It has nothing to do with rookies or stars. There is a rule in th books no Taunting. The league got tired of punks acting like punks when they did something good. I remember when they made the rule. I think it might have been around 98 or 99?
Randolph should have been called for an offensive foul on his dunk, he pushed off on Yao going up for the dunk.
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I had great seats for this game and didn't really see the fuss about this dunk. It was an uncontested put back dunk. Yao had just landed after attempting the shot block. Hakeem himself could not have got back up fast enough to block that shot. This Randolph kid has some great, great physical skills but he is going to burn out. He spent the entire game appearing to be on the brink of tears. When he made a good play he acted like he had just sunk the winning shot in Game 7 if the Finals. When he screwed up he pouted, scowled and complained for the next 3-4 possessions. He is lucky he is playing under Don Nelson and not any of the more strict, disciplinarian coaches.
rookie year.. and he wasn't taunting.. he yelled directly at Ratliff out of frustration, as Ratliff that game had been constantly hassling him.. with continuous no calls.. so.. in other words.. it was his way of emphatically saying.. "gtfo"..
sigh...yaos still the soft one. now we all know he actually can be aggressive and dunk the ball and rebound, block etc, when hes pissed. WHY HE CANT MAKE IT IN OTHER GAMES FFS? even in this game against warrior, he sux all the way til Randolph tauted at him.
i was at the game sitting right behind the warriors bench and yao did say "yeah b!tc#" after his dunk. it was hilarious but i guess the refs didn't see it. The warriors were all yelling at the refs to call it evenly. Yao is a lot more discrete in his game talk then the rookie.
You are absolutely right, in theory. Remember when KG was taunting Calderon? I don't believe he got a technical for it immediately as Randolph did. I might be completely wrong about that, but I think he didn't. It's the same superstar bias that results in superstar calls. Kobe gets to push the envelope to the limit before he gets T'd up.
I know, that is one of the things about this league that I hate....It is the worst basketball league ever, but it is still better than all the rest (winston churchill sorta )
You know i wouldn't have any problem with the dress code if they actually had to wear suits but they don't always do that (dress jeans, wtf?). It is really the 'don't wear that crap you young black dudes normally wear because our older (money having) audience doesn't like it but you can wear pretty much anything else' rule. ...and I don't know why people seem to think taunting and talkin' trash are something new to basketball. Most fights on the court get started by rough play not taunting anyway. ...and everyone seems to love Mutombo's finger wag. I'm opposed to any un-basketball related rules that could decide a basketball game.
I get where you're coming from. But the NBA is a business, not a charity right? The NBA is going to try to appeal to the audience where the money is, which is natural. Trash talking is different than physically taunting someone, or taunting like Randolph did. If Randolph just turned around and did it, it would be fine. Or if he just stared Yao down without screaming at him, I'm sure that would be fine too. Mutumbo gets a lot of slack. But sometimes he gets T'd up if his finger wag is directly at someone. He's been told time and time again that he must wag his finger in the general direction of the audience or just away from other players. The league cuts him some slack because he's a great, marketable guy -- there's the bias. Not every rule is going to be "for the love of the game". Superstar calls are completely against the natural game of basketball. Just because a guy makes more money for your league than another doesn't mean he should get more calls...but that's just how it is. As for the dress code, LOL at dress jeans. And you're right, it basically IS the "don't wear what you younger black guys wear because our money having audience doesn't like it" rule. Is it fair? Ehh not really. But then again, they are being compensated a hell of a lot of money. When people throw out "they're being paid X million to do this!!!"...THAT is one of the things they're being paid so much to do. Follow league rules.
I agree with your point about the dress code. And if basketball was just about playing basketball I'd agree with you on the un-basketball related rules. But the NBA is not just about basketball. It is also about the entertainment business. The NBA wants to compete in both the family and sports entertainment market. Their rules are based as much on what brings in the money from those markets as how to play the sport itself. In fact, the way we play the game today is a result of market forces as owners try to keep the league fan base happy.
