Interesting email from TrueHoop reader Trieu about those two technicals Kobe Bryant got last night (highlights):
The biggest story in the NBA last night may have been Kobe's two technical fouls. If Kobe gets his next technical foul in the playoffs, wouldn't he be suspended for the subsequent Lakers game (whether it be Game 7 of the WC Finals or the first game of next season)? That would be huge.
If so and I were the Lakers, I would expect him to be bitching early and often in the the April 8 Portland game (prior to the Clippers) or April 13 against San Antonio (prior to the last game of the season against the Kings, with a chance that the final standings will be decided then), so that he has a one-technical buffer going into the tournament.
Alternately, the Lakers could ask him to avoid technical fouls for the remainder of the season and post-season.
But that seems risky.
Trieu is referring to Rule 12, Section VII of the 2007-08 NBA Rule Book, which says that players are suspended for a game for their 16th technical and every other technical after that, i.e. the 16th, 18th, 20th, etc.
Bryant now has 15, which leads the league. (Baron Davis and Rasheed Wallace are tied for second with 11, followed by Chris Paul and a couple of Nuggets -- Carmelo Anthony and Linas Kleiza.)
So you can see Trieu's point. Crafty, indeed. Get yourself held out for some menial game of the home stretch, while reducing your chances of missing a playoff game.
Heck, there might come a point when the Lakers want to rest Bryant for a game, anyway. This just makes it even better.
(UPDATE: TrueHoop reader Brett points out that, similarly, David Beckham once broke a rib in a soccer game, when he already had one yellow card. Every two yellow cards, you are suspended for a game. "Beckham was a yellow card away from a single game suspension and deliberately got a yellow card after injuring himself, so that the suspension and injury would overlap, while "resetting" his yellow card count.)
Honestly, the whole reason I'm blogging about this is because I just wanted to show off that idea. It's so clever.
But it's all, sadly, for naught.
Here's an important bit of news from ESPN NBA Research and Information Specialist Peter D. Newmann:
Each player starts with a clean slate for the playoffs.
TECHNICAL FOULS IN THE PLAYOFFS:
- Technical fouls #1, #2 are $1,000 fine each.
- Technical fouls #3, #4 are $1,500 each.
- Technical fouls #5, #6 are $2,000 each.
- Technical foul #7 is $2,500 fine and a one-game suspension.
Each additional technical is $2,500.
Every other technical past #7, i.e #9, #11, #13 are a one-game suspension.
So, all those technicals Bryant has now matter not at all come playoff time. We don't get to see Trieu's scheme in action, unless somehow the same strategy could be applied to late regular season games, which seems extremely far-fetched.
And, for those of you who are interested, Newmann clears up how flagrant fouls work in the playoffs, too:
FLAGRANT FOULS IN THE PLAYOFFS:
A player will receive one point for Flagrant 1 fouls and two points for Flagrant 2 fouls.
If the player's point total exceeds 3 points, he will receive an automatic suspension following the game in which his point total exceeds 3 points and for each additional flagrant foul committed during the Playoffs, as follows:
- Player at 2 points commits a Flagrant 2 foul: automatic 1 game suspension
- Player at 3 or 4 points commits a Flagrant 1 foul: automatic 1 game suspension
- Player at 3 or 4 points commits a Flagrant 2 foul: automatic 2 game suspension
- Player at 5 points or more commits a Flagrant foul (1 or 2): automatic 2 game suspension
