Flagrant Frenzy: Fair or Foul?

  In NBA news, in the past 2 days there have been 2 flagrant fouls that have caused a viral buzz. On Sunday afternoon, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka struck Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin in the groin prior to OKC's 108-104 victory. After reviewing the play, officials called Ibaka's action a flagrant 1 foul, unnecessary but not excessive, which allowed Ibaka to stay in the game and awarded The Clippers free throws and subsequent possession of the ball. On Tuesday night, Minnesota Timberwolves point guard JJ Barea pushed Miami Heat guard Ray Allen as he was preparing to, though hadn't left his feet yet, head up to the rim. Barea's action was ruled a flagrant 2 foul and he was ejected from the game. This play happened in the 4th quarter when the Timberwolves had cut the Heat's lead down to 6 on Minnesota's own homecourt.
  The League Office reviews all flagrant 1 and 2 fouls in the event that suspensions, fines, or reductions are necessary. Today the league released their verdicts in the cases of these two fouls. Serge Ibaka was fined $25,000 but not suspended, a surprise to many, for his action against Blake Griffin. JJ Barea's foul was reduced to a flagrant 1 after review by the League Office.
  Now as an objective fan I have a few issues with these fouls but it pertains less to the League Office and more to the officials judgment in these games. In Ibaka's case, that should have been a flagrant 2. It may not have be definitively "excessive" but it surely was severe and unnecessary enough to warrant an ejection. One thing that separates flagrant fouls from a normal personal is the harm the injured player could have or did endure. Blake Griffin's groin area could have been seriously hurt which could have resulted in him missing upcoming games. Ibaka had no reason to carry out that kind of motion on Griffin as it certainly was not a basketball play. In Barea's case, I completely disagreed with the flagrant 2 call the minute I saw the footage. Not only did Ray Allen push off on him first, which was clearly unintentional, Barea's subsequent bump was minor and was done while Ray was still on the ground. Barea did not foul Allen while he was in mid-air, running the risk of causing serious harm to him. The game was getting close and heated and I believe in that instant the officials should have known to let them play through that. A personal or flagrant 1 should have been assessed at that point and the game should have gone on. I'm glad the League Office properly analyzed that and reduced the infraction, though it doesn't change the fact that Barea wasn't able to finish the game.
  What do you all think? Should Ibaka have been suspended? Was the flagrant 2 call correct against Barea? Let me know what you think and why!
  In case you didn't see both fouls for yourself here they are below.