via NYDailynews.com
The intangibles that make Amar'e Stoudemire great - intensity and passion - are the same qualities that could get the Knicks' best player in trouble and cost his team dearly.
Stoudemire was whistled for his 10th technical foul in the first quarter of Thursday's 112-103 loss to the Orlando Magic and is six shy of earning a one-game suspension. Rasheed Wallace, who routinely led the NBA in technical fouls, dubbed it the "Sheed Rule," and it is a serious matter since a player also will be forced to serve a one-game suspension each time he picks up two "techs" after his 16th.
"It should be nine," Stoudemire said. "I am going to call and protest that one."
Stoudemire was whistled for his 10th technical foul in the first quarter of Thursday's 112-103 loss to the Orlando Magic and is six shy of earning a one-game suspension. Rasheed Wallace, who routinely led the NBA in technical fouls, dubbed it the "Sheed Rule," and it is a serious matter since a player also will be forced to serve a one-game suspension each time he picks up two "techs" after his 16th.
"It should be nine," Stoudemire said. "I am going to call and protest that one."
The league has the authority to rescind a technical but Stoudemire probably doesn't have much of a case. He drew this one after blocking Gilbert Arenas' layup in the second quarter and admittedly saying, "Get that mess out of here."
NBA rules state that a technical foul shall be assessed for unsportsmanlike tactics such as the "use of profanity" and "taunting." So even if Stoudemire did use the word "mess," his actions after the rejection can easily be interpreted as a form of taunting.
Dikembe Mutombo used to taunt players by wagging his index finger at them as if to say "No, no, no" after blocking a shot. Eventually, the league determined that his actions were unsportsmanlike. In the case of Stoudemire, he's actually mouthing the words.
"I have been saying it all year so I don't understand how you get a technical foul for that," Stoudemire said on Thursday. "It wasn't showing up the ref and I wasn't talking directly to Gilbert on that particular play. I said it actually twice during the game and for some reason I got a tech on that one."
Stoudemire's honesty is refreshing, but admitting to saying it twice is not going to help his cause. Additionally, referee Pat Fraher gave Stoudemire a pass three minutes later after Stoudemire was called for his third foul, which was certainly a debatable decision.
Stoudemire threw his hands up and shouted bull(mess) at Fraher, who had the power to eject Stoudemire at that moment. Instead, Fraher took the sensible approach and ignored Stoudemire, the Knicks' emotional leader.
It's not surprising that Stoudemire and Dwight Howard are victims of the league's crackdown on conduct "detrimental to the game." Howard, who leads the NBA with 12 technical fouls, is also fouled more than any player in the league. It would seem only natural that in the heat of the moment he would express outrage over a call not being made under the basket.
The same is true of Stoudemire, who is an aggressive player at both ends of the floor and doesn't shy away from contact. When the competitive juices are flowing - which is something fans pay to see - players like Stoudemire and Howard have a tendency to lash out.
"I've said this before and I'll stick with it: I don't think he's any harder on the officials than anybody else in the league," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said of Howard. "I don't even think he's one of the hardest guys on officials, quite honestly. I think I could probably give you 20 guys that are a lot harder on the officials than he is. Why he's the guy to get all the technicals, I don't know.
"But there are a lot of guys in this league that are a lot harder on officials and yell and swear and everything else and get away with it some."
Two who come to mind are future Hall of Famers Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan. Bryant has already been ejected this year for arguing calls while Duncan is a renowned chronic complainer. Michael Jordan had it down to an art form.
But with more scrutiny on the refs - some of it unfair and unreasonable - Stoudemire and Howard are paying the price and they have to adjust. But there is a bright side: once the playoffs begin, every player gets a clean slate.
Twitter.com/NYDNIsola
Read more: HERE
NBA rules state that a technical foul shall be assessed for unsportsmanlike tactics such as the "use of profanity" and "taunting." So even if Stoudemire did use the word "mess," his actions after the rejection can easily be interpreted as a form of taunting.
Dikembe Mutombo used to taunt players by wagging his index finger at them as if to say "No, no, no" after blocking a shot. Eventually, the league determined that his actions were unsportsmanlike. In the case of Stoudemire, he's actually mouthing the words.
"I have been saying it all year so I don't understand how you get a technical foul for that," Stoudemire said on Thursday. "It wasn't showing up the ref and I wasn't talking directly to Gilbert on that particular play. I said it actually twice during the game and for some reason I got a tech on that one."
Stoudemire's honesty is refreshing, but admitting to saying it twice is not going to help his cause. Additionally, referee Pat Fraher gave Stoudemire a pass three minutes later after Stoudemire was called for his third foul, which was certainly a debatable decision.
Stoudemire threw his hands up and shouted bull(mess) at Fraher, who had the power to eject Stoudemire at that moment. Instead, Fraher took the sensible approach and ignored Stoudemire, the Knicks' emotional leader.
It's not surprising that Stoudemire and Dwight Howard are victims of the league's crackdown on conduct "detrimental to the game." Howard, who leads the NBA with 12 technical fouls, is also fouled more than any player in the league. It would seem only natural that in the heat of the moment he would express outrage over a call not being made under the basket.
The same is true of Stoudemire, who is an aggressive player at both ends of the floor and doesn't shy away from contact. When the competitive juices are flowing - which is something fans pay to see - players like Stoudemire and Howard have a tendency to lash out.
"I've said this before and I'll stick with it: I don't think he's any harder on the officials than anybody else in the league," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said of Howard. "I don't even think he's one of the hardest guys on officials, quite honestly. I think I could probably give you 20 guys that are a lot harder on the officials than he is. Why he's the guy to get all the technicals, I don't know.
"But there are a lot of guys in this league that are a lot harder on officials and yell and swear and everything else and get away with it some."
Two who come to mind are future Hall of Famers Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan. Bryant has already been ejected this year for arguing calls while Duncan is a renowned chronic complainer. Michael Jordan had it down to an art form.
But with more scrutiny on the refs - some of it unfair and unreasonable - Stoudemire and Howard are paying the price and they have to adjust. But there is a bright side: once the playoffs begin, every player gets a clean slate.
Twitter.com/NYDNIsola
Read more: HERE
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