Unlike the new basketball, which may or may not have staying power, there is a new mandate in the National Basketball Association that is likely to withstand the criticism. And that's because, in part, it can not be argued with.
The NBA is instituting a new rule this year—the ""Zero Tolerance Policy,"" as it has widely been called—that is set to crack down on excessive whining, glaring, overt actions, etc., in an effort to clean up the game and affect some civility.
Suffice it to say that referees this year are going to be quick on the trigger, liable to blow the whistle and assess a technical foul to any player that goes over the top after a call. And really, this is a good policy. No, I'm not saying this lest I get teed up. The amount of whining on the hardwood any given night had got to the point where it needed to be addressed.
What's it going to lead to? In the short run, more technical fouls, more ejections, and more money in the NBA's coffers. Players are fined $1,000 for their first five technicals, $1,500 for five through 15, and, for 16 onward, $2,500 and a one-game suspension.
Draconian? No. This is a measure taken by David Stern to bring some decorum to the court. Everyone has respect for Kevin Garnett, but this is not ""almost like Communism,"" or ""like Castro,"" as he vented in the preseason.
Anyway, I thought it would be a funny exercise to draft my list of top technical earners this year, with a little accompanying commentary. Here it goes:
5. Danny Fortson (Sonics)
This guy has never met a foul he liked. He is bound and determined to contest every call that doesn't go his way, and as a result, the volatile forward is going to rack up his fair share this year. He is always talking during the course of a game, and can lose his temper at any moment.
4. Kobe Bryant (Lakers)
He quietly picked up 15 technical fouls last season, second in the league. Kobe likes to take his complaints to the officials. He'll pick up some first techs, but is wise enough to know his limits.
3. Kurt Thomas (Suns)
Amazingly enough, the invective is not what's going to get him. It's that icy glare, or the slamming of the basketball on the court, which he did Wednesday night, tallying technical number one in the season opener. As Bill Walton said in commentating the game, Kurt Thomas draws more fouls than any player in the history of the league. The new edict was drawn up specifically for guys like this.
2. Allen Iverson (76ers)
A.I. pulls some major complaint jobs. With his frame and style of play, he can take more contact than anyone, and he can't draw a whistle every time he goes to the hoop. When he does not hear it, A.I. has the uncanny ability to play defense and argue at the same time. Loves to gesticulate, too.
1. Rasheed Wallace (Pistons)
When it's not called the ""Zero Tolerance Policy,"" it gets dubbed the ""Rasheed Wallace rule."" Rightly so. ‘Sheed was the league leader last year, and he minced no words in describing the crackdown. ""It's just another ‘Sheed Wallace rule,"" he told the Detroit News. ""It just means I must be doing something right. Any time they change the rules of the game for one specific player, you must be doing something right.""
‘Sheed already got thumbed for two techs in the opener, and thoughts like that leave no question in my mind that this was the right call for the NBA.
E-mail Jon at bortin@wisc.edu.
