Not too many takeaways from the first game except Landry Fields is just as athletic as he looked during the summer league and a raw talent. Tony Douglass has a knack for putting himself in good positions for rebounds (especially for a guard). Amar'e Stoudamire is going to dominate the Eastern Conference teams that don't have Dwight Howard or Chris Bosh in the middle. Wilson Chandler must have been checking out ESPN rumors this morning and saw the report that D'Antoni doesn't want to settle with him in the starting rotation - he played well hitting shots and hustling. Even though he's nearing 40, Shaq can still get the greatest arena in the world to chant his name.
And most importantly, the NBA's rule change which practically makes any interaction in response to a bad call with a referee a technical foul is, as expected, pathetic. What's next? Will college football ban any kind of celebration after a player scores a touchdown? Oh... never mind.
2 comments:
i like the no complaining rule. in general, i'm getting sick of professional athletes acting like millionaire professional cry babies. let the coaches work the refs. in my entire life i have never seen an ump, official or ref change their call because of someone complaining. i have seen men worth $100M look like complete asses though over a call. maybe this will actually get nba players to worry more about playing and less about officiating-a novel concept.
and to your other point-celebrating a touchdown or a goal in soccer/hockey isn't the same as whining over a foul. i'm all for getting rid of whining while keeping celebrations...
Giving the refs an option to give a technical foul if an athlete is harassing him/her after repeated warnings is one thing. But going as far as the NBA has to say if you say one word/make one gesture it's an automatic T? Unless it was having a negative impact on the game itself why over regulate?
League rules should A) govern the actual game play B) protect player safety and C) promote competitiveness. I don't think giving a technical foul, even if a player is making an ass out of himself complaining about a call, falls under any of those categories.
If I get elbowed and the ref misses the call, and from across the court I make an elbowing gesture to let him/her know, why is that a technical?
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