Mavs' Stackhouse should've been suspended
After watching three replays Wednesday of the Jazz-Mavs game - not the whole thing, just the flagrant foul portions - I have come to a couple of conclusions.
While it is impossible to say whether Dallas' Jerry Stackhouse intentionally smashed his left elbow into Matt Harpring's jaw late in the first quarter, his post-game contention that he didn't see Harpring is preposterous. So is Stackhouse's opinion that Harpring should have known his "patented move" was coming, that he should have had the "good sense" to back off before the space-clearing blow was delivered and that the officials made " a bad call" by tagging him with a flagrant foul.
After watching the play in slow motion, Stackhouse clearly committed a dangerous flagrant foul. He should have been ejected on the spot.
Let's put it this way: Stackhouse's shot was significantly more dangerous than Carmelo Anthony's recent open-fisted punch that resulted in a 15-game suspension. The only difference is that Stackhouse's flagrant foul was not part of a brawl that involved other players and spilled over into the expensive courtside seats.
On the other hand, Stackhouse could have easily broken Harpring's jaw - or worse.
Meanwhile, Stackhouse's second flagrant foul of the game came at the end of the third quarter. The Jazz's Jarron Collins was going up for a layup when Stackhouse appeared to make an aggressive attempt to block the shot. Collins crashed to the ground.
After a brief discussion, the officials ruled a flagrant foul had been committed and Stackhouse was automatically ejected.
Initially, I thought the call was a questionable one. It looked like Stackhouse was making a play on the ball and missed. Watching the replay, however, it's clear that Stackhouse had no intention of blocking the shot. He went after Collins' arms and knocked him dangerously off balance.
The contact came from behind and was excessive.
My conclusion: correct call.
After the game, Stackhouse scolded the Jazz for playing "fake physical basketball" and chided their style as "coward basketball." Maybe he's right.
But I would suggest any style is better than flat-out dirty, which is exactly how Stackhouse played in this game.
Stackhouse should have been suspended - maybe for more than one game - for his elbow to Harpring's jaw, let alone the additional flagrant foul on Collins.
It should have been easy call. NBA disciplinarian Stu Jackson missed it, however, and once again gave credence to the notion that punishments handed down by the league are far too subjective and based too much on which players and which teams are involved.
I can almost guarantee that if Stackhouse had hit Kobe Bryant or Dwyane Wade the way he smacked Harpring, the repercussions would have been far greater, perhaps because ESPN would have shown replays of the incident about 400 times.
- Steve Luhm
While it is impossible to say whether Dallas' Jerry Stackhouse intentionally smashed his left elbow into Matt Harpring's jaw late in the first quarter, his post-game contention that he didn't see Harpring is preposterous. So is Stackhouse's opinion that Harpring should have known his "patented move" was coming, that he should have had the "good sense" to back off before the space-clearing blow was delivered and that the officials made " a bad call" by tagging him with a flagrant foul.
After watching the play in slow motion, Stackhouse clearly committed a dangerous flagrant foul. He should have been ejected on the spot.
Let's put it this way: Stackhouse's shot was significantly more dangerous than Carmelo Anthony's recent open-fisted punch that resulted in a 15-game suspension. The only difference is that Stackhouse's flagrant foul was not part of a brawl that involved other players and spilled over into the expensive courtside seats.
On the other hand, Stackhouse could have easily broken Harpring's jaw - or worse.
Meanwhile, Stackhouse's second flagrant foul of the game came at the end of the third quarter. The Jazz's Jarron Collins was going up for a layup when Stackhouse appeared to make an aggressive attempt to block the shot. Collins crashed to the ground.
After a brief discussion, the officials ruled a flagrant foul had been committed and Stackhouse was automatically ejected.
Initially, I thought the call was a questionable one. It looked like Stackhouse was making a play on the ball and missed. Watching the replay, however, it's clear that Stackhouse had no intention of blocking the shot. He went after Collins' arms and knocked him dangerously off balance.
The contact came from behind and was excessive.
My conclusion: correct call.
After the game, Stackhouse scolded the Jazz for playing "fake physical basketball" and chided their style as "coward basketball." Maybe he's right.
But I would suggest any style is better than flat-out dirty, which is exactly how Stackhouse played in this game.
Stackhouse should have been suspended - maybe for more than one game - for his elbow to Harpring's jaw, let alone the additional flagrant foul on Collins.
It should have been easy call. NBA disciplinarian Stu Jackson missed it, however, and once again gave credence to the notion that punishments handed down by the league are far too subjective and based too much on which players and which teams are involved.
I can almost guarantee that if Stackhouse had hit Kobe Bryant or Dwyane Wade the way he smacked Harpring, the repercussions would have been far greater, perhaps because ESPN would have shown replays of the incident about 400 times.
- Steve Luhm
12:57 PM
| 
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home