First Take

I must not have been paying attention to basketball. Last week, Phoenix Sun Jae Crowder was assessed a Flagrant 1 foul for kneeing Dallas Maverick Luka

Doncic while taking a jump shot in a playoff game

I didn’t know the NBA now makes a distinction between a regular foul and a flagrant one.

Doing some research, I discovered a Flagrant 1 foul is defined as “unnecessary,” while a Flagrant 2 foul is worse, being “unnecessary” and “excessive.” Apparently, if a player keeps on getting flagrant, he can be suspended.

Why not simply assess a foul, let the player who was fouled go to the free throw line and leave it at that? If players commit truly egregious acts on the court, why can’t the league decide on a case-by-case basis whether to suspend them?

I saw the videos of the foul in question, and I couldn’t say Crowder intentionally kneed his opponent. It looked to me like he was playing what can be a rough sport.