Bringing Down the Foam Hammer

I will say this: I seem to have found a theme for my recent posts. And I like feeling able to post something that isn't repeated anti-BCS rhetoric. So today, we continue with officiating and decisions coming from above.

Yesterday it was baseball. Last month I was attacking Brendan Shanahan. Yesterday I could also have easily mentioned something related to the NBA playoffs, but decided to take the road that seemed to be less traveled. Unfortunately it reared its head again last night into today with the NBA's decision not to punish Dwayne Wade any further than the flagrant-1 he was assessed in Game 2 against Indiana. Here's the video for those who have missed it.

We get a good view of the context here, which helps. I think the play Wade was complaining about (the initial layup attempt in this video) should have been a foul on the Pacers. Steve Kerr says the defender was straight up (true), but since he's airborne, that should be a foul. This is really the only thing I agree with Wade on.

If contact committed against a player, with or without the ball, is interpreted to be unnecessary, a flagrant foul--penalty (1) will be assessed. A personal foul is charged to the offender and a team foul is charged to the team.-NBA Rule 12, Section IV.a

If contact committed against a player, with or without the ball, is interpret-ed to be unnecessary and excessive, a flagrant foul--penalty (2) will be assessed. A personal foul is charged to the offender and a team foul is charged to the team. -NBA Rule 12, Section IV.b (source)

The contact on the Collison fast break was absolutely unnecessary, so it was definitely deserving of Flagrant-1 status. I think you can argue Flagrant-2 as well, as Wade left his feet to hit Collison (a la the slime known as Raffi Torres) and while basketball is different from hockey, there were much easier and less dirty ways he could have gotten his point across.

I was reminded of a story Bill Simmons told in The Book of Basketball about Dave Cowens of the Celtics dishing out a similar hit then yelling at the ref, "Now that's a [expletive] foul!" By contrast Wade here seemed to be in his usual whining mode about the call.

Yet amazingly, despite the intent of Wade to level an opponent and his perceived insistence on his innocence, the NBA has decided that they don't need to punish Wade... yet a similar play netted a 2 game suspension for Jason Smith when he decked Blake Griffin. Conspiracy theorists are rampant saying that the NBA is fixed. I don't think that's true, but I do think that there is a favoritism complex in the NBA.

Fans of the NBA pretty much anywhere except Miami all hate the Heat. I'm one of them. It's not because they're a good team; I respect squads like Boston (even though they're on the downhill) and Oklahoma City and San Antonio because they play the game well. Miami does too, but they are an arrogant team (a source of animosity) who threw a party before the 2010-11 season claiming that they will win several championships before proving anything and are led by 2 superstars (I can't in good conscience dispute this fact) who also happen to be two of the biggest whiners in the league.

I dislike LeBron because of his callous treatment of Cleveland and his perceived arrogance on the court when he has yet to win anything, yet I still respect him and his talent. But I've grown to hate Wade after not minding him for the first 7 years of his career. He has turned into a flopper, a whiner, and a scumbag on the court with some stupid plays (elbowing Rip Hamilton in Chicago this year, dislocating Rondo's elbow last year in the playoffs). That's why the entire nation except for South Florida is pulling for Indiana in this series. That's why there's such an uproar amongst NBA fans.

Since the NBA seems dead set on its blinded ways, I say in Game 3, the Pacers should send Wade a message. Nothing dirty, nothing debilitating. But when he tries to drive the lane, have Tyler Hansbrough or one of the other big men give him a good, hard playoff foul. Send him hard to the floor with no intent to injure him, but to let him know that he is a scumbag, and they will not tolerate his crap any more. And hopefully one day soon, neither will the league.