King Kaufman's Sports Daily
The NBA blew the call by not suspending Jason Kidd. Plus: Shoot before :24 or it's a turnover! And: Chris Webber still taking Steve Fisher's heat.
Read more: Sports, TV, NBA, Basketball, College Basketball, King Kaufman, Sports Daily
April 29, 2008 | How is it that Jason Kidd of the Dallas Mavericks wasn't suspended for his flagrant foul on New Orleans Hornet Jennaro Pargo Sunday night?
With 7:16 to go in Game 4 and the Hornets leading 86-70, Pargo took a pass from Chris Paul on a fast break and went for a layup as Kidd, beaten by a step, defended. Pargo went up, Kidd overran him and, apparently reaching for the ball, instead caught the back of Pargo's neck.
It happened very fast, but Kidd appeared to pull down hard on Pargo's neck, which jack-knifed Pargo's body, sending him to the floor headfirst. Somehow, he got his hands down to break his fall as the top of his head was zooming down toward the hardwood. Pargo was uninjured, tempers flared for a moment but calm was quickly restored without punches being thrown.
Kidd was whistled for a so-called flagrant two foul, which brings automatic ejection. On Monday NBA officials reviewed the play and determined that no further punishment would be handed out, and Kidd is expected to play Tuesday night.
This is the same league office that last year torpedoed the best series in the playoffs by suspending two Phoenix Suns players for taking a couple of steps toward an altercation, then thinking better of it and retreating long before they came anywhere near combat.
Take two halting steps and get hit with a series-altering suspension. Whip an opponent's head down toward the court in the fourth quarter of a 16-point blowout, no problem.
Maybe it has something to do with who Jason Kidd is. He's a grand old man of the game these days, a future Hall of Famer going for the elusive title that would cap his career. Amare Stoudemire, one of the two Suns, along with Boris Diaw, who were suspended last year before Game 5 of their series against the San Antonio Spurs, is a great player, but he doesn't have anything like Kidd's cachet.
Kidd did that shoulder shrugging, hey I wasn't trying to hurt him thing after the game, and even Paul said he didn't think Kidd should be suspended.
Kidd was lying and Paul was wrong. There is simply no other way to look at Kidd's foul than as a dirty play, an intentional act. You don't accidentally push down on someone's neck while they're in the air. The refs got the call right on game night. The NBA blew it on Monday.