Emoni Bates and another Cleveland Cavaliers G Leaguer in Gabe Osabuohien have reportedly been suspended for their recent actions.
Cleveland Charge forwards Emoni Bates and Gabe Osabuohien have each been suspended for two games without pay for entering the spectator stands at the conclusion of the Charge’s 126-105 road loss to the Birmingham Squadron on Jan. 20.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) January 22, 2024
There was allegedly some “jawing” going on between the Cleveland Charge and fans on Jan. 20, when the Charge lost to the Birmingham Squadron.
Wow! At tail end of broadcast announcers mentioned some "jawing" between @ChargeCLE and fans. https://t.co/1SMWEo7a91
— Charge Nation (@Charge_Nation) January 22, 2024
Against the Squadron, Bates finished with 14 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and one steal while shooting 6-of-20 from the floor and 2-of-12 from deep in 38 minutes of action. Meanwhile, Osabuohien dropped two points, nine rebounds, two assists and two steals in 22 minutes of playing time.
In his second season with the Charge organization, Osabuohien is averaging 3.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.4 blocks per game.
Bates has been playing great basketball with the Charge so far this season. Across five appearances, he is averaging 24.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.8 blocks per game while shooting 41.7 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from 3-point range.
What makes his 3-point percentage especially impressive is that he is taking a high volume of his shots from deep, as evidenced by the fact that he’s averaging a whopping 11.2 3-point attempts per game.
The 19-year-old hasn’t had many chances to show off his scoring chops with the Cavaliers, however. He has appeared in just 10 of the team’s 40 regular-season games to this point and is averaging 1.8 points, 1.0 rebound and 0.6 assists per game.
He hasn’t taken the floor for the Cavaliers in nearly a month, with his most recent appearance coming in the team’s three-point victory over the Dallas Mavericks back on Dec. 27. Bates logged six minutes of playing time and ended up with zero points, three assists and one rebound while missing all three of his shot attempts from the field.
A few days before playing against the Mavericks, Bates played nine minutes and knocked down one 3-pointer in the Cavaliers’ 14-point victory over the Chicago Bulls on Dec. 23.
Bates’ suspension spells trouble for the Charge, as he is arguably the team’s best offensive player. He and Osabuohien will be suspended for the Charge’s upcoming games against the Osceola Magic on Jan. 22 and Jan. 24.
