Paul George & Rasul Butler facing possible suspension from Game 7.

1 Timothy 5:22, Lay hands suddenly on no man...

 

No they won't, but if the NBA wants to be consistent they should. They made it clear in the Phoenix series that players can't leave the bench area and enter the court.

 

If they don't get suspended I will be surprised.

 

Even if they didnt stay on the bench, they didnt do **** so no, they should not be suspended.

 

I think the language of the rule gives them enough wiggle room to not suspend them since "vicinity of the bench" is arbitrary. It's a lose-lose situation for the league officials, though, since half the people will be upset if they are suspended and the other half will be upset if they aren't.

 

I agree. You could convince me that they weren't moving towards the fight but just to the natural position their coaching staff was about to huddle them up at. Only difference is the coaches were running to the players.

 

I'm surprised this is actually being talked about on Mike and Mike right now, personally thought it would be a non-issue. Even as a Pacer hater, I don't think he should be suspended. My guess is they will suspend Butler, but not George.

 

very clear to me they took 1-2 steps forward but then stepped back.
always within the vicinity of their bench and no aggression shown.

much bigger issue should they be suspended for that, IMHO.

 

Rule has change since the Amare and Diaw incident. 'Vicinity' is rather subjective and was changed to allow for an out in these sort of situations.

Be extremely surprised if there is suspensions.

 

Stu Jackson, the former enforcer of the rules, weighs in:

Butler suspended, George not

During George Hill @mikescott altercation @Paul_George24 @RasualButler45 leave bench. George still in vicinity, Butler is not=1 gm susp

— Stu Jackson (@StuJackson32) May 2, 2014

https://twitter.com/StuJackson32/statuses/462097716613750784

 

There is about a foot or less of distance between the feet of George and Butler. Seems ridiculous to tag one and not the other.

 

I don't think the NBA will take action. The incident was so close to the Pacer bench and the bench is set up that just taking one step out will have a player on the floor. I think the NBA will say that the players were within the bench area. Butler could be considered of the bench area so he might get a suspension.

The NBA should technically suspend both George and Butler but I just don't see it unless this gains a lot of stream and attention.

 

Looking at the footage I don't think they'll be suspended, seemed more like a natural instinct to step forward a bit when a fight breaks out. They didn't participate and immediately went to the bench again, there shouldn't be any punishment.

 

I think you have to look at how this has been called in the past. Have players in the past been suspended for barely stepping on the court? I just want the league to be consistent.

 

I recall Amare running up the sideline to near the scorer's table. These guys merely stood up.

and i still say Amare's suspension was wrong.

 

Paul George won't get a suspension for one simple reason... Superstar calls.

The NBA will look for any excuse to NOT suspend a Star player or foul them out of a game. At some level, conscious or otherwise they are always aware that the fans pay to see the "stars" as much as the teams.

It's patently unfair, and if you're a player and ever got suspended for this exact infraction you would and should be upset. However, it shouldn't be surprising.

 

Come on now, nobody should be suspended, there was no fight and nobody off the bench was even close to going after anybody.

 

Yeah except they suspended Amare before when he was a star.