Well, so much for these NBA Playoffs. With the exit of the Warriors and, soon to be the Suns, the basketball postseason instantly became less interesting with the likes of the no-frills Spurs trying for their third title this decade.
While the Warriors only have themselves to blame for their implosion against the Jazz, the Suns are partially victims of a rule that should have no bearing during the postseason.
I understand the league wants to cut down on its street-fighting image by enforcing a rule that leaves nothing up to interpretation. But to reward the Spurs for Robert Horry’s body check that sent Steve Nash into the scorer’s table by suspending the Suns’ Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw for simply leaving the bench, the league is destroying the integrity of the playoffs based on an altercation that was broken up before it escalated.
If I were a bench player like Horry, I’d figure the most significant contribution I could make would be to slam the other team’s best player to the ground, hoping to either injure him or have several of his teammates suspended by coming to his defense. If that was Horry’s idea, then well played, sir. Big Shot Bob, you’ve given an entirely new set of fans reason to hate your existence.
The league’s front office should review the incident, judge it based on the circumstances involved and not hand out suspensions from a rule that impacts a postseason series this greatly. By suspending two of the Suns’ most important players, the NBA gave the Spurs a Game Five victory.
The rule has merit during the regular season when a single-game suspension would have little impact on a team reaching the playoffs, but the loss of Stoudemire and Diaw has a much larger effect on the series.
This incident gives commissioner David Stern and league executive Stu Jackson something to ponder during the offseason. They’re trying to keep the image of the league squeaky-clean after several brawls tarnished its image over the past few years but this rule shouldn’t help decide the outcome of a playoff series.
Hopefully, Stern and Jackson can come to consensus and adopt a rule that resembles Major League Baseball’s attitude toward bench-clearing brawls. The instigator and anybody who attacks an opposing player should be suspended. Players who come to their teammate’s aid, shouldn’t. It’s common sense – if a player doesn’t try to injure someone else, why should he be punished? Really, clearing the benches is just for show. It’s there for the intimidation factor.
Maybe Stoudemire was actually running in to lay some punches on Horry, maybe he went in to separate the players. Of course, he didn’t do himself any favors by excusing his leaving the bench by saying he was checking into the game. That excuse didn’t hide the fact that he was running on to the court.
Stoudemire could have given a better alibi. He could have told us that he was trying steal Eva Longoria from Tony Parker, something that would have made light of the situation and given us a few laughs rather than actually trying to excuse himself.
Unfortunately, Stern’s heart remains iced with conformity and is more concerned about the upkeep of his domain than what the fans actually want to watch.
Which surprised me. I thought he cared more about the ratings.
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