Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Suspension!!


For those of you who are not current with the NBA playoffs (after all they are 3 months long), there was some excitement the last minute of the Suns/Spurs Game 4.

Robert Horry gave a nice hip-check (could rival any NHL hip-check) to Steve Nash, sending him into the media table. I'm sure Nash was trying to "milk" the hit, but realistically he didn't need to. Horry gave him a nice little love tap.

What happens next? Nothing really. A few pushes and a few words of "encouragement", oh yeah, and a few players leaving their bench to "check in" to some action. Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw left the bench and took about 10 steps toward the altercation before being restrained by coaches. Hmmmm..... the NBA has a rule about leaving your bench during an altercation. It clear states any player who leaves their bench during an altercation is subject to suspension.

We have the news that Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw have been suspended for one game. This leaves the Suns at a clear disadvantage in the next game. I think every sports analyst is saying the punishment doesn't fit the crime. Few have even gone has far to say that if the Spurs move on to the next round because of this the ratings for the playoffs will drop dramatically. Maybe, probably, most likely.

I believe the NBA made the correct call. The rules are in place for a purpose, to keep the game clean and players safe. Stoudemire had to be restrained by coaches. If he hadn't, who knows what could have happened. I applaud the NBA for the correct ruling.

I spit on the NBA for having such a rule. This rule is not left up to interpretation. To back up for a second, if you watch the play again there was no real altercation. No fight, no punches, no kicking. It was a "one and done" foul. Horry should get suspended, which he did. Both Stoudemire and Diaw did nothing but walk onto the court a little too far. They did not physically touch another player or get involved on the court. I think if there is room for interpretation both those players would be participating in the next game.

I'll leave it up to you.........Was it the correct call by the NBA? Is the rule fair and just?

6 comments:

Fitz said...

The NBA is absolutely right on this ruling. This is not some kind of new rule; as long as I have been watching the NBA it has been a well known rule.

And I think it's a good rule. We've seen what happens when an NBA fight gets out of control (Pacers/Pistons at the Palace, Rudy Tomjonovich getting his face busted open). NBA players are monsters, and the only people to stop them are the referees. Furthermore, nothing seperates the NBA floor from the fans, so a fight that gets out of control could be REALLY harmful. This rule, ideally, keeps players from escalating such a fight.

Anyway, the NBA was completely right with their suspension, and anyone who disagrees is wrong. This rule has been set in stone for a long time, and to my knowledge, it has never been sidestepped, even for a star.

CalvinPitt said...

Except they didn't do anything to escalate it. They took those steps, turned around and returned to the bench. But, if we're going by the "letter of the law", then yeah, you've got to suspend them. It's still bullcrap that the Suns are getting hurt by this wrose than San Antionio.

Incidentally, Duncan and Bowen did the same thing in the 2nd quarter, during a little dust-up between Franciso Elson and James on the Suns. They left the bench, eventually returned to it without escalating things; why aren't they being suspended? By the "letter of the law", there shouldn't be difference. Suspend them each for a game and the whole thing evens out (since I think the Spurs are a deeper team, them losing three players for one game is roughly equally to Phoenix losing 2 players), and I think it defuses some of the complaining.

Unknown said...

Well the suspensions aren't intended to make the teams equal, they are intended to punish the players who break the rules.

Fitz is 100% right...if you leave the bench during a fight, and you get caught, you are suspended one game, no matter what you do. NBA players know this rule, as it has been in effect forever. There have been hundreds of players suspended 1 game because they left the bench during an altercation.

Especially during the playoffs, those players should have their asses glued to their seats. They know the rule, no matter how fucking dumb they may be. They both deserve 1 game suspensions, for if nothing else, being so god damned stupid. When you are on the bench, sit the fuck down.

Fitz said...

There was no altercation during the Duncan thing. No post-play contact was made; at worst Elson gave a little stare at Jones. But the referees didn't have to divide anybody, no post-play contact was made, and no post-play contact even looked like it was going to happen.

It may seem like a subtle difference, but I really don't think it is. The NBA is completely right on this one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6Sq0uuaMHY

Fitz said...

Also, just as a side note, I'm not entirely sure why Horry got 2 games for his hip check thing. It was flagrant and obviously a crap play, but it was also essentially just a really overboard foul. He certainly should have been thrown out, with a 1 game suspension on top of that. I guess I don't understand the 2 games

Unknown said...

I assumed the 2 games were trying to be "fair" since the suns lost better players.

I don't think the Horry thing was malicious at all, if nothing would have escalated from it, i don't think he would have got any games.

But since Stoudimire and Diaw got off the bench, i guess Horry became the antaginizer