Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

During last nights game 2 against the Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat superstar Dwayne Wade shoulder tackled Pacers guard Darren Collison at the 9:27 mark of the fourth quarter. Wade was called for a flagrant 1 foul on the play.

According to league sources, the NBA will not suspend or fine Dwayne Wade for the foul.

Why won’t the league suspend Wade? The hit certainly deserved such a punishment.

Dwayne made no attempt at going for the ball. On the previous play down the floor for Miami, Wade was visibly upset after not getting a foul call to go his way. This tackle was not only a “frustration foul”, but it was also a metaphorical shot at the referees. He gave the refs something to call, that’s for sure.

It was a dirty hit. Wade buried his shoulder into the back of Collison. It wasn’t a basketball play.

This sequence closely resembles one from a couple of months ago during a game between the Los Angeles Clippers and New Orleans Hornets. Hornets forward Jason Smith knocked Clippers starter Blake Griffin hard to the ground as Blake got ready to dunk the ball.

Smith was suspended 2 games for the hit.

In my opinion as a sports writer and a human being with 2 working eyes, there is little to know difference between what Wade did and what Smith did.

So why is Dwayne Wade not getting the same kind of punishment that Smith received?

Bias.

The Miami Heat are currently in a lot of trouble with the loss of Chris Bosh for their series with the Indiana Pacers. If the team were to lose Wade for 1-2 games as well, Miami would be dead in the waters of South Beach.

The NBA needs the Heat to stick around in these playoffs. The Heat equal ratings and revenue for the league. Whether we all love them or hate them, it can’t be denied that we all want to see them play basketball.

Losing Chris Bosh was bad enough, but losing Dwayne Wade would more than likely seal the fate of the Miami Heat. Commissioner David Stern and the rest of the higher-ups don’t want that.

Why else wouldn’t they suspend Dwayne for that foul? If he wasn’t such an important piece to one of the more important teams in the NBA, he surely would have been suspended. 

If Joel Anthony delivered that shot, he would have been gone in a heartbeat. I know its true. You know its true.

I don’t buy into the reasoning that the refs and league officials are trying to preserve the quality of the 2012 NBA playoffs by being more lenient with the rules to give fans the best quality of basketball they can.

Aren’t rules supposed to be enforced? Are we just going to allow players to mow each other down without any repercussions?

If this weren’t a playoff game with so much at stake, Wade would have more than likely felt some wrath for his hit. Fortunately for him, Collison got up right after the tackle and showed no signs of injury. The Pacers also won the game by 3 points, making the flagrant foul call and free throws given afterwards all the more important.

That’s all fine and dandy, but that shouldn’t let Dwayne Wade off the hook for what he did.

A suspension was/is necessary.

Call it favoritism or bias or a horrible conspiracy, but to this writer…

Its bulls**t.

Christopher Walder is a sports blogger and lead editor for Sir Charles in Charge. You may follow him on Twitter @WalderSports

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After sweeping the Utah Jazz in the first round and spending 8 days waiting for their second round opponent, the San Antonio Spurs finally returned home to the AT&T Center and showed the rest of the NBA that they are a force to be reckoned with in this years playoffs. Tim Duncan scored 26 points and added 10 rebounds to lead the Spurs to a 108-92 game 1 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers in this Western Conference semi-final matchup.

This was the Spurs 15th consecutive victory dating back to the regular season. It’s the longest winning streak sustained into the playoffs by a team since the Spurs did it back in 2004 with 17 wins going into the second round.

DOUBTERS BE DAMNED

After last years first round thrashing by the Memphis Grizzlies, it was getting harder to believe in the San Antonio Spurs as a legitimate threat to the NBA championship anymore. They were old and their time had come and gone.

I guess no one told the San Antonio Spurs that.

During this 15 game winning streak, the Spurs have won by a margin of 17 points a game. Not only have they maintained their effectiveness on the defensive end, but they’ve become one of the most potent offensive teams in the entire league.

Tim Duncan turned back the clock against the Clippers last night and had one of his better stat lines in recent memory (26 points, 12 for 20 shooting, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals, 1 turnover). That was his 44th career 25-10-2 playoff game. Only Shaquille O-Neal(57) and Hakeem “The Dream (49) have had more. He was aggressive in the paint when matched up with Blake Griffin and also showed his ability to nail the long-range jumper with several shots made from 15 feet away.

The Spurs also got solid production from a couple of young starters who are starting to stand out more and more as these playoffs progress. Third-year player Danny Green finished with 15 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks while rookie starter Kawhi Leonard chipped in 16 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals. Both players each added 3 three-pointers to top it off.

The contributions from Green and Leonard covered up what was a bad day at the office for MVP candidate Tony Parker. Parker finished with just 7 points on 1 for 9 shooting, but he did dish out 11 asssists to save his evening. Parker was kept in check throughout the night by Clippers point guard Chris Paul, but thankfully the collective performances of his teammates helped salvage this game 1 victory.

The Spurs look like a scary basketball team right now. Not only are they winning, but they’re winning convincingly. Obviously, all of this can change if they lose in game 2, but as for now, the Spurs should not be slept on. Numbers and victories don’t lie.

CLIPPERS GASSED  

The Clippers looked like a team that just went 7 games in the first round. Young legs or not, they are a team who is clearly tired and fatigued after their way with the Grizzlies.

Chris Paul never got his offensive rhythm going in this one. He finished with 6 points on 3 for 13 shooting, but he did have 10 assists and 5 steals. Those numbers are nice, but Paul needs to be the scorer that he was in the Memphis series for this team to win this series. Luckily for Paul, his matchup Tony Parker didn’t have the best of nights either, but thats still no excuse.

For the minutes he played (28), Blake Griffin had himself a solid ballgame with 15 points and 9 rebounds. His knee may not be 100%, but it’s certainly gotten better to the point where he can run the court efficiently and make plays like this.

Los Angeles also got incredible production from backup guard Eric Bledsoe off the bench as Eric finished with 23 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.

The problem with the Clippers is that instead of trying to stop the Spurs on defense, they just tried to keep pace with them on the scoring end. San Antonio shot nearly 50% from the field, hit 13 three-pointers and hit 8 more free throws than Los Angeles. That’s not how you beat the Spurs. They were the #2 scoring team in the regular season with 103.7 points a game.

The Clippers need to get their legs back underneath them because the Spurs are rested and will run away with this series unless they learn to stop the Spurs offensive attack.

QUOTES OF THE GAME

”I felt I got all the shots that I wanted. I just didn’t make them. That’s the most frustrating part. Getting to where I wanted to and not seeing them go down. Can’t do that in the playoffs.’‘ – Clippers guard Chris Paul

”It’s hard to tell if they were tired or not. If we were rusty or not. The game just developed that way it did.” – Spurs guard Manu Ginobili

TWEET OF THE GAME

Tim Duncan is going to teach Blake Griffin how to play PF this entire series.

— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) May 16, 2012

FINAL THOUGHTS

- I wish the San Antonio fans would wear similar shirts as they do in most arenas during the playoffs (ex. Oklahoma City and Miami). It would be cool to see the audience dressed in a see of black and white.

- Not to take anything away from his performance, but Manu Ginobili finally had a solid game during these playoffs. He scored 22 points in 28 minutes off the bench. He didn’t have the best of series against the Utah Jazz, so hopefully this is a sign that Manu is finally finding his game again.

NEXT GAME

Game 2: Thursday, May 17, Los Angeles Clippers at San Antonio Spurs, 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN

Christopher Walder is a sports blogger and lead editor for Sir Charles in Charge. You may follow him on Twitter @WalderSports

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