In the wake of Draymond Green’s suspension from Game 5, and Stephen Curry’s ejection from Game 6, a lot has been made of the NBA’s punishment of its players for acts committed on the court. Big name reporters, all the way down to my coworkers, weighed in on the issue. Some argued that the NBA was too harsh with its punishments, some critiqued the NBA for not being harsh enough and some even went as far as to say the NBA was rigged.
It was quite a shame to have a player as important to Golden State as Draymond Green was, suspended for a huge closeout game in the NBA Finals. It sucks for the fans, it allows for excuses to be made from players and coaches that no one wants to hear (yet still carry enough validity to be voiced) and overall it’s just bad for the league.
But none of this is the league’s fault.
It was not the league that kicked or punched the groin of an opposing player multiple times. It was not the league’s fault that Draymond Green put himself one flagrant foul away from a suspension, then committed an act that is a flagrant foul in the NBA’s rule book. It is not the NBA’s fault that Green had built a reputation for shots to the groin, and that everyone was looking for him to do anything that could be considered dirty. So when he did, and the league suspended him one game, it was not their fault at all.
For those who called for something to be done about the suspension, saying that no player should be suspended for something as small as a few dirty plays in such an important stage of the season, I respond with this: A rule's a rule. I do not believe that penalties and punishments should be lessened in the Finals or Playoffs for egregious acts committed by any player. An action warranting an ejection in the middle of the regular season still warrants an ejection in the NBA Finals, no matter how influential that player may be, or how inconsequential the action may have seemed. A rule's a rule, and the rule book should not change based on the magnitude of the game.
But, how tightly games are officiated should change. Since the creation of the NBA, no one game has ever been officiated the same way. The referees are as much a part of the game as the players, and it is up to them to decide what warrants a personal foul, how much they will let go before they eventually call a foul and finding the balance between allowing physical Playoff basketball, or things getting out of hand.
When it comes to the Playoffs, referees should officiate games less tightly. Players should be allowed to play without the flow of the game constantly being interrupted by ticky-tacky fouls. But when it comes to technical and flagrants, the calls made by referees should be made just as tightly as they were the entire regular season. On a platform as large as the NBA Playoffs, players should be held accountable. They should know that they can’t punch another player in the groin. They should know that something which may have gone unnoticed by the general public during the regular season will now be intensely dissected and acted upon.
If the Cleveland Cavaliers win the NBA finals, blame will be cast upon the NBA. People will say that, had Green been there in game 5, gold and blue confetti would have been raining down from the ceiling of Oracle Arena and a different team would have been kissing the trophy. But Draymond Green did not play in Game 5, and rightfully so. Others will call to see the rule book changed so that something similar does not happen in the future. They will look to alter punishments during playoffs to see that no superstar ever gets suspended like this again.
Instead of doing that, if something must be done, let’s raise awareness against kicking and punching people. It’s as simple as that.