By Piet
Van Leer
Sunday, January 27th, 2002
The NBA is coming dangerously close to returning to what it was in the '70s
- a fighting league. Shaq tried to level Miller, Abdur-Rahim and Thomas got
into it the other night, and we all remember Camby's misdirected sucker punch
that got Van Gundy instead of his intended target, Danny Ferry. The problem
is the NBA's reluctance to deal with the evolving situation at hand. David
Stern thinks five games for Camby and three games for the afore mentioned
three are appropriate sentences. I'm not quite sure I understand the logic
the NBA is instilling with punishments of these accords, but it certainly
is not enough.
Kermit Washington cost two careers when he threw a reactionary punch at Rudy
T. - Rudy's and his own. The only difference between Kermit's punch and Shaq's
is that Shaq luckily missed. If Shaq's free throw aim didn't carry over to
his right hook aim, we would have had a serious situation on our hands. First
off, Shaq is no Kermit. Kermit was big, but Shaq is 7'0", 340 lbs. of steel.
If he does connect cleanly, Miller's career is over, and that's the least
of his worries.
Rudy Tomjanovich had a life-threatening situation when he was on the operating
table, and Brad Miller would have probably been a similar struggle. Two
middleweight boxers got into a scuffle after a match, bare knuckled, and
one of them wound up on second-degree assault charges. I don't know about
you, but if I had a choice of being hit bare knuckled by any boxer (other
than Tyson) or Shaq, I'll pick the former in a heartbeat.
David Stern was heard voicing his opinion about the suspensions, and thought
that the punishments for Shaq, Abdur-Rahim, and Thomas were fair. First,
they are fined $15,000 and they lose their game pay for the three games that
aren't played, which Stern said is a substantial amount. What Stern neglected
to mention is that the money they lose is a pack of gum for most of, and
to be out three regular season NBA games is like suspending a 7-year-old
from church for three Sundays.
Abdur-Rahim and Thomas had a chance to defend themselves from each other.
In the case of Camby and Shaq, they tried to sucker punch their adversaries.
Shaq and Camby should have gotten the equivalent to what Kermit got - twenty
games and half a year's salary. Then they would feel the consequences for
their actions. But to suspend Shaq, Thomas, and Abdur-Rahim the same amount
makes absolutely no sense unless you take in the NBA factor - that they treat
their superstars different.
If they are the players that bring the fans into the stadiums, they get
preferential treatment from the refs to the league office. No player should
be bigger than the game, and until the NBA realizes that, the league will
continue to struggle with an image problem that cannot be covered up, even
with the likes of Michael Jordan returning.
I find it difficult to sit through an NBA game, because there is no mystery.
It's beginning to take on the form of the Super Bowls of the late '80s and
early '90s. The East has taken the role of the AFC. The only difference is,
at least the NFC Championship Game was interesting. In the West, the Lakers
are certain to come out, unless Shaq and Kobe kill each other before the
season is over. No one can beat them, and that will be the rule until someone
does, and when that time comes, I might feign interest in the sport again.
But to be honest with you (please don't take that to mean everything else
I've told you is a lie), I cannot get excited about that happening no matter
how many times the Lakers lose to the Bulls, Clippers, and Grizzlies. When
it counts, they will be unstoppable, and the Kings will be the best bridesmaids
in town for years to come.
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