Gargamel
Starter
vladetomiller said:Walton had a hard foul on tim thomas earning a flagrant foul (maybe you can talk about flagrant 2 or suspension but the foul was similar to brian grant stopping smush in game 2 which was also a flagrant foul - if that was no suspension then this one might escape as well)
Again, only elbow. I've watched it about ten times and I don't get the intensity of Thomas' reaction nor the reaction of the other players. That was an everyday foul that ended in an awkward landing. Surprising how so many considered that a hard foul, much less a flagrant. The only people who acted precipitously where the other players who tripped and fell into the mix.
All that goes to show is that they call flagrants now based on how someone lands, and not whether a guy makes an attempt on the ball (like the rules say). Second time in the series that a flagrant was unwarranted (the other being Grant's foul on Parker, which was a wrapup that resulted in Parker falling due to the difference in weight between the two).
I definitely have something else to carp on besides the inconsistency of suspension lenghts and rationalization of certain things over others. IE: Shaq suspended longer than Francis for cursing or Jermaine getting less games than Artest after he actually punched a fan. Flagrants are now being used as a tool to calm down games instead of preventing Laimbeer tactics.