Posted by islesfan:
So myth, are you finally coming around to our side?
Sort of. Although not because of any "but, look at Duncan during that big bad altercation lolz!!1" nonsense. Still think that's crap. Mostly because of Jackson's idiotic "they didn't escalate the situation" comment after the Kings/Lakers incident and the tape of the Raptors/Timberwolves incident.
There have been so many times where they have interpreted it the same way. Step off the bench during an altercation, get suspended. Knicks fans should know better than anyone else - doesn't matter if you escalated anything or not. TNT showed Barkley stepping out on the court to get a better view of an altercation during a game (he was subsequently suspended). Rose just talked about when he stepped off to look at something going on all the way down the court and got suspended.
I think looking at how many times its been handled the same way and looking at the 2ish exceptions (Kings/Lakers is iffy in my mind) should raise the "why weren't people suspended in these instances? How do we make sure they're more consistent in the future" response. Not a "well, these 1-2 exceptions prove the league should have blatantly disregarded their precedent and switched directions with this ruling" response.
All in all, I think the rule is and has been interpreted stupidly from the beginning. And while exceptions are popping up in the league's consistency here and there, for the most part they've acted the same way time and time again.