant and his Lakers teammates weren’t defending his inexplicable actions. “It’s hard to get into a guy’s head and know exactly what happened in that situation,” Bryant said. World Peace, who was known as Ron Artest before he legally changed his name last year, will miss the Lakers’ season finale Thursday and the Lakers’ next six games. The playoffs open Saturday. It’s possible Los Angeles and Oklahoma could meet right after World Peace’s suspension ends in the second round.