NBA

Is The NBA Becoming Too Soft?

ZachRandolph_Grizzlies_2014_USAT4

โ€œ[The NBA is] more of a finesse game,โ€ Kobe Bryant said. โ€œItโ€™s more small ballโ€ฆwhich, personally, I donโ€™t care very much for. Makes me nauseous. You canโ€™t touch a guy.โ€

Recently, these words certainly rang true, as many fans were actually clamoring for a suspension for Indianaโ€™s Paul George following a minor skirmish between teammate George Hill and Atlantaโ€™s Mike Scott. While Bryant may have been referring to the on-court play when he made those comments during a January interview with NBA.comโ€™s Steve Aschburner, the same can be said for how weโ€™ve been reconditioned to consume the product over the last couple decades. Often complained about by players, coaches and observers alike, the NBA has developed and in some cases earned the distinction of growing โ€œsofterโ€ over the years.

Fans can hardly be faulted for expecting the NBA to โ€œuphold the letter of the lawโ€ when it comes to a player leaving the bench during an altercation; but much like the near-universal praise the new commissionerโ€™s office received for imposing such swift justice with the Donald Sterling fiasco, the league should also be commended for not overreacting and potentially altering the competitive balance of a series simply in the interest of upholding a questionable rule prohibiting players from leaving the bench during an altercation. If you werenโ€™t watching basketball as intently back during the mid-2000โ€™s, just search โ€˜Amar’e Stoudemire suspended playoffsโ€™ and youโ€™ll see an example of it from the past that still has fans shaking their collective heads around Phoenix when the subject is addressed.

Youโ€™ll notice in the video, footage from the 1984 Finals between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, not only was no one ejected from that contest, but the two players (James Worthy and Greg Kite) were merely issued double-technicals and permitted to continue playing. Those of us that can also distinctly remember Kurt Rambis literally being clotheslined and slammed from mid-air by Kevin McHale must be forgiven for our collective โ€˜sighsโ€™ and โ€˜groansโ€™ when it comes to some of what takes place in todayโ€™s game.

Not that the NBAโ€™s presumed desire to merely protect their athletes isnโ€™t appropriate, as clearly it is in the leagueโ€™s best interest to protect its assets, but that doesnโ€™t mean we have to swing the pendulum so far in one direction simply as a precautionary measure.

While the league handled the George situation appropriately, a legitimate argument can be made that although they were technically justified in suspending Zach Randolph under the โ€˜letter of the lawโ€™ it simply wasnโ€™t necessary. A team shouldnโ€™t be without their star player(s) for a Game 7 situation if it can be avoided, and that exchange could easily have been settled with the technical foul the officials issued in the moment.

Of course, Randolph let his teammates down by even placing himself in that position given the circumstances, but the unnecessary suspension potentially robs fans of an elimination game showdown between two teams that have battled throughout what has been a phenomenal series. We can only hope the league explores at least considering a rules tweak in these cases as Commissioner Adam Silver attempts to continue improving upon and progressing the league going forward.

Former-Clipper Blasts Sterling and Stern

Aside from having one of the freshest Jheri curls in the league during much of his playing time in the NBA, former-Clipper Michael Cage decided to chime in on the ownership situation and provide a bit of insight on what โ€œLife as a Clipperโ€ was like when he played for Donald Sterling throughout the mid-80โ€™s.

While he had very high praise for former NBA commissioner David Stern for much of what he did throughout his 30-year reign, Cage did not hesitate in placing a great deal of accountability regarding Sterling on him as well when he recently caught up with Jordan Buscarini, host of KOAL 750โ€™s (Price, UT) โ€˜Drive Time Sports.โ€™

โ€œDavid Stern has to come clean just as much Donald Sterling has to come clean to the people of the state of California and to the city of Los Angeles,” Cage said. “David Stern should be speaking out on this right now, saying โ€˜Look, you know what, I screwed up.โ€™โ€

Crediting Silver for a good job in what he describes as โ€œclean up duty,โ€ he holds long-time fellow owners and Stern (in particular) responsible for permitting Sterling to operate freely even with repeated accusations of discrimination, multiple lawsuits and the fact that he simply mismanaged the organization for years, according to Cageโ€™s estimation.

Cage provided several examples from his playing days in Los Angeles, including the fact that during road trips, the players would get turned away from hotels due to the team simply not paying the bill or providing a credit card. He also spoke of times when his actual pay check wasnโ€™t accepted at the bank due to organizational dysfunction.

Although many were pleased with the swiftness by which Silver may have acted, this is a situation that isnโ€™t likely to be resolved anytime soon. Sterling has finally broken his silence with the media, and to no oneโ€™s surprise claims the Clippers are โ€œnot for saleโ€ regardless of what the league intends to do. The league, players and fans all may want to simply be rid of Sterling, but that isnโ€™t likely without a lengthy legal battle. Cage is one man that makes it clear he believes the league has to do everything within its power to see to it that he doesnโ€™t return to the helm.

โ€œThe disparaging of a sport that we love, of a Magic Johnson that we love…,” Cage said. “It just transcended boundaries to the point where the NBA had to distance themselves from this man and his ideologies.โ€

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Jeff Hawkins
Sports Editor

Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.

All posts by Jeff Hawkins
Author photo
Jeff Hawkins Sports Editor

Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.

All posts by Jeff Hawkins