Outrage

[ForRealDD 0]

I think it's %100 clear this was a time-out call from Jason Terry. Instead the NBA throws a 1 game suspension at JT for an alleged "Punch?" I don't think I've seen too many more questionable calls to this degree in my life. Throughts? Here's a link to the "Punch"

[LAS22 0]

It sure looked like a punch to me. Mark Cuban even said that the league won't allow a guy to defend himself (refering to Terry).Very stupid of him to react that way, it will have an impact on the game.I remember the early 90's and Playoff basketball, you could almost kill a guy and only get a personal foul for it. I remember guys getting hammered on a regualr basis. It sure has changed a lot in the past 10-15 years.

[Guest Guest]

for the goodother than jeff van gundy being dragged around by alonzo's ankles who ever wants to see those heat knicks series repeated?

[Chasing50k 0]

I will qualify this by saying I am a HUGE Mavericks fan as well as a degenerate sports gambler (Put $1k on Mavs to win series at +170 when they were down 0-1).Question 1 - Did JT throw a punch? A. Sort of.Question 2 - Did JT deserve to be suspended? A. HELL NO.Raja Bell, Ron Artest, and Jason Terry did not deserve suspensions! This is the NBA playoffs!!! We want these elite athletes to compete at the highest level of intensity running full speed and banging into each other and a few tempers are not gonna flare? COME ON!!! I want someone to go back and watch the 1984 NBA Finals, the one where Rambis gets closelined by McHale (only a foul called). Watch James Worthy cheapshot McHale later in the game. Go back and watch Bill Lambier deck Larry Bird (I believe 1988) only to be Sucker-Punched later in the game by Robert Parrish. For that matter, watch the Pistons absolutely drill God himself (MJ23) as he goes down the lane in the 1989 Playoffs. The NBA needs to lighten up a little bit. Either you want maximum effort and intensity and the downside that comes with it or you want a lily white league where nobody can commit a hard foul or send a message.I do not want to see 71-66 basketball, but I also think in the playoffs the guidelines for acceptable behavior need to be adjusted.

[vonteego3 0]

I will qualify this by saying I am a HUGE Mavericks fan as well as a degenerate sports gambler (Put $1k on Mavs to win series at +170 when they were down 0-1).Question 1 - Did JT throw a punch? A. Sort of.Question 2 - Did JT deserve to be suspended? A. HELL NO.Raja Bell, Ron Artest, and Jason Terry did not deserve suspensions! This is the NBA playoffs!!! We want these elite athletes to compete at the highest level of intensity running full speed and banging into each other and a few tempers are not gonna flare? COME ON!!! I want someone to go back and watch the 1984 NBA Finals, the one where Rambis gets closelined by McHale (only a foul called). Watch James Worthy cheapshot McHale later in the game. Go back and watch Bill Lambier deck Larry Bird (I believe 1988) only to be Sucker-Punched later in the game by Robert Parrish. For that matter, watch the Pistons absolutely drill God himself (MJ23) as he goes down the lane in the 1989 Playoffs. The NBA needs to lighten up a little bit. Either you want maximum effort and intensity and the downside that comes with it or you want a lily white league where nobody can commit a hard foul or send a message.I do not want to see 71-66 basketball, but I also think in the playoffs the guidelines for acceptable behavior need to be adjusted.

Tempers flare, sure... but most guys have enough control to not throw a nut-punch. Hell, Finley got punched in the balls and all he did was point.I'm pretty sure that throwing a punch is an auto suspension. end of story.

[princeof56k 0]

If there is any outrage over Terry's punch, it should be about that he was only suspended for one game. He could have easily gotten more than that. The Mavs should be grateful it wasnt worse.

[gilbertology 0]

There was 0% chance it was a timeout, seriously, just look at the replay with unbiased views. He was trying to punch Finley plain and simple. I still think Terry has been an underrated beast since his first couple years with the Hawks, but he'll be back game 7.

[lsttexas 0]

any punch in the nba is an aotumatic 1 game suispension. timeout? you cant be serious. he didnt even gesture twords that.

[ForRealDD 0]

If there is any outrage over Terry's punch, it should be about that he was only suspended for one game. He could have easily gotten more than that. The Mavs should be grateful it wasnt worse.

Of course you're from south Texas

[princeof56k 0]

Of course you're from south Texas

Not sure what this means. Are you agreeing with me?

[tskillz187 0]

It was def a punch. Terry knows it was a punch, Cuban knows it was a punch, Johnsons knows it was a punch, I can't believe there is an argument against it. I am a huge Spurs fan, but still, clearly a punch, you don't ever see this Spurs team do this. Ginobili gets killed regularly and just goes back to the foul line. The only questionable calls in this series are the ridiculous calls, given to Dirk, Howard, and Harris, just running at Spurs and hoping to be bailed out with foul calls.Thank you Mark Cuban's deep pockets, you almost managed to buy yourself a series against the best team in the league. MANUMANMUMANUMANUMANU.

[princeof56k 0]

Yep it was definately a punch. A weak punch, but still a punch. It's not close.I thought the NBA's and Cuban's response were right on target though. Both did what the needed to do.NBA's RESPONSEI will say that if this happened in regular season game, Terry would get a multiple game suspension. The automatic "one-game for punching rule" is intended for people who retaliate against another player hitting them. It makes it easier for the NBA to make a decision in that case. However, the guy that actually throws the first punch (especially if they arent really provoked) will usually get a multi-game suspension. So why didnt the NBA suspend Terry for more games? Basically they didnt want to appear as deciding a series that is a great match-up between two great teams. The series should be about these 2 great teams and not some weird punch/suspension. The NBA did the right thing and quickly diffused the issue.CUBAN's RESPONSEIf this were in the regular season, Cuban would tell Terry to control his emotions because theyre going to need him in the playoffs. Problem is they're already in the playoffs and on the brink of elimination. This left Cuban with 2 option:A. Blast Terry for letting his team down. Instead of being able to lock this series up at home, they were faced with a certain loss in Dallas. Now they have to play the Spurs in a game 7 on the road. Way to let the team down and basically depress your entire team.B. Totally support Terry and play the "its us against the world" serario. Sure they might lose game 6 but they're not going down without a fight. And since game 6 was so close, when they get a very angry Terry back they'll destroy the Spurs. Cuban did the right thing a icked option B. Support your boy and your team. Criticizing Terry does no good at this point. They need to win the series. Did Cuban know Terry was wrong? I'm sure he does. He let the argument go pretty quickly. But not before he got a chance to fire up the troops. Good move by Cuban.

[Chasing50k 0]

So it appears nobody went back to watch old NBA Playoff game footage, it has always been an automatic suspension for throwing a punch/headbutting in a game. Why was Parrish not suspended? Why was Lambier not suspended? Why was McHale not suspended? The league needs to lighten up just a bit. Oh yea and for all of those who think Cuban has the referees in his pocket how is it possible for a NBA team not to shoot a SINGLE FREE THROW for an entire quarter (3rd Q game 7). I was in car listening to game (thanks NBA for putting games on at 5 PST). And the announcers were actually laughing out loud (ESPN RADIO) when Keith Van Horn picked up the 3 quick fouls in the first quarter. Direct quote, "Van Horn has to be allowed to play defense like the rest of the league or he has no shot." Even after all of this nonsense the Mavericks still won. For the record I truly believe Cuban's complaining hurts his team because referees go out of their way to make sure the Mavs do not get the benefit of the doubt because they do not want to be lambasted on sports radio across the country the next morning. In addition, Phoenix has ZERO shot against Dallas in the next round.

[princeof56k 0]

So it appears nobody went back to watch old NBA Playoff game footage, it has always been an automatic suspension for throwing a punch/headbutting in a game. Why was Parrish not suspended? Why was Lambier not suspended? Why was McHale not suspended?

Actually it appears you are the one who doesnt remember a particular NBA playoff game that changes everything (dont feel too bad I can barely remember the teams myself). The events you mentioned did indeed happen but that was before the famous playoff game that changed the way the NBA deals with this type of stuff.I want to say it was around 1996 or 1997 and it involved two of the following three teams: Bulls, Knicks, or Heat. Anyways, you'll know it when I describe it. There was a fight during the game, the benches cleared, and the brawl spilled into crowd seated at courtside. And just about 10 rows up sat David Stern with a very pissedoff look on his face. Ever since then, the NBA has made slow incremental changes to clean that stuff up.Stern has said it before. He doesnt want the NBA to considered a league of thuggs. And by cleaning up all the rough stuff, the game is much more enjoyable to watch. I would much rather see players cutting to basket and showing creativity around the hoop than seeing guys get clocked with elbows and forearms and knocking out the best player in the game. We're watching the game to see basketball not a street fight (that's what Ultimate fighting is for).

[ForRealDD 0]

So it appears nobody went back to watch old NBA Playoff game footage, it has always been an automatic suspension for throwing a punch/headbutting in a game. Why was Parrish not suspended? Why was Lambier not suspended? Why was McHale not suspended? The league needs to lighten up just a bit. Oh yea and for all of those who think Cuban has the referees in his pocket how is it possible for a NBA team not to shoot a SINGLE FREE THROW for an entire quarter (3rd Q game 7). I was in car listening to game (thanks NBA for putting games on at 5 PST). And the announcers were actually laughing out loud (ESPN RADIO) when Keith Van Horn picked up the 3 quick fouls in the first quarter. Direct quote, "Van Horn has to be allowed to play defense like the rest of the league or he has no shot." Even after all of this nonsense the Mavericks still won. For the record I truly believe Cuban's complaining hurts his team because referees go out of their way to make sure the Mavs do not get the benefit of the doubt because they do not want to be lambasted on sports radio across the country the next morning. In addition, Phoenix has ZERO shot against Dallas in the next round.

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